NYSSCA HONORS FINEST AT AWARDS BANQUET IN ALBANY ON JAN. 19
By Kelley Keefe
Click here for the Banquet Photo Gallery!

ALBANY, NY - The New York State Stock Car Association held its 33rd Annual Awards Banquet with well over 400 members and guests in attendance.  Dan Martin and Shane Andrews did a fantastic job as Masters of Ceremony.  

Newly elected President John Keegan from Edmeston, NY began by introducing his family that was able to attend from all reaches of the state.  He then introduced the new N.Y.S.S.C.A. officers and Board of Directors urging members to seek them out for membership issues and with ideas for the betterment of the organization.  

The festivities began with the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. The Bedell family of Nassau in memory of their son and brother, Robert “Boomer” Bedell, sponsors the ceremony each year.  This year’s recipients of N.Y.S.S.C.A.’s highest honors were Donald “Dutch” Hoag, Bob Mott, and Arthur “Uncle Art” Stuarts.  

Lebanon Valley’s legendary announcer, Arthur “Uncle Art” Stuarts, was the first inductee of the evening, presented by Brian Bedell.  Uncle Art was the 1st handicapper at Lebanon Valley in 1953.  When the track reopened on July 20, 1954 he became the official announcer.  Prior to his tenure at the Valley, he announced at Carrol’s Grove in Troy, Empire Raceway in Menands, and Langhorne Speedway.  Les Deuel once called him the “Dean of All Eastern Track Announcers”.  Having kept incredible stats of the events at the track, in 1971, Stuarts published his book “Uncle Art’s Lebanon Valley Speedway Record Book”.  This is his second Hall of Fame honor, having been inducted into the Lebanon Valley Speedway Hall of Fame in 1974. Uncle Art passed away April 29, 1988 and was fondly remembered for his exclamation “Two to go! Two to go!” at the closing laps of the race.

Tom Remington inducted Bob Mott of Schenectady, NY into the Hall of Fame. Bob was one of the pioneer drivers at Fonda Speedway after winning races at many other speedways, such as Stateline Speedway and Empire in Menands.  After ending his career behind the wheel, he turned to ownership, teaming up first with Jeep Herbert, then Pete Corey and won numerous races.  Bob Mott passed away in 1999, but anyone around in the “Pioneer Days” will always remember the famous “Mott’s Yellow #3”.   More information about Bob can be found at www.bobmott.com, a site built in his memory and operated by his grandson.

Fellow Hall of Fame member Nick Ronca inducted Donald “Dutch” Hoag, of Bath, NY. Dutch began his racing career in 1949 after putting together his own 1937 Ford V8 coupe.  He went on to win championships at Monroe County and Bath Speedway, then became New York State NASCAR title holder in 1953 and 1954 driving the red & white No. 96“ Penn Yan Express” before switching to asphalt racing.  He won the Race of Champions five times and finished second to Leroy Yarborough in Daytona in 1969.  He ended his career on dirt as it started, running regularly at Weedsport.  His son Dean drove supermodifieds at Oswego and his grandson Alex is the third generation of Hoags at New York speedways.

Last year’s keynote speaker Lew Boyd was on hand for a repeat performance. Last year he spoke of the differences between race fans of the past compared to those of today.  Having collaborated with Kenny Shoemaker on Kenny’s autobiography “They Called Me The Shoe”, he is now working with Andy Fusco on a second book.  Andy and Jim Rigney, the publisher/editor of the book joined Lew on stage. Their new project explores the first 50 years of Fonda Speedway.  The book not only emphasizes the history of the Track of Champions but also focuses on the up and coming stars of tomorrow.  It will also have photographs of every driver to win a feature event there.  The book will be available in May 2002.

The awards presentation began with the participating track awards. Awards were handed out based on achievement at the member’s individual home tracks.  This year, N.Y.S.S.C.A. membership was one of the requirements to be considered for an award.  This rule has been changed for 2002 to award any member of the racing community that is deemed deserving of these awards, with the exception of the N.Y.S.S.C.A. special awards, which will only be presented to N.Y.S.S.C.A. members.

Newcomer of the Year awards were presented to Hobby Stock driver, Roy FiField, CVRA Overall, Utica Rome drivers Joe DeJohn, Jr., for Slingshot, Mark Effner for Pro Stock, Tom Denton for Sportsman, and Wayne Reutimann, Jr. for Modified.  Lebanon Valley’s Newcomers of the Year were Keith Slavin for Sportsman and Howard Madsen for Pro Stock. Newcomers Jeff Davis of Street Stock, Dave Bayes of Pro Stock, Billy Osta of Sportsman, and Craig Hanson of Modifieds were honored for their accomplishments at Fonda Speedway.

Outstanding Performance for CVRA Overall went to Ken Towne for Hobby Stock, Mike Paquin for Pro Stock, Tim Hartman for Sportsman, and Gene Munger for Modified.  James Johnson, Jr. was recognized for his Outstanding Performance in the four-cylinder division at Afton Speedway.  Utica Rome honors for Outstanding Performance went to Randy Marsh for Slingshot, Jim Thomas for Pure Stock, Brian Belden and Jerry Holmes for Pro Stock, Willy Decker for Sportsman, and Jack Johnson for Modified.

Outstanding Performance winners for Lebanon Valley were Wally Engel for Pure Stock, Brian Keough for Rookie Pro Stock, Rob Yetman for Pro Stock, K.C. Goewey and Roy Bridge for Sportsman, J.R. Heffner for 358 Modified, and Eddie Marshall for Modified.  Fonda Speedway Outstanding Performance awards went to Jim Normoyle for Pro Stock, Jim Davis for Sportsman, and Ronnie Holmes for Modified.

The Driver of the Year award for CVRA overall in the Hobby Stock division went to 17 year old Lori Cary. This was Lori’s first year racing and she won four feature races, becoming the first female to win a feature event there and went on to win the Devil’s Bowl Speedway Championship. Other Drivers of the Year for CVRA were Fred Little for Pro Stocks, Tony Ballestero for Sportsman, and Dave Camara for the Modified division.

Drivers of the Year at the Afton Speedway were Ralph Cuozzo, Jr. in the 4 cylinder division, Arnie Slade for Sportsman, and Mitch Gibbs for Modified.

Lebanon Valley drivers recognized as Drivers of the Year were George Miles for Pure Stock, Dave Colwell for Rookie Pro Stock, Jim Langenback for Pro Stock, Sparky Lowe for Sportsman, Rich Ricci for 358 Modified, and Kenny Tremont for Modified. Jim Langenback was later honored with the prestigious N.Y.S.S.C.A. Lifetime Achievement Award.  He emphasized that the driver was the most overrated part of the team; that it takes the right mix of sponsors and crew to make a winning combination.  

IMCA Driver of the Year at Fonda Speedway was Travis Stevens.  Repeating Track Champions Dave Horning, Jr. and Rob Noviczski won Driver of the Year honors for Street Stock and Pro Stock respectively.  Track Champion John McAuliffe won for the Sportsman Division and A.J. Romano won for the Modified division.

Denny Tilison was named Driver of the Year in the Slingshot division for Utica-Rome Speedway. Pure Stock winner was Jeff Pastorella. Bret Belden won for the Pro Stocks and Tim Clemons was the Driver of the Year in the Sportsman field.

Modified Driver Todd Burley of Spencerport, NY was named the Utica-Rome Modified Driver of the Year. He was also honored with the N.Y.S.S.C.A. Overall Outstanding Performance Award.  

The other N.Y.S.S.C.A. Special Awards were given to Car Owner of the Year Mike Richards, owner of the #75 currently piloted by Gene Munger.  Previous drivers of the Richards car included Bob Ellis and C.D. Coville.

David Peek presented the Dedication to Racing Award in Memory of Harry Peek to Dick Sweet. Dick was a pro stock racer and currently a flagger at the Fulton, Brewerton, and Utica-Rome Speedways.  There were stories shared about this colorful character, which set the room abuzz with laughter.  These included driving the “Sweet 16”, cutting a hole in the roof of the Keegan Racing owned #3K to wave to the fans, and grilling hot dogs on the intake manifold during the feature event.  When he flags for the Victoria 200, he does so in high class, in a tuxedo.

The Lifetime Contribution to N.Y.S.S.C.A. and Racing award was presented to the late Kenny Shoemaker. His wife Barbara and his children were on hand to accept in his honor.  Kenny was not only a legend in the racing community, but was one of the original members of N.Y.S.S.C.A..  When Kenny signed copies of his book last year at the banquet, a portion of the proceeds was donated to the organization.  This award, from this date forward, will be named after him.

Lebanon Valley drivers Butch Jelley and Maynard Forrette were called to the stage to receive the Decades of Racing Award.  These drivers have been racing for six decades and continue to be a formidable force at the racetrack. They both won their first races in 1958 and never looked back, winning races even this past year.

President Keegan presented Doug Zupan with the President’s Award in appreciation for his loyalty to the organization and his help in getting our website up to date and fantastic. Doug maintains the websites for several racetracks and handles public relations for Utica-Rome.  He also accepted the awards on behalf of Utica-Rome drivers who were unable to attend the banquet.  

N.Y.S.S.C.A. is “Here for you in 2002”!  Join the team by visiting our website at www.nyssca.com or see your local track representative at the area car shows or the racetrack to become a member.

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