Fubar, continued from page 3 cars than he does working on his own, plus he almost single-handedly runs the RallyCross program. Jim Nash’s parents BOB and LOUISE probably set records for commuting to Jim’s race events all the way from Ohio. Bob has probably made every event, and his skill with the tools has contributed greatly to Jim’s excellent racing record over the years. JOHN PARKER has been working closely with J. B. Niday while putting together several pro rally cars over the year. John is active in RallyCross plus helps out in all areas at our Region’s rally events. MARY UTECHT has been a major factor in husband Mark’s success in all forms of motorsports and without her support Mark says he probably would not be driving. Impressive as all these individuals’ contributions have been, JUDY NELSON is our most deserving winner of the trophy. Husband Norm put in his second season driving the EP Nissan, and Judy was behind him all the way, through a long season which saw Norm crowned the CenDiv National Champ with 55 hard earned points. During the week preceding the RUNOFFS and a long week at Mid Ohio, Judy was Norm’s only crew during a series of mechanical challenges which would have sent lesser teams packing for home. Congratulations to Judy for this and many years of hard work as Norm’s crew chief and inspiration.
Both the Ron Mann and Judy Krause Awards honor the memories of two individuals responsible for the heritage and success of LOL over the past three decades. Ron Mann awardee LOIS BJELKE has also been a hardworking contributor to that success, primarily as TONNEAU editor in chief, but also in any area where the Region needs a helping hand. It’s too bad last year’s Judy Krause award winners Bruce and
Amy Parsons were not in attendance, but they have had a tough year. We hope things go smoother for the Parsons next year. All four nominees: medical staff-person CANDI ANDERSON, BOB CARTER, and Steward PAT FARRELL and SHANNON MURPHY have been integral cogs in the LOL machine over the years, and SHANNON was selected. Ms. Murphy does so many things in so many different specialties that we may tend to take her for granted, but the simple fact is, she’s always there when we need her (which is all the time!) Thanks to all these hard working members. The final two road racing awards capped the season and the program. The Road Racing Driver of the Year featured a pair of two-time previous winners. JON BRAKKE and his Yenko Corvair have been a fixture in the CenDiv GT racing scene for years and Jon has been a perennial RUNOFFS qualifier. This year Jon collected 55 National points including wins at Blackhawk, BIR and Road America, despite lunching an engine coming up the hill to the finish. At the RUNOFFS the Brakke crew played musical engines with 4 changes during the week and gridded a disappointing 15th. Despite poor racing conditions, Jon made a strong move in the race to pick up 10 positions. STEVE THOMSON had a fantastic year in the very competitive FC class. Starting the year with a pair of second place finishes in his old car, Steve took delivery of a new Van Diemen the week before the June Sprints, and qualified on the pole without benefit of any test time. He proceeded to run away with the race and duplicated the feat the next month at the Cat National and holds Road America qualifying and race records. He then dominated the Jack Pine Sprints with two more track records and a win from the pole, but
was narrowly nipped for the CenDiv Championship by Bill Wiedner. Although RUNOFFS qualifying was difficult, Steve ran an excellent race in conditions which made passing nearly impossible and moved all the way up to 6th from 14th on a very tough grid. NORM NELSON won the CenDiv in EP during a marathon season which saw him log over 10,000 miles on the motorhome enroute to 8 races. Norm persevered at Road America despite a nasty kidney stone attack which hit him between the two Wisconsin races. He was running 4th at the Sprints until losing a clutch, but capped his season with a close Jack Pine National victory over tough competitor Gerry Lamb. A tough week at the RUNOFFS had Norm and Judy chasing a myriad of drive train problems and electrical gremlins which buried him in a huge pack of cars. With heavy rain during the race, Norm kept the car on the track to finish 20th. DAVE KENNEDY took a 9 year sabbatical from club racing before getting back into SRF in 1998. He started off 1999 with an 8th in a big Blackhawk field, and then racked up 3 straight Regional wins at Elkhart and Brainerd. Back at Blackhawk in June, Dave was moving up in another big SRF field until the car in front of him missed a shift and suddenly slowed. This launched the close following Kennedy over the car, into the pit wall and back across the track through a sign and into the bushes. Repairs were expensive ($5,000+) and took a while, but he was back in the car again at Blackhawk for July 4 weekend. Overcoming both his trepidation at returning to the scene of the crash and the rest of a two dozen car field, Dave earned two impressive wins. The Jack Pine weekend was the highlight of his racing career as he
Fubar,
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Tonneau On-Line January 2000
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Copyright 2000, Land O'Lakes Region Last revised: January 3, 2000
