Posted by Grundy County Speedway on 12/6/2004, 8:17 pm
Board Administrator

GRUNDY COUNTY SPEEDWAY AWARDS BANQUET HONORS CHAMPIONS By Andy Grod Trophy and point checks were handed out at the Grundy County Speedway Awards Banquet, held Saturday night, November 20th, at the VFW Post, in Morris, Illinois in front of a crowd of some three hundred in attendance. With sixteen race nights held during the 2004 racing season, and one-hundred sixty-two racers earning championship points, three drivers stood above the pack and earned the title of Champion. In the lightening-fast late model division, Eddie Hoffman Jr., from Wheaton, held on to the top of the point lead all season long to win his second driving championship at the Grundy oval. With nine feature wins including the George Appleton Memorial and the Lee Schuler Memorial, Hoffman was able to win the title even though he missed two race nights during the year. The 1996 Late Model Rookie of the Year and the 1997 Champion was the class of the field in his Feece Oil – Lisa Thomas Salons – Appleton Rack and Pinion - Craig Racing Ford. The runner-up spot went to Billy Knippenberg Jr., from Plainfield, who took second place away from Scott Koerner on the final night of the season. Knippenberg, the 2000 Mid-American Champion and the 1997 Late Model Rookie of the Year, tallied one feature win in his Judi-s Embroidery Plus – Illinois Truck and Equipment – Bills Speed Shop Ford, set fast time twice and had two heat race wins to earn the number two spot on the championship list. Scott Koerner, from Joliet, held on to the second spot in points for eleven weeks, then went into the final night of racing tied with Knippenberg for the number two spot, only to see Knippenberg gain enough points to claim the runner-up spot. Koerner, the 1997 Mid-American co-champion, finished seven marks behind Knippenberg in the final tally in his Sontag Speed Supplies Dodge, after earning three second place showing in feature action and one heat race win. Winning the final feature of the season helped Tom Smith, from New Lenox, claim the fourth spot in points. His three heat race wins kept Smith in the top five for the battle from the title all season long in the County Packaging – Sherwin Williams Paint sponsored Chevy. After flipping on opening night one year ago, Pat McCabe made up for it by winning the season opener this season in the Rod Baker Ford – Powersourse Race Engines Taurus. The 2003 Late Model Rookie of the Year also had two heat race wins to earn him the fifth spot in the points race. Hometown's Gary Raven, who finished seventh last season, improved his position by one spot, claiming the sixth place trophy for 2004, with three heat race wins to his credit. Second-year late model driver Rob Werkmeister, from Plainfield, set fast time two nights, had one heat race win and three top five feature finishes to earn the seventh spot in points. After finishing third last season in mid-American racing, Scott Dunning, from Bolingbrook, moved up to late model action and ran consistently near the front. To go along with his eighth place finish, Dunning received the 2004 Late Model Rookie of the Year Award. Veteran driver Duane Pierson, from Lockport, who was the 1980 Sportsman champion, got a late start this season, capturing the feature event on the final Friday night of the year, and earned the ninth spot in the points rally. Taking tenth the late model division was Monee's Mike White, who was the 1993, '95, and '96 late model champion. White, who missed two nights of racing, won one feature event, two heat races and set fast time one night. In the Mid-American division, Dave Gentile Jr., from Elwood, took the point lead from Ryan Finley after the running of the mid-season championship on July 30th, and held the top spot for the rest of the season. His eleven fast times with eight in a row played a big part in securing the title, along with two feature wins in his Fox's Kwik Kleen – Heroes and Legends Sports Bar Ford. Tom Knippenberg, from Channahon, moved past John Senerchia during the Night of Features on September 5th and held on to the second spot by just two marks on the final night, repeating his second place finish from last season. Senerchia, from Orland Park, sat on top of the points list on three occasions in his Alyssa Transport – Rizzuti Race Engines Chevy and finished the season with four feature wins in the sixteen nights of racing action at the Grundy oval, bettering his fifth place showing one year ago. Finley, in his third year of mid-am racing, stood atop of the points list for six weeks with consistent top finishes. The 1997 Street Stock Rookie of the Year claimed four heat race wins on his way to his fourth place showing in the Step 1 Stairworks Splash of Color Chevy. Fourth year driver, Ron Willems Jr., from Aurora, improved his twenty-second place showing one year ago to claim the sixth place in points, taking four heat race wins along the way. First year driver, Dave DeFreece, from Yorkville, won a feature event on his way to a seventh place showing. Ten top ten feature finishes helped earned DeFreece the Mid-American Rookie of the Year award. A late feature win and a heat race victory by Bill Neering, helped lock up the eighth spot in points for this fourth year driver from Cedar Lake, Indiana. Mike Marchiniak, from Channahon, captured three heat race wins, and his eight top ten feature showings earned this second season driver ninth in points. The 2003 Mid-am Rookie of the Year, Josh Higgins, got things going during the second half of the season, winning three heat races and scoring eight top ten feature finishes to claim tenth in points. In the action-packed street stock division, Chris Sontag, from Joliet, dominated the field with seven feature wins and setting fast time twelve times in fourteen qualifying nights to earn the title of Street Stock Champion for 2004. Driving the Brandolino Music – Terry's RV Sales – Sontag Speed Supplies Chevy, Sontag broke the track record four times during the season in only his second season of racing at the Grundy County Speedway. With two feature wins and two heat race victories, Rick Dawson, from Lemont, took over the number two spot in points from Brandon Clubb in late June and held the spot to the finish. His twelve top five feature finishes kept Dawson near the top of the point list, ending the season sixty-eight marks behind Sontag. Earning two feature wins, two heat race flags and setting a new track record on late May kept Brandon Clubb, from Coal City near the top of the list, taking a third place tally after finishing twentieth last season. The defending track champion and the 1998 title holder, Randy Weese, from Morris, claimed one feature flag and one heat race win on his way to a fourth place finish in his tenth season of racing action at the Morris, Illinois speedway. All the way from Kenosha, Wisconsin, Chad Proctor had four second place finishes in feature racing, eight top five finishes and two heat race wins, earning this third year driver fifth in the final points tally. Plainfield's Joe Graziano won a feature event in late August to go along with his three heat race victories. This first year driver finished sixth in points and also earned the 2004 Street Stock Rookie of the Year title. With two feature wins and one heat race win, Karl Kwaz, from Joliet improved his fifteenth place showing one year ago to claim seventh in points in a division that saw sixty-two drivers take to the speedway. Chris Sanda, from LaGrange Park, had three heat race wins and three top five feature finishes to earn the eighth spot in the points race. After setting fast time on opening night, winning one feature and one heat race, Andy Marchiniak, from Joliet was credited with ninth in points for 2004. Rounding out the top ten in points is fifth year driver Chad Bayuk, from Crest Hill, who claimed two heat race wins and a semi-feature win along the way. One of the highlights of the night was the drawing for a Five Star Race Car body for the late model division and a discount coupon for the Mid-American class. Winner of the Five-Star body was Eddie Hoffman Jr..