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NMRA-TQ MIDGET 2013 CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS – By Tim Kennedy
Moorpark, CA., Feb. 1 – Members of the NMRA-TQ Midget Series held their 2013 championship awards banquet Saturday night at Aloha Ranch in Moorpark. A no host bar from 4:00-5:00 preceded a buffet dinner with salad, tri-tip roast, BBQ chicken breast and desert. Awards ceremonies from 6:00-8:00 pm followed. Host West Evans, the NMRA leader since 2002, recognized NMRA board members and officials and the top ten in driver and owner points. He welcomed guests and introduced traditional emcee Ron Ahrendt.
Championship honorees for 2013 were driver champion West Evans, 50, and his West Evans Motor-sports No. 36 Spike/Bob Wirth-built Suzuki 750cc owner championship team after winning three main events. Both championship winning margins were 43 points. Evans Motor-sports also placed second with driver Chuck West and the No. 38 Stealth/Bob Wirth Suzuki 750cc team car. It was the second NMRA driving championship for Evans, the 2010 series champion. Evans' two-car team won its sixth NMRA car owner title. Their other owner championships were in 2006, 08, 2010-12. Team members include crew chief Bob DeMello, and Mike Evans, who received awards from Evans.
NMRA began sanctioning TQ midget racing in 1957 and continued through 1986. USAC sanctioned TQ racing on the West Coast for 15 years from 1987-2001 before switching to Ford Focus midget racing. NMRA, under the leadership of Evans, resumed sanctioning TQ midget competition in 2002 and has continued to do so for the last 12 consecutive years. NMRA has scheduled 12 TQ races for 2014 at two dirt tracks—Bakersfield Speedway and Santa Maria Speedway. Round one will take place on Saturday, March 15 at NMRA's home track in Bakersfield, which will host seven events. SMS will host the other five events starting May 3.
In 2013 NMRA ran 13 race dates at four dirt tracks from March through October. Bakersfield hosted six races, Santa Maria Speedway four, Ventura Raceway two and Route 66 Motorplex in Victorville one. Race 13 at Santa Maria on October 26 only had time trials and heat races before heavy fog rolled in at the start of the main event, which was canceled. The 12 NMRA 2013 features completed had six winners—Evans and Anthony Lopiccolo (three each), Kenny Wiley and West (two each), and one each by Mike Black and Scott Niven.
ROOKIE AWARD (Presented by Racing Optics): Britt Grissom, a 27-year old dirt motocross racing veteran of ovals and desert racing, received the 2013 honor. The Taft resident missed three of the 12 features because of engine problems. He sold his dirt bikes after a nasty crash and bought a Stewart/two-valve 836cc Honda for his roll-caged TQ racing debut using his motocross No. 43. He scored four top five finishes and nine top tens in 2013. Grissom, whose uncle raced stock cars at Irwindale Speedway before moving to North Carolina, scored 451 driver points and 481 owner points. He finished sixth in both driver and owner points.
A special appreciation award presented from Qwiktime Products was presented by host Evans to emcee Ahrendt, a 2013 NMRA official and car owner. The 69-year old retired Harbor Division LAPD police officer drove his own Bob Meli-built No. 87 TQ each season starting 1987. He purchased a new 1991 Dave Ellis chassis in 1991 to house his Honda 836cc and raced it to mid-2012. A bad flip down the backstretch at Bakersfield on August 4 led to heart fibrillation at home the next day. He opted to retire and had Scott Dobson drive his car several times in 2013. Dakota Schweitzer drove it in the final 2013 race. Ahrendt sold his TQ to Doyle Mosley, brother of the late Indianapolis 500 driver Mike Mosley, to race in 2014.
OTTO FAMILY AWARD: The annual NMRA award from Gay Otto and her son Tony honors the memory of long-time NMRA leader Ron Otto, who succumbed to a heart attack after retiring to Nipomo. Kenny Bailey, a 2013 NMRA official, received the Otto award for helping in all aspects of NMRA official duties at races. Most recent recipients of the Otto award were Ventura Raceway (2012) and Bakersfield Speedway (2011).
The newly named “Big” John Estopellan Tenacity Award presented by sons of the long-time racing photographer/pit steward who died a year ago. It went to car owner/driver Don Kiefer. The racing grandfather from the San Diego area finished fourth in both 2013 driver and car owner points. He also served as one of three members of the 2013 NMRA Board of Directors. Appreciation plaques were presented to all three NMRA board members—Evans, Kiefer and owner/driver Kenny Wiley, plus to NMRA officials Steve Parke, R,. Ahrendt and K. Bailey.
HARD CHARGER: Brea resident Anthony Lopiccolo, NMRA's 2008 rookie of the year, was the deserving recipient of the Randy Faust Hard Charger Award presented by long-time NMRA sponsor Schroeder Torsion Bars. The 27-year old driver of the No. 21 Paul Lopiccolo Stealth/Bob Clerc Kawasaki (former Richard Ortega No. 8 car) won three of the ten races he ran in 2013. His triumphs came at three tracks--in Victorville, Santa Maria and Ventura. He finished fifth in 2013 final driver standings with 490 points.
The Lopiccolo team, owned by Anthony's father Paul, will race their older Dennis Hart chassis with Honda 836cc power as a second team car in 2014. TQ rookie/family friend Doug Arnold, from Brea, will drive it as No. 51. That was the racing Lopiccolo family car number during their jalopy racing days in the 1950s. The 2013 NMRA media award plaque went to Tim Kennedy for providing NMRA coverage to racing papers and numerous websites.
MOST IMPROVED DRIVER (Presented by Ringers Gloves): Owner/driver Scott Niven, of Moorpark, won this annual award. The 45-year old TQ veteran won the first TQ feature of his career on May 11 at Santa Maria Speedway after leading all 25 laps from the pole. He finished eighth in driver points after placing 12th in 2012 and 18th in 2011. His No. 66 Stealth/Clerc Honda 836cc engine was built for IRL founder Tony George when he raced TQs in Indiana. It also was the engine used by Alex Harris to win the USAC 1997-98 TQ championships.
On Saturday night, January 25 seven NMRA TQs ran one five-minute session of demonstration laps on the dirt infield at Anaheim Stadium, home of the MLB Angels, during intermission at the annual Monster Jam. TQ drivers were: W. Evans (36), S. Dobson (38), D. Kiefer (9), A. Lopiccolo (21), D. Mosley (87), Bruce Hiroshima (20) and Rick Poe (2). More than 40,000 spectators attended the popular monster trucks event. California Lightning Sprints (winged CLS cars) also ran demo hot laps on the covered baseball stadium grass during intermissions. TQs will run hot laps again on Saturday, February 8 at Anaheim Stadium at the next round of Monster Jam.
Looking at the list of past NMRA driving champions one sees recognizable drivers who raced successfully in larger cars. They include: Bill Krause, the initial NMRA champion in 1957, plus midget and/or sprint car drivers Duane Sears, Lowell Voss, Jack DeArmond, Sonny White, Danny McKnight, Indy 500 driver Bobby Olivero, Kenny Gidney, Chris Cumberworth, Gary Hill, Robby Flock and Dennis Hart. Winning CRA sprint car owner Les Edwards was NMRA's 1971-72 championship car owner.
Seventeen drivers and 16 car owners earned NMRA 2013 championship points. The top ten in each category were:
Drivers Car Owners
1 West Evans 711 1 West Evans No. 36 747
2 Chuck West 668 2 West Evans No. 38 704
3 Kenny Wiley 653 3 Kenny & Teri Wiley 96 689
4 Don Kiefer 607 4 Don Kiefer 9 646
5 Anthony Lopiccolo 490 5 Paul Lopiccolo 21 517
6 Britt Grissom ® 451 6 Britt Grissom 43 481
7 Dave Lambert 425 7 Dave Lambert 55 455
8 Scott Niven 303 8 Scott Niven 66 324
9 Chris Thomas ® 233 9 Ed Thomas 40 248
10 Scott Dobson 181 10 Bruce Hiroshima 20 206
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