JENNERSTOWN CROWNS 2005 CHAMPIOns

JENNERSTOWN, PA (Nov. 12, 2005) … Tommy Beck was the big winner at the annual  Jennerstown Speedway NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series awards banquet, as the Murrysville driver was officially crowned the 2005 Wheeler Bros. super late model track champion in ceremonies staged  Saturday evening at Seven Springs Mountain Resort.

Beck, who began his career racing go-karts, garnered three feature wins and 16 top-10 finishes at the Somerset County half-mile mile oval to defeat Barry Awtey and Mark Poole in the title chase. Beck, a University of Pittsburgh engineering graduate, also was awarded eighth place in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Division IV point standings.

“This is a dream come true for our race team,” Beck said in his victory speech. “We raced on a shoe string budget all year, without a sponsor. One mistake, or mechanical problem would have cost us the championship. We proved that a little team can win a championship racing against bigger teams with a lot more money and resources.”

Other track champions included: Dusty Rhoads (late models), Richard Nicola (Advance Auto Parts street stocks), PJ Ehrlich (PA legacy) and Gregory Lohr (Pizza Hut hobby stocks).

Rob Van Fleet was voted NASCAR Craftsman Mechanic of the Year for the second consecutive year by his fellow competitors. Van Fleet serves as the crew chief for Garry Wiltrout’s super late model team owned by Richard Pologruto.

Speedway rookie-of-the-year awards were presented to: Chantal Germek (Wheeler Bros. super late models), Andrew Wylie (late models), Phill Grubbs (Advance Auto Parts street stocks), Alan Braham (Pa legacy) and Cindy Shaulis (Pizza Hut hobby stocks).

Poole (Wheeler Bros. super late models), Wade Champeno (late models), Roger Onstead (Advance Auto Parts street stocks), Lauren Butler (PA legacy) and John Steeley (Pizza Hut hobby stocks) were awarded with most improved driver awards in their respective divisions. 

 NASCAR Series Marketing Manager Bob Duvall was the keynote speaker. Duvall, a former Jennerstown Speedway track manager, stressed the importance of making relevant changes to improve the product in the overall NASCAR corporate structure, and praised Jennerstown for making its own changes to remain viable in a difficult entertainment environment. He also pointed out that Jennerstown is becoming an industry leader with its innovative marketing strategies and business practices.

“In a time when small race tracks are being sold and going out of business in record numbers, Jennerstown tripled its weekly attendance last year, and recorded a sell-out crowd of over 10,000 fans for the first time in speedway history,” Duvall said. “That says a great deal about the future of Jennerstown Speedway.” 

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