Over $21,000 in Championship Payback @ TORC Sportsman Banquet

TORC Sportsman Banquet Appleton, WI (November 15, 2010) The Traxxas TORC Series presented by AMSOIL Sportsman Banquet was held this past Saturday at the Paper Valley Radisson in Appleton, Wisconsin. The banquet was hosted by MORR (Midwest Off Road Racing) with 260 off-road enthusiasts in attendance. The banquet was the final event on the MORR calendar and from the size of the turnout and the comments from those in attendance, it was a huge success.

The evening began with a “Bench Racing” hour sponsored by Crandon International Off-Road Raceway and Bark River Off-Road Raceway. Then longtime Crandon Raceway starter Fay Statezny, gave the room the “five to go” announcement as the banquet was about to begin. With everyone seated, Jay Schaefer, long time racer and minister, presented the opening prayer, just before dinner was served. The master of ceremonies was the familiar “Voice of Crandon” Cheyne Statezny. Cheyne kept the crowd entertained all night as the awards were being handed out. In 2010, the TORC Sportsman Championship Points was funded by a portion of each racer’s weekend entry fees, as well as donations from Crandon International Off-Road Raceway, Bark River Off-Road Raceway, and MORR. The Championship points fund awarded just over $21,000 to 31 Sportsman Competitors. Limited 2 1st - Mike Vanden Heuvel 2nd - Rhonda Konitzer 3rd - Dan Baudoux Super Stock Truck 1st - Scott Beauchamp 2nd - Eric Ruppel 3rd - Mitch Dorr 4th - Don Demeny 5th - Dan Beauchamp Super Buggy 1st - CJ Greaves 2nd - Scott Schwalbe 3rd - Bob Klaus 1600 Buggy 1st - Mark Steinhardt 2nd - Brad Erickson 3rd - John Fitzgerald 4th - Rob Kinner Light Buggy 1st - Greg Stingle 2nd - Matt Gerald 3rd - Bill Kortens 4th - Jeff Virnig 5th - Todd Lemke 6th - C.Paitl/B. Holtger Formula 4x4 1st - Milan Mazanec 2nd - Dave Miah 3rd - Brad LaMarche Classix 1st - Dale Chestnut 2nd - Bill Wilson 3rd - Rob Weiland Enduro Truck 1st - Chris Bowser 2nd - Matt Ives 3rd - Bob Birkholz 4th - Brent/Brock Smith All the class champions received a Traxxas Slash RC truck, an Oakley Watch, a MORR commemorative plaque, and a USAC medallion honoring their accomplishments. Earlier in the day, MORR had their election for the three open seats on the Board of Directors. Current MORR Board president, Dan Vanden Heuvel announced the new MORR Board members and all the special MORR awards. The 2011 MORR Board of Directors: Dan Vanden Heuvel - current Don Demeny - reelected Greg Stingle - new Mike Vanden Heuvel - current Jake Vande Voort - new Geoff Dorr - current Mike Reusche - current Javier Sanchez from Crandon International Off-Road Raceway presented the World Championship rings and discussed some of the improvements for the upcoming 2011 season at the “Big House.” 2010 Crandon World Champions Limited 2 - Ben Wandahsega Super Stock Truck - Mitch Dorr Super Buggy - CJ Greaves 1600 Buggy - Mark Steinhardt Light Buggy - Matt Gerald Formula 4x4 - Milan Mazanec Classix - Dale Chestnut Enduro Truck - Chris Bowser Included on the MORR Board Member Ballot was voting for the special MORR awards. The 2010 MORR Awards winners: Butch’s Speed Shop sponsored MORR Driver of the Year - Mike Vanden Heuvel Rookie of the Year - CJ Greaves Team of the Year - Chris Bowser Racing Most Improved Driver - John Frana Tough Luck Award - Matt Gerald MORR Guy Award - Mike Reusche MORR also presented special awards to recognize the efforts, on behalf of the Sportsman racers, to the race promoters involved during the 2010 season. They were: Crandon International Off-Road Raceway, Bark River Off-Road Raceway, and Ronn Krueger of the Antigo event. BFGoodrich also honored Super Buggy Champion CJ Greaves, and 1600 Buggy Champion Mark Steinhardt, with a Mastercraft Racing custom tailored driving suit. Throughout the evening items donated by various companies in the off-road community were raffled off. Over 150 items were handed out from the following companies: MSD Ignition, KC Hilities, K & N Filters, Jim Conner Racing, Ringers Gloves, McKenzies - Midwest, Phil’s Inc, Cellcom, Herculiner - Ross Hoek Motorsports, and AMSOIL. The final prize of the night was a GoPRO HD Motorsports camera from Phil’s Inc. that was won by Kathy Bayer. Special thanks goes out to Nancy Vanden Heuvel. All the banquet table center pieces were made by Nancy. Even the very tasty cookies were baked by “Mrs. Flying Dutchman.” Amanda Fonferek and Chris Hord, both from Dirt-Productions, were on hand taking photographs and video of the entire night. Look for their work to be posted on http://www.midwest-offroadracing.com in the near future. Once the ceremonies concluded, the dance floor was open as the band Renegade performed a variety of rock and country music into the early morning hours. Sunday morning, TORC representatives Terry Severson and Tiffany Landru, had a meeting with the Sportsman class representatives, MORR Board members, and USAC officials to discuss rules and technical issues for the upcoming 2011 season. The meeting was well received and several issues were discussed as the input from the class reps continues to serve a vital role of communication with the TORC sanctioning body. 2010 TORC Sportsman Total Payback Race Totals: $101,000.00 Championship Totals: $21,000.00 Contingency Cash & Product Qualifying Totals: $83,000.00 Total 2010 TORC Sportsman Purse: $205,000.00 TORC RELEASES 2011 RACE SCHEDULE Sportsman Schedule Round 1 Red Bud MX/Buchanan, MI May 28 Round 2 Red Bud MX/Buchanan, MI May 29 Round 3 Crandon International Off-Road Raceway/Crandon, WI June 18 Round 4 Crandon International Off-Road Raceway/Crandon, WI June 19 Round 5 Langlade Co. Fairgrounds/Antigo,WI July TBD Round 6 Langlade Co. Fairgrounds/Antigo,WI July TBD Round 7 TBD July TBD Round 8 TBD July TBD Round 9 Bark River International Raceway/Bark River, MI August 13 Round 10 Bark River International Raceway/Bark River, MI August 14 Round 11 Crandon International Off-Road Raceway/Crandon, WI September 03 Round 12 Crandon International Off-Road Raceway /Crandon, WI September 04