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Two Tracks, One Champion: FAST Series Awards Banquet to be Held October 17th
MAUMEE, OH (10-7-09) by Bryan Autullo - FAST Public Relations
With the inaugural Kistler Racing Products FAST Championship season in the books, it is time to award the Kistler Cup trophy to series champion Craig Mintz. Craig narrowly edged out Byron Reed and claimed the first ever Fremont/Attica Sprint Title and will have his name etched in the record books as the first Champion to accept the award. With only 5 rain outs on the 22 race schedule, Mintz had to be on top of his game every weekend to hold off multi-time track champion Byron Reed who was knocking at the door throughout the second half of the 2009 season. "It was a great inaugural season," said series co-founder Bryan Autullo. "It worked out exactly the way I predicted it would back in January. I said we could very well end up with three separate champions with our series and both tracks at the end of the season and that's exactly what happened." Chris Andrews claimed the Attica track championship while Brock Mayes took home the Fremont Speedway title. "We're looking forward to bigger and better things in 2010 and beyond", continued Autullo. "I've already been working on a few new ideas and talking to a few new sponsors. We hope to continue the success that we had in our first year of doing this deal."
The awards banquet will be held on October 17th at the VFW Hall in Green Springs, OH and is open to the general public. In fact, all race fans are encouraged to attend in order to celebrate with the first FAST Champion and the rest of the Top 20 drivers. "We encourage all race fans to come out and join the party," said Autullo. "We wanted to do something a little bit different and make this a celebration for the fans, drivers, sponsors, track promoters and employees, and the local racing media to look back on a great 2009 season as we hand out some cash and prizes to the guys who entertained us all season long."
Entertainment for the evening will be provided by acoustic guitarist/singer Mel Burns from Sandusky, OH. Mel is a very talented musician who will perform alternative and rock hits along with his own original music to entertain the crowd before and after the awards are presented. In addition, there will be a Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament immediately following the award presentations. Tim's Dirt Track Simulators will be there to allow fans to challenge their favorite drivers in some virtual dirt track cometition throughout the eveing. Hoserville Ohio will hold a silent auction with racing memoribilia with all proceeds benefitting their injured drivers fund. There will be a 50/50 raffle and one lucky fan will walk away with a cash prize. Video highlights from the 2009 FAST season will be shown throughout the evening and there will be enough bench racing to keep all the gearheads in the racing spirit as winter approaches and the cars are parked in the shop until Spring.
"One thing we didn't want to do is have another shirt and tie event with a fancy catered meal," says Autullo. "This FAST Series was conceived in an effort to increase fan participation, so this is for the fans. No suits and no ties! No $30 tickets to attend this event! We're charging just $5.00 at the door and we want people to come and have a good time. We want teams and drivers to be able to bring their whole family to celebrate, so we made it very affordable." Kids under 12 will be admitted for free (with an adult). Drivers and Team Owners will be admitted for free. Also, all companies who sponsored the series in 2009 will be given free passes at the door. Any company needing more than two passes should contact the FAST Series no later than October 15th.
There will be a cash bar for soft drinks and alcohol and food will be served concession style for those who wish to eat. Shredded Chicken, Sloppy Joes, Hot Dogs, Chips, and Nachos/Cheese will be available for a nominal fee.
"One thing that we're extremely proud of," says series co-founder Scott Porter, "is the fact that we are going to be able to give a little something to everyone who finished in the Top 20 in our points." The FAST Series has advertised that more than $50,000 in cash and prizes were up for grabs this season. "We will be handing out $28,000 in cash to our Top 10 finishers and they will also receive several nice contingency prizes from our generous sponsors. Then we plan to spread the wealth from 11th through 20th place with miscellaneous contingency prizes and random drawings for other parts and prizes. We want these guys all to leave the banquet with something in their hand." In addition to the $28,000 in cash awards, the FAST Series has collected more than $25,000 in contingency prizes. "Some of the other awards we'll hand out include the SpeedMeetsArt FAST Rookie of the Year, the Productive Tools & Equipment Mechanic of the Year, the GME/Nields Cool Move award, the Hepfner Racing Products Tough Luck award, and the Zemco Headers Hard Charger of the Year," continued Porter. "We may have a few other tricks up our sleeve yet, so come out and see what its all about on October 17th!"
Final FAST Top 20 Championship Points 2009
Top 20 Drivers:
1 Craig Mintz
2 Byron Reed
3 Mark Keegan
4 Chris Andrews
5 Brock Mayes
6 Mike Linder
7 Caleb Griffith
8 Cap Henry*
9 Kevin Lee
10 Lee Jacobs
11 Brandon Martin
12 Brian Smith
13 Duane Zablocki
14 Bryan Sebetto
15 Jody Keegan
16 Andy Shammo
17 David Harrison
18 Phil Gressman
19 Cole Duncan
20 Scott Euler
*Cap Henry is the 2009 SpeedMeetsArt FAST Rookie of the Year
Top 20 Car Owners:
1 Mintz - TGE Racing
2 Reed - B&S Racing
3 Keegan - Keegan Motorsports
4 Andrews - Andrews Motorsports
5 Mayes - Brock Motorsports
6 Jacobs - Genzman Racing
7 Linder - Linder Motorsports
8 Griffith - Griffith Racing
9 Henry - Henry Motorsports
10 Lee - 3J Motorsports
11 Gressman - Genzman Racing
12 Martin - BMI Racing
13 Smith - Henry Motorsports
14 Zablocki - Zablocki Racing
15 Sebetto - Burmeister Racing
16 J. Keegan - Keegan Motorsports
17 Shammo - Burkin Motorsports
18 Harrison - Harrison Racing
19 Euler - Euler Motorsports
20 Philo - Philo Motorsports
Kistler Racing Products FAST Series Banquet Details at a glance:
Date: Saturday October 17th, 2009
Location: Green Springs VFW Post 6067 (Green Springs, OH) located at the corner of SR 778 & CR 44 South of Green Springs off of SR 19.
Time: Doors open at 6:00. Entertainment begins at 7:00. Awards at 8:00.
Food/Drinks: Food will be available from the VFW kitchen - concession style for a modest charge. A cash bar will be open for drinks/alcoholic beverages through the VFW as well.
Tickets: Driver and Owner will be admitted for free and names will be on a guest list at the door. Public admission will be $5.00 at the door. Kids under 12 admitted free (with an adult). Sponsors will be allowed (2) free passes at the door.
Entertainment: Acoustic guitarist Mel Burns will provide musical entertainment throughout the evening. A 50/50 raffle will be held with proceeds going to the 2010 FAST point fund. Hoserville Ohio will host a silent auction for racing memorabilia; Tim’s Dirt Track Simulators will be on hand for fans to challenge their favorite drivers to a virtual race. A Texas Hold ‘Em Poker Tournament will take place after the awards have been handed out.
Note: The Top 10 drivers must be present to accept checks and awards!
We also ask that all drivers finishing 11th through 20th also attend to receive miscellaneous awards, prizes, and to be eligible for prizes to be awarded through random drawing.
FAST on Dirt, Inc. would like to thank the following contributors to the 2009 FAST Championship Series point fund:
Kistler Racing Products, All Star Plumbing & Heating, KS Sales & Service, Engler Machine & Tool, Henry MotorSports Inc., Black Swamp Media Group, MyHeroCards.com, Banshee Graphics, Kears Speed Shop, Computer Man, Inc., SCS Gearbox, The Hideaway Inn (Bucyrus), RockAuto.com, Hoserville Ohio, Hoseheads.com, RacingFansDirect.com, Level Performance, R&R Auto Wrecking, Reebar Diecasting, Performance Metals, Inc., FSR Radiator, Real Geese, Buckeye IT Services, High Vista Video, Racers Racing for a Cure, Gressman Powersports, NAPA of Bryan, OH, Gaerte Engines, Bobby's Truck & Auto Repair, Tiffin Brake & Wheel, Action Photos, Golden Graphics, Goofy Golf, African Safari, and Ghostly Manor
Also, a very special thanks to all of our contingency award sponsors:
Rod End Supply, Hank's Performance, Hepfner Racing Products, TQ Fiberglass, GME Nields Steering, Race Coveralls, Speed Meets Art, SuperShox, Callies, Astro Titanium, G-Force Racing, Fuel Safe, Racing Optics, Rocket Headers, Wings Unlimited, VRP Shocks, Kinsler Injections, RAM Engineering Midwest, PRO Shocks, DJ Safety, C&R Racing Products, ButlerBuilt, Permatex, Movement Arts Sponsor Disk, Zemco Headers, Kinser Filters, Outerwears, DMI Race Components, Keizer Wheels, Linders Speed Equipment, Saldana Racing Products, RacingJunk.com, XXX Race Components, Randy's Racing Filters, Hinchman Indy Uniforms, VMAC/BR Motorsports, Awesome Signs, Competition Suspension, CGS Imaging
Former Owner/President of FAST and Black Swamp Media
Group. Currently just another fan in the stands.
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