January 31, 2007UARA-STARS HONOR CHAMPIONS
The UARA-STARS Awarded $45000.00 in cash and prizes to the Top 10 Drivers of 2006 Saturday, January 13, 2007 at the Holiday Inn of Hickory. 2006 UARA-STARS series Champion Brandon Ward and his fellow competitors were honored for their 2006 efforts. The evening was a great success with the following point’s awards being presented to the top ten:
Brandon Ward, Tabitha Cloer and Barry Andrews 1.Brandon Ward $10,000.00 2.Alex Yontz $ 5,500.00 3. Kyle Grissom $ 4,000.00 4. Jamie Yelton $ 3,000.00 5. Barry Andrews $ 2,500.00 6. R.A. Brown $ 2,000.00 7. Justin Hill $ 1,750.00 8. Lucas Ransone $ 1,500.00 9. Mike Giessen $ 1,250.00 10. Jake Crum $ 1,000.00 Many special awards were presented as well as the championship award. Aluminum Racing Products (ARP) presented Brandon a new steel stock car body as champion and also a new steel stock car body to the Melling Select Rookie of the Year Barry Andrews. ARP representative Roy Dies attended to present the award. TrackSideTalk.com sponsored for the fourth consecutive year the Most Popular Driver Award. Champion Brandon Ward was voted winner via the forum with Lucas Ransone, R.A. Brown, Alex Yontz and K.C. Cunningham rounding out the top five. The online voting ran from December 10 through January 7th with the top ten drivers being eligible. Marcy Taylor, a Blountville, TN., resident and owner and founder of TrackSideTalk.com, shares her interest and love of motor sports through the time and dedication she has spent at race tracks across the southeast and news that she provides through the forum. Through her success over the past four years with TrackSideTalk.com, Taylor has proudly sponsored the Most Popular Driver of the Year award. "I really enjoy racing, and I also design and build Web sites on the side, so it has been fun putting them all together through TrackSideTalk.com,” stated Taylor. “On TrackSideTalk we are all one big family and everyone shares the same passion for racing. But it’s not all racing, as you will find discussions related to family, sports, weather and you just name it. This is all possible because of the dedicated forum members that I have acquired over the years.” Ron Thames presented the Ronnie Thames Memorial Awards in honor of his son. These awards are presented to the drivers who complete the most laps for the season. Brandon Ward came out on top claiming $1500.00 for having 2184 laps completed in 2006. Alex Yontz ran a total of 2138 laps and was rewarded with a check for $1000.00 followed by Jamie Yelton with 2138 laps getting a check for $500.00. Mr. Thames has announced that he will be on board with the UARA again in 2007. Ward received a black leather championship jacket from Goodyear and another from Sunoco for his accomplishments. Barry Andrews Received the Melling Select Rookie of the Year Award along with a check for $3000.00 for his efforts. Melling Select also presented Barry a Rookie of the Year jacket. Barry was also the Holley Performer of the Year and received an additional $500. Andrews gained a total of 150 positions during the season. Quite an impressive performance for Andrews in his rookie season. Andrews received a denim jacket from Goodyear for his finish in the points. Another big winner of the night was Jamie Yelton. Sunoco presented Yelton with $500 for the most poles. 2006 found four drivers aiming for this award. Yelton, Mark Setzer, Alex Yontz and Matt McCall all had two poles each. This tie was broken by outside pole wins in which Yelton dominated with five. Yelton won a $500 certificate from Sonic for leading the most laps in 2006. Jamie lead a total of 711 laps well over second place leader Mark Setzer who had 328 total laps lead. Yelton was also presented with a Goodyear jacket. Alex Yontz received jackets from Goodyear and Sunoco. Yontz has stated that he plans on running for the championship in 2007. KLB Race Cars and Parts presented R.A. Brown with a $500 Hard Luck Award. Competition Cams awarded Lucas Ransone a $500.00 certificate for being voted as the Most Improved Driver of the Year. Bassett Wheel presented Brandon Ward with a certificate for powder coat four wheels. They also presented a $100 certificate to Alex Yontz and $50 certificates to Kyle Grissom, Jamie Yelton and Barry Andrews. Special trophies and plaques were presented by the UARA: Mother of the Year: Dee Ann Yontz Need A Break driver: Mike Giessen $200.00 Lucky Dog Award: Justin Hill $200.00 Achiever of the Year: Jake “The Snake” Crum Appreciation Awards for attending all races and finishing outside of the top ten in points went to Zeke Shell and Mark King. Appreciation for Moral Support: The Cunningham family (Kevin, Val & K.C.) Appreciation awards were also presented to former UARA race director Brian Vance and interim race director Scott Walker for their great performances in 2006. Appreciation Awards to Wink and Kerry Bodenhamer presented by Harold Crook. All contingency sponsors were recognized for their support of the UARA-STARS. Goodyear, Sunoco, FireAde, ARP Bodies, Melling Select, Turner Chevrolet, KLB Race Cars, Holley Performance, Sonic/Tilton, Murrco, Prestonsburg Honda and UniFirst are all returning in 2007 as sponsors. Racing Electronics has signed on as the new radio supplier of the UARA. The UARA is also excited to announce the return to Bristol speedway in 2007, plus the addition of Dillon, Ace, Concord, Franklin & Caraway Speedways to the roster. This promises to be an exciting year for the UARA. The UARA-STARS will be in action again at Hickory Motor Speedway March 17, 2007. For more info visit www.uara-stars.com or call 828-692-3833 Press Release by: Wink Bodenhamer |
