Max Blair Showcased On Hard Rock Cafe Pittsburgh's Stage - FASTRAK Northeast 2011 Awards Banquet

 

January 30, 2012 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Pittsburgh, PA)…The Hard Rock Café Pittsburgh played host to the 2011 FASTRAK Northeast Late Model Awards Banquet & Dinner on Sunday evening. The Hard Rock stage was again the backdrop for this memorable night at Station Square, which saw the majority of the record $50,000+ in cash and contingencies distributed by the Northeast alone for the 2011 season. It was the second straight stand-alone banquet held for the Series after three years of being held in conjunction with the Mercer Raceway Park banquet. Longtime Sharon Speedway announcer Jim Pollock emceed the affair.

A record 24 Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC Northeast Touring events were scheduled with 19 of those being completed. A record 189 different drivers competed in those 19 events with a record car count average of 35 per event! Eleven different drivers were victorious with five of them capturing their first career Touring Series wins!

For the third time in the past four seasons, Max Blair took the championship honors. The 21-year-old Centerville, Pa. driver started the year off on fire winning three of the first seven events, but his only other win was the prestigious Gary Knollinger Memorial on June 23 at Sharon Speedway that earned him $2,750.

Blair also picked up an extra $1,000 for winning the inaugural Bully Dog “Cross the Borders” Speedweek title in his Specialty Products/Westcoat Excavating/Moody & Sons/Thompson Run Tire/Race 1/Genesis Shocks-sponsored #111. Besides his championship jacket, plaque, point fund monies, and huge check, Blair also received a special eagle trophy recognizing him for three National Weekly Series and three Northeast Touring Series Championships in the past four seasons!

For the second straight year, Mike Pegher, Jr. of Wexford, Pa. was runner-up behind Blair. Pegher led the way with a Series high five wins in addition to his Night 1 of the Grand Nationals victory at Roaring Knob. Pegher’s biggest victory in Northeast Touring competition was the Series’ biggest race- the $3,000 to-win event part of the Black Diamond Weekend at Tyler County Speedway. Those victories moved him ahead of Blair for the all-time Series win mark at 13 to 12.

Josh Holtgraver had a great season moving from fifth to third in points in his second year on the Tour. The Pittsburgh, Pa. driver won two features including the $1,500 “Bill Emig Memorial” Memorial Day Weekend event at Sharon for the second straight year and his first career win at McKean County Raceway in front of a packed crowd for their fair event.

Dan Angelicchio was another racer having his best season to finish fourth in points with just two finishes outside the top 10 all season long! The Greensburg, Pa. driver entered 2011 without ever winning a Touring Series feature, but changed that in a big way taking wins at Tyler County and Pittsburgh in addition to a $3,000 Southeast Touring Series win at Thunder Mountain Speedway in southern West Virginia.

In his second season of FASTRAK racing, Steve Dixon moved halfway up to the point ladder from 10th to fifth. The Smethport, Pa. hard charger won a thriller during Speedweek for his first career win at Raceway 7 holding off track star Max Blair. Dixon had 6 top 5s and 11 top 10s.

Despite missing two events during Speedweek after a rough beginning, Joe Martin rebounded with 6 straight top 10 finishes including a victory at Dog Hollow Speedway for the second straight year. The Mayport, Pa. driver has moved up from 12th in points in 2009 to seventh in 2010 and up one more this past season.

Butch Lambert has been one of the top supporters of the Northeast Touring Series over the last four seasons. This past season wasn’t exactly what the Mars, Pa. had in store after finishing third one year ago, but the nonetheless garnered 7 top 10s including a season best runner-up at the Gary Knollinger Memorial at Sharon to finish seventh in points. Lambert did end the season on a positive note winning the $1,000 non-sanctioned “Steel City Stampede” at Lernerville Speedway. That event will now be the finale on the 2012 Touring slate with $2,000 up for grabs!

Teenager Damian Bidwell’s first season Touring was an impressive one finishing eighth. The Eldred, Pa. driver really improved as the season progressed finishing with 5 top 7s in the final 9 events including a career best runner-up at Sharon on September 17.

John Volpe’s first full season in the Scott Bidwell #B1D resulted in a ninth in points. The Lakewood, NY driver’s best performance of the season came during a three-week stretch in the summer where he had a third at Expo, second at Eriez, and a sixth at Sharon.

Completing the top 10 was Eriez Speedway Champion Kyle Zimmerman, who jumped up three positions in points from a year ago to finish 10th. The Albion, Pa. 2010 Mercer Raceway Park Champion saved the best for last with 3 top 8 finishes in the final 5 races.

Keeping with a tradition that was started many years ago at Mercer Raceway Park, FASTRAK Northeast continued the tradition of honoring special achievements with memorial awards. The most prestigious award given out on Sunday night was a new award called the Gary Knollinger Memorial “Golden Award”.

Gary unfortunately succumbed to injuries suffered in a highway accident a little more than one year ago. Gary was a fierce competitor and great friend that quickly became a huge part of the FASTRAK family. Gary’s parents Gary, Sr. and Bev along with longtime crew chief John Seyler were on hand to present the award to the inaugural recipient, Joe Martin.

Last year, a new award was created to recognize a youngster that’s part of the FASTRAK Family though not on the speedway. In 2010, Austin Graul received the inaugural award due to his unwavering support of FASTRAK and his drivers Dan Angelicchio, Troy Shields, and Bryan Force. This year, young Andrew Granda received the “Super Kid” distinction as you can’t miss the little guy’s presence in the Rob and Max Blair pit area, but also around the likes of Damian Bidwell, Chad Wright, and Josh Holtgraver.

FINAL 2011 Sweeney Chevrolet Buick GMC FASTRAK Northeast Late Model Touring Series Top 15 in Points: 1. MAX BLAIR 571 2. Mike Pegher, Jr. 536 3. Josh Holtgraver 504 4. Dan Angelicchio 503 5. Steve Dixon 453 6. Joe Martin 439 7. Butch Lambert 430 8. Damian Bidwell 353 9. John Volpe 266 10. Kyle Zimmerman 256 11. George Kowatic 240 12. Lauren Longbrake 237 13. Jamie Brown 213 14. Josh Double 206 15. Chad Wright 205.

FINAL 2011 FASTRAK Northeast “Futures Cup” Top 10 in Points: 1. RYAN MONTGOMERY 764 2. Damian Bidwell 719 3. Shane Weaver 712 4. Chad Wright 710 5. Bobby Rohrer, Jr. 710 6. Nico Dabecco 652 7. Newt Tackett 650 8. Matt Latta 637 9. Russell Baird, Jr. 588 10. Alessa Young 568.

FINAL 2011 FASTRAK Mid-Ohio Valley Late Model Touring Series Top 10 in Points: 1. DAN ANGELICCHIO 67 2. Joe Martin & Mike Pegher, Jr. 63 4. Shawn Jett 47 5. John Watson 31 6. Kyle Thomas 29 7. Shane Hitt 27 8. Butch Lambert 25 9. Joel Prosser 23 10. Lauren Longbrake 20.

FINAL 2011 FASTRAK Northeast “Wheelman” Bonus Event Challenge Series Top 4 in Points: 1. SHANE WEAVER 173 2. Brian Haggerty 132 3. Lauren Longbrake 127 4. Jamie Brown 126.