December 30, 2015
Chicago, Ill.—With the New Year almost upon us, let’s take a look at Chicago area racing track and association champions for the 2015 season.
Anthony Danta claimed top honors in Late Model stock car competition at Illiana Motor Speedway in Schererville, Ind. Danta, who was the speedway’s Limited Late Model champ in 2005, scored five feature wins at the half-mile paved oval in 2015 on his way to the title, finishing ahead of Chris King and Dean Patterson in the final point standings. The track’s Turbo Stox division also ran on the half-mile with Timmy Stewart taking overall division honors with three feature wins to his credit. 15 years ago, Stewart was Illiana’s Street Stock titlist, winning his second division title in 2000. Racing on Illiana’s quarter-mile saw Matt O’Leary win the Legends division title with two feature wins. Mike Kushnerik was the track’s Pure Stocks (four cylinder class) champion.
Anthony Danta was the Late Model track champion at Illiana Motor Speedway.
(Stan Kalwasinski Photo)
Veteran Eddie Hoffman bagged his fourth career Late Model division track championship at the Grundy County Speedway in Morris. Hoffman won a total of 10 feature races at Grundy during the season, including the ARCA Midwest Tour Wayne Carter Classic 100 and the season-ending Lee Schuler Memorial 61 lapper. A couple of more veterans, Larry Schuler and John Nutley, finished behind Hoffman in the final standings at the third of a mile paved oval. Matt Clemens was Grundy’s Mid American Sportsman champ with Christy Penrod the Street Stock titlist. Both were first-time champions. For the second time in his career, Dan Schmeissing was the track’s four-cylinder division champ.
The high-banked paved Rockford Speedway saw Jake Gille grab NASCAR Late Model season honors. Winning his first career track title, Gille captured four feature wins at the quarter-mile speed plant and winning the crown over Michael Bilderback and 2014 champ Jon Reynolds Jr. Gille’s dad, Tom, use to race late models and his uncle, Jerry, is a three-time champion at Rockford. Brett McCoy scored his second consecutive Sportsman division title, winning three features along the way. Other Rockford champions include Zach Rodriguez (American Short Tracker) and Dennis Smith Jr. (Roadrunner).
Jake Gille grabbed top honors in NASCAR Late Model action at Rockford Speedway.
(Stan Kalwasinski Photo)
For the second year in a row, Mike Spatola was the DIRTcar UMP Late Model champion at the Kankakee County Speedway. The quarter-mile dirt oval saw Spatola win two feature races and defeat Jay Morris and Torin Mettile in the final points tally. With three feature wins to his credit, Chad Osterhoff was the UMP Pro Late Models champ. Phil Line was the track’s UMP Modified champion with Don Hilleary became a four-time track champion as he garnered UMP Stock Cars division honors with four feature wins. Other Kankakee champions include Jim Beasley (UMP Sport Compacts) and Cody Fultz (UMP Pro Modifieds (I-Mods).
For the second year in a row, Mike Spatola was the top man in Late Model competition at the Kankakee County Speedway.
(Stan Kalwasinski Photo)
Rich Bell made it two track titles in a row as he was the UMP Late Model champion at LaSalle Speedway. Bell bested Brad Stewart and Mike Mataragas in the points. Other LaSalle champions include Eddie Wolf (Street Stocks) and, for the second year in a row, Jake Momper (four-cylinder Hornets).
Jay Brendle, a veteran of about 10 years of racing, was the Super Late Model division champion at Sycamore Speedway for the second consecutive season. Brendle bested Jeff Kerley and Jim Klingel in the final points rundown. Other champions at the dirt oval were Jordan Jackowiak (Late Model), Jeremy Colley (Spectator), Stacy Doris (Powder Puff), Mario Stella (Pure Stock), Allen Provenzano (Modified Compact) and Scott Vetter (Compact).
Brad DeYoung scored five feature wins in UMP Modified competition on his way to winning division honors at Shadyhill Speedway in Medaryville, Ind. DeYoung, who won the Street Stock title at the dirt oval in 1999, defeated Kurt Allison and Lynn Johns in the final standings. Travis Wolford dominated the UMP Stock Cars class, winning 12 feature races on his way to his third career division title. Other champions at the speedway include Don Stone (I-Mods), Robert Schmidt (Pure Street) and Owen Wells (four-cylinder Teen 4s).
Jamie Lomax posted five feature wins at Indiana’s Plymouth Speedway and claimed the UMP Modified track championship at the three-eighths-mile dirt track for the second straight year. Lomax finished ahead of Dylan Woodling and Zeke McKenzie in the points. David Short (Super Streets) and John Rhoads (Thunder Stocks) both won nine feature races on their way to track championship honors in their respective divisions. Other track titlists include Nick Yoder (600 Sprints) and Loren Swanson (four-cylinder Cyber Stocks).
Daugherty Speedway near Boswell, Ind., saw Tim Reynolds claim his second consecutive UMP Modified title, taking points honors over Justin Gregory and Brent Gregory at the dirt oval. Jerrad Krick was the UMP Stock Cars champion and Mike Staggs was the UMP Pro Late Models titlist. Other champions include Jordan Schriner (Pure Streets) and Jacob Wilkinson (four-cylinder Sport Compacts).
Brad Greenup was the midget driving champion of the Short Track Auto Racing Series (STARS) in 2015. Greenup scored five feature victories during Saturday night action at Grundy County Speedway and bested Tyler Baran and Ryan Probst in the final points. Other STARS division champions include Darren Ihrke (Classic Modifieds), Jordan Caskey (Midwest Legacy) and Jamie Domski (Mini Cup). For the fourth straight year, Patrick Bruns was the midget champion of the Illini Racing Series, which competed on both dirt and paved ovals.
Indiana’s Bill Rose was the champion of the Interstate Racing Association Bumper-to-Bumper Outlaw Sprint Series traveling circuit, which saw 27 events held with 20 different winners. Other association champions include Bobby Pierce (DIRTcar UMP Late Models), Mike Harrison (DIRTcar UMP Modifieds), Ty Majeski (ARCA Midwest Tour), Grant Quinlan (ARCA CRA Super Series), Dalton Armstrong (ARCA CRA JEGS All Stars), Michael Bilderback (Big 8 Late Model Series), Jimmy McCune (Must See Racing Sprint Series) and Jeff Holtz (Mid American Stock Car Series).
The year was not without sorrow as a number of members of the area racing community passed away including former stock car drivers Bobby Burger, Rich Clement, Mark Ervin, Mike Frost, John Kennedy, Bill McEnery, Tom Nielsen, Denny Nyari, Louie Panico, Ted Richter, Gene Vandermeir, along with midget racer Patrick Wilda Jr., former cars owners/mechanics Tom Cellini, Ed Gille, Bill Koenig and Dave Roulo and former track official/promoter Bill Earnest. 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.
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