Bedford Speedway 2009

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BEDFORD SPEEDWAY
"The Track Racing Legends Built"
Track Address:
Rte. 30 West
Bedford, PA 15522
Office Address:
108 Short St.
Bedford, PA 15522
814-623-0500
www.bedfordspeedway.com

JANUARY 6, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

BEDFORD SPEEDWAY AWARDS BANQUET

By Dave Harclerode

BEDFORD, PA - The Bedford Speedway held its annual awards Banquet on December 6th at the Bedford Elks Country Club. A capacity ensemble of drivers, crews, fans and employees enjoyed a fine evening of food and dance. Promoters JR Keifer, Jim Maybury, and Dr. Dave Horne presented the awards to the drivers and made announcements about the upcoming season.

In the Super Late Model division, racing veteran Steve Everhart earned his first ever Bedford Track Championship. Everhart narrowly beat four time champ Scott Haus to claim the champions honor, and announced at the banquet he’d back in ’09 to defend his title. Randy Burkholder received the Rookie of the Year award for the Super Late Model division. The award surprised many because Randy looked nothing like a rookie all season. A weekly threat, Burkholder earned a fourth place points finish, and had a shot at the championship all the way until the end of the season when a misfortunate accident set him back in the standings. Jeff Miller won the Most Improved award for the division. Miller, posted a ninth place points finish in ‘08 and also earned his first career Super Late Model feature win at Bedford. Jeff was a solid racer each week, and had his best season ever at Bedford in the division. The Hard Luck award went to Bedford veteran Chris Harr. Harr was on pace for yet another great season until mechanical problems left him on the sidelines at the end of the season.

Limited Late Model driver Derek Byler won his first ever Bedford Track Championship in dominating fashion. Derek took the Limited Late division by storm, posting 3 feature wins and taking the championship by 250 points over former 2 time division champ Tim Smith, Jr. Derek was exciting to watch week to week, and had several charges from mid-pack that helped him secure the points title. The Rookie of the Year award was given to Brandon Hoover, who moved up from the Street Stock ranks. Hoover finished 14th in the points standings in an ultra competitive division. Brandon was able to run competitive with the veterans, and should be a threat to earn a championship in the coming seasons. The Hard Luck award winner was Travis Calhoun, who was involved in a huge pile up on the frontstretch on August 15th. The crash put the racecar’s future in jeopardy, and ruined any chance of Calhoun having a successful end of season.

Bob Jay won his 4th Bedford Street Stock Championship this season, the first ever in the division to accomplish this feat. Bob won 2 feature events this season, making him the all-time feature win leader in the class with 22 wins. Jay won the points title by a moderate margin over long time Bedford racer Daryl Whetstone and Chris Chamberlain. Young Ricky Potter was named the divisions Rookie of the Year, scoring a 12th place finish in the final points standings despite missing the last 4 races of the season. Don Wyles took home the Most Improved award after finishing fifth in the final points standings, and Joe Pluta received the Hard Luck Award.

Charlie Walter earned his first career Bedford Track Championship in the Hobby Stock division. Charlie won 3 feature events and won the championship by 200 points over Bill Replogle. Travis Group, a top runner each week, earned the Rookie of the Year award, and Ryan Beckett showed a very noticeable improvement to win the Most Improved award. Ray Shepherd's late season woes caused him to miss his usual top 10 points finish, earning him the Hard Luck award.

In the inaugural season for the Front Wheel Drive 4 Cylinders, Mike Lauffer won the first ever Track Championship for the division over Ed Vogel. Lauffer won five out of the seasons nine races. Irvin Fleegle earned the Hard Luck award.

Other awards included the A.R.C.H. Banquet awards, and Derek Byler and Daryl Whetstone were selected to represent Bedford Speedway. The Buzz Award is an honor given to the driver that had the most people talking all season. This award was presented to Daryl Whetstone. Daryl has been racing at Bedford for over 40 years and was very competitive in the Street Stock class after coming out of retirement, finishing second in points and winning two feature events. Donnie Farling, a Limited Late Model driver, and Randy Burkholder (Super Lates) won the Perseverance awards, which is given to the drivers who kept there heads held high and worked through tough circumstances the best throughout the season. The final award of the evening was the 2008 Legend of Bedford Speedway award, which was won by Bob Jay for his four career Street Stock Track Championships.

The 2009 season will get under way on April 17th, and many special attractions will again dot the schedule. Several highlights include the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series on April 24th, the final leg of the brand new PA Dirt Late Model Speedweeks on June 12th, the PA Posse Sprint Car Speedweeks on June 28th, and the World of Outlaw Dirt Late Model Series on August 14th. The Bedford Speedway will return with five divisions, including the Super Late Models, Limited Late Models, Street Stocks, Hobby Stocks, and FWD 4 Cylinders. One notable rule change will be the return of the pill draw / re-draw procedure from the '07 season, which was very popular. Other information, including a full schedule and important notices can be found at www.bedfordspeedway.com