PMRA CHAMPIONS BANQUET
Tue, 2007-11-13 04:29
PMRA Champions Banquet awards
ceremony honors top teams
Bruce Boland was officially crowned the 2007 Pro Modified
Racing Association Champion at the series Champions Banquet.
This is terrific,” said the
Hamilton, Ontario, Pro Modified driver. “I want to thank all my crew who made it
possible. I also want to thank the PMRA, and hopefully we can do it again next
year.”
The evening headlined the PMRA Top-Five drivers honored
Saturday evening during the awards ceremony at the Como Francesco Hall in
Niagara Falls, New York.
The four other drivers - Matt Guenther, Scott Wildgust,
Ike Maier and Sam Andreacchi were each presented checks and trophies for their
achievements during the season, along with Boland.
PMRA Champions Banquet awards
ceremony honors top teams
Bruce Boland was officially crowned the 2007 Pro Modified
Racing Association Champion at the series Champions Banquet.
This is terrific,” said the
Hamilton, Ontario, Pro Modified driver. “I want to thank all my crew who made it
possible. I also want to thank the PMRA, and hopefully we can do it again next
year.”
The evening headlined the PMRA Top-Five drivers honored
Saturday evening during the awards ceremony at the Como Francesco Hall in
Niagara Falls, New York.
The four other drivers - Matt Guenther, Scott Wildgust,
Ike Maier and Sam Andreacchi were each presented checks and trophies for their
achievements during the season, along with Boland.
The large gathering was treated to the musings of Toronto
Motorsports Park track announcer Tom Allen, who hosted the evening. Also on
hand were PMRA sponsors, all of whom were thanked for their involvement by PMRA
Director of Operations, Bruce Mehlenbacher in his address to the
group.
“We would not be where we are today without the help of
our sponsors,” stated Mehlenbacher. “I want to thank all of them for their
support. We could not do it without them.”
Mehlenbacher went on to note and thank the following PMRA
sponsors that were represented:
Competition Tire Canada/Goodyear Racing Tire – Robin
Fairchild
ERD (Engine Research and Development) – Terry Vince and Rob Becker
G-Force Race Cars Inc. – Jim Salemi
Grainy Automotive – Jack Grainy
Gulfway Insurers – Mel Eaves
KC Auto Parts – Kasey Janzen
Niagara Auto – Sonny Grainy
Paul Wolf Electric & Lighting Supply Inc. – Domenic Calabria”
The Trailer Shop – Carl Spiering
ERD (Engine Research and Development) – Terry Vince and Rob Becker
G-Force Race Cars Inc. – Jim Salemi
Grainy Automotive – Jack Grainy
Gulfway Insurers – Mel Eaves
KC Auto Parts – Kasey Janzen
Niagara Auto – Sonny Grainy
Paul Wolf Electric & Lighting Supply Inc. – Domenic Calabria”
The Trailer Shop – Carl Spiering
The PMRA had a successful and very interesting 2007
season.
The point award series sponsored by Wix Filtration
Products, Valvoline, Uni-Select, and Moen Incorporated was so close during the
year that the champion was not decided until the semi-final round at the last
event at the Grand Bend Motorplex.
And once again for 2007, each event was topped off with a
new winner, and only one PMRA team scored more than one win in the history of
the series when Joe Boniferro won the Grand Bend event this year as he had in
2006.
In announcing this year’s Champions
Awards top five, each of these teams had perfect attendance, and showed that
getting to the races, which sometimes can be difficult, along consistency at the
races, is important.
Of these top five, four were rookies to the PMRA series
for 2007.
Interestingly, Boland and his B&B 1953 Corvette had
some problems getting sorted out early in the season. He did not qualify for two
of the races, and did not win any of the events. But he had a pair of runner-ups
at Lancaster and Grand Bend, went to the semis at Sanair and was number one
qualifier at Lancaster.
Boland, of Hamilton, Ontario racing veteran thanked his
sponsors, team members and the Point Award Series Sponsors.
Two new teams to the PMRA series tied for second
place.
Driving Kirk and Maria Silbermann’s Ajax Engines 1957
Chevrolet, Stratford, Ontario’s Scott Wildgust always qualified well in 2007,
and put down impressive numbers, getting into the semi-finals at Cayuga and
Grand Bend.
Another new team which fared well in its first year was
the Guenther Racing 1941 Willys.
Headed up by Mike Guenther, and driven by Matt Guenther,
this Livonia, New York-based team proved they could step up to the plate with a
nitrous-powered car, and won this year’s Third Annual PMRA Challenge presented
by G-Force Race Cars, Grainy’s Automotive, and Niagara Auto at Lancaster Raceway
Park, the 12th different winner in as many PMRA races in the history of the
series. The team was also runner-up at the Second Annual Eaton PMRA Challenge
presented by Eaton at the Sanair drag strip.
Stepping up to the Pro Modified division this year was
fourth-place finisher Ike Maier of Tottenham, Ontario. Ike and his Maier
Trucking sponsored 1969 Camaro SS Pro Modified, were in the hunt all season,
going to the semi-finals at Cayuga and at Lancaster.
Taking fifth spot was Sam Andreacchi of Toronto, Ontario
with his Wolf Electric & Lighting Supply sponsored 1969 Chevrolet
Nova.
Sam won the Third Annual KC Auto Family Day Spectacular –
PMRA Challenge at Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga, Ontario this year.
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