Chicago , Ill. —Eddie Hoffman and Nick Allen were big
winners in racing action in and around the Chicago area
in 2011.
Hoffman, the veteran
speedster from Wheaton , Ill. , won a total of 16 main
events during the season and was crowned the Late Model
stock car champion at the Grundy County Speedway in
Morris. Hoffman garnered 10 feature race victories at
Grundy on his way to his third title at the third of a
mile paved fairgrounds oval, where he was also the
champion in 2004 and 1997.
A second-generation racer,
Hoffman also picked up five more wins at Illiana Motor
Speedway in Schererville , Ind. , including a Champion
Racing Association (CRA) JEGS All-Stars Tour 100 lapper.
Hoffman also posted a JEGS series victory at Michigan ’s
Dixie Motor Speedway.
For the second time in his
career, Billy Knippenberg was named Grundy’s Mid
American Sportsman champion, winning two feature races
along the way. Knippenberg, who claimed Late Model
championship honors in 2005, was Grundy’s Mid American
division champ in 2000. Other Grundy champions were
Logan Love (Street Stocks) and Rich Dearborn (4
Cylinder).
Allen, who hails from
Wheatfield , Ind. , grabbed United Midwestern Promoters
(UMP) DIRTcar modified track championships honors at
both the Kankakee County Speedway and at his “home
track” – Shadyhill Speedway in Medaryville , Ind.
Allen scored five feature
wins at Shadyhill on his way to his fifth modified title
at the speedway. Allen won four main events at Kankakee
. Allen finished third in the “national” UMP modified
standings with a total of 13 feature wins in 2011.
Veteran Mike Kingma raced
to his third consecutive Independent Modified
Association (I-Mod) track title at Shadyhill with six
feature wins to his credit. Kingma also claimed I-Mod
division honors at Kankakee , nailing down five feature
victories.
Mike Provenzano was the UMP
late model champion at both the Kankakee fairgrounds
oval and at LaSalle Speedway. Provenzano is now a
three-time late model titlist at Kankakee and a two-time
champ at LaSalle.
Other Kankakee champions
include Lee J. Hall (UMP Stock Cars) and Dave Polak, Jr.
(UMP Compacts). Shadyhill saw Nate Payton (UMP Stock
Cars), Josh Hesson (Pure Streets) and Skylar Antonelli
(Teen 4’S) among its other champions. Matt Gremminger
(UMP Modifieds), Roger Rickels ( UMP Street Stocks) and
Allen Provenzano (UMP 4 Cylinders) rounded out the
champions at LaSalle.
Wisconsin ’s Blake Brown
became the youngest Late Model stock car champion at
Illiana, winning the title at the half-mile paved oval
at the age of 19. Alex Arelano and Eddie Wolf both
became two-time champions at the Indiana oval with
Arelano repeating his Legends title after winning class
honors in 2009 and Wolf picking up the Turbo Stox crown
after winning division laurels in 2004. Chris Czaszwicz
was the Pure Stocks division champ at Illiana.
Ryan Carlson won his first
NASCAR Late Model stock car season crown at the Rockford
Speedway. Carlson posted five main event victories at
the high-banked quarter-mile paved oval during the
campaign. George Sparkman became a five-time Rockford
champion, again winning class honors in the American
Short Tracker ranks. Alex Papini was the speedway’s
Roadrunner division champ. 15-year-old Austin Nason
became the youngest champion in track history as he
garnered the Sportsman class title.
Johnny Heath claimed yet
another Super Late Model crown at the Sycamore Speedway.
Heath now has a total of five Super Late Model titles to
his credit, previously winning in 21008, 2004, 2003 and
2002. Steven Gardner and Jordan Jackowiak ended up in a
tie for championship honors in the Late Model division.
Other Sycamore champs include Michael Brancecum
(Spectator) and Stacy Roach (Powder Puff).
Traveling throughout the
Midwest during the summer, Keith Sterkowitz of Cedar
Lake , Ind. went on to capture overall series honors for
the Sullivan RV CRA Late Model Sportsman stock car tour.
Sterkowitz won a total of six series events, including
four in a row. Three wins came at Indiana ’s Anderson
Speedway with two victories at Indiana ’s Winchester
Speedway. Sterkowitz also claimed a win at Michigan ’s
M-40 Speedway. Wisconsin ’s James Swan became a five
time champion of the Mid American Stock Car Series that
saw action at both Grundy and Rockford during the year.
Steve Rubeck was the Big 8 Limited Late Model Series
titlist.
The new Short Track Auto
Racing Series (STARS) hosted midget racing on a regular
basis at the Grundy speed plant with Jimmy Anderson
winning the series’ inaugural midget crown. Other STARS
champs for the season were Ed Ensor (Dwarf Cars), Andy
Jones (Legends) and Joshua Caskey (Mini Cup).
Rookie driver Ray Seach was
the midget racing champion for the Illini Racing Series.
The 17-year-old driver from Beloit , Wis. wheeled the
Dave Budres, Sr.-owned Manic Racing open-wheeler to the
title. Alaska native Billy Balog won his fourth
consecutive Bumper To Bumper Interstate Racing
Association Outlaw Sprint Series title. Balog, who now
resides in Brookfield , Wis. , won 12 feature races
during the 23-race series.
Perhaps the biggest single
victory turned in by a local driver was Boris Jurkovic
winning the 40th annual Winchester 400 late
model battle at the historic, high-banked half-mile
paved track in Winchester , Ind. on October 16. The 400
lapper was the season finale for the CRA Super Series.
The season was not without
sadness as a number of former drivers, mechanics and
race officials passed on. Among those were former
drivers Al Johnson, Dennis Rubino, Jerry Vandermeir and
Bob Copley. 1960 Indianapolis 500 winner Jim Rathmann, a
former stock car champion at Chicago ’s Soldier Field,
passed away as did Michigan ’s Joy Fair, who won
Illiana’a annual Tony Bettenhausen Memorial 100 in 1967
and again in 1969. Mechanics Seth Piper, “Dink” Cornell
and Lou Ligino also left us in addition to former
Kankakee racing photographer, Don Hartman. Rest in
Peace, Gentlemen.
The address for news and
comments is 9618 Cypress Ave. , Munster , Ind.
46321-3418 or e-mail to
skalwasinski@yahoo.com.
