2010 Minutes

Lee Holst on left and current National President David Bozell on right

We here at MARFC are very saddened at the news of the passing of long time club supporter Lee Holst. Lee was the founder and president of the Indianapolis based National Association of Auto Racing Fan Club for over 50 years. Lee was a main stay in keeping the National clubs together. The National is formed up of all the racing fan clubs through out the country nearly 59 years ago. Lee was 88 years old at the time of his passing and had attended the Indy 500 well over 65 years. His wife Mary Jo is currently the Nationals Secretary/ Treasurer and has been for many years as Lee was in office as President. Lee always made mention the he was grateful to MARFC and its members who helped support the National club and enjoyed helping us out when we needed it. Lee was a guy who always had a story or joke to tell at any given time. He will surely be missed by all who he came in contact with through out his life time. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mary Jo and the entire Holst family at this time.

“God’s Speed Our Old Friend”

Jim Pape was gracious enough to get our November meeting lined up for us at Foty’s café in the bustling Birch Run outlets mall located right off of I-75. We sure picked a day though as it seemed as though the entire population of Saginaw County was there that day. Unbeknown to us was that it was deer hunter widow’s day at the mall so it was packed. For all those that braved the traffic you were rewarded with another very good and informative meeting which focused primarily on the great Go-Kart racing that is held in the State of Michigan.

Scott Packard spoke about his start in racing and how he knew at a very young age that he was destined to be a racer.     Scott spoke of the excitement he enjoys racing and related how in today’s racing world at all levels of the sport that family is such an integral part of racing and especially in the go-kart fraternity. He then introduced Mathew Jacot, Purple Plate Achohol champion at the Arthur Speedway in Reese. Mathew gave a fine presentation on where he started and where he intends to go with his racing career. He is a very well spoken young man who fully intends to make it to the top with the support of his family who are behind him 100%. Jim Pape shared a bit about how there are so many leading drivers around the state that have come out of the go-karts that have raced at places like Houghton Lake, Mio, and Reese as well as in the Super Dirt Karting Series.

 Kyle “Flipper” Trinklien spoke about his first experiences in racing and shared with us the different steps he has taken in his career from the go karts to a championship winning mini stock on the dirt as well as the asphalt and on into the Short Track Truck Series where he learned what it was to travel to different tracks all the time and learn to set up your racing vehicle to each different venue. Kyle shared a bit about the different tracks he has raced on and how each one was different than the other. Kyle then spoke about how he became one of Michigan’s “Voices of Summer” as this past season was his first season as the announcer at the Springport Motor Speedway. Kyle shared the different steps he has taken in learning this different facet of his racing career and detailed his early days announcing and the fun he had with the announcing duties of the Short Track Truck Series as well. Kyle is another of those racers that comes from a very supportive family that loves and lives for racing as much as he does.

 Rick Sigsby was with us as well and if Rick’s name is new to you, well you might want to get used to hearing it as Rick is going around the state and speaking to as many old time racers as he can in his quest to write a book about the history of Michigan Racing. Rick was hanging out with 2 of our Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame at the meeting, Cy Fairchild and Larry McLoskey. While I couldn’t coax Cy or Larry to the microphone it was great to watch the interaction between the young racers in attendance and these two greats of Michigan Racing.

 Many thanks to Jim Pape for getting this meeting set up for us at Foty’s Café in the Birch Run Outlets Mall and to the owners of Foty’s Café for allowing us the space in their facility. If you are out shopping and you need a quick bite, stop in and see the fine folks at Foty’s Café where they also have a well stocked gift shop that the lady racers will just absolutely love.

As we move into the off season I reflect on this past 2010 racing season and how much fun I had in traveling to the various MARFC Member Tracks for Fan club days and to just plain go back on another regular night to sit and enjoy some of the great racing we are blessed with in the state of Michigan. It was once again a joy to see and meet many of our great members at the tracks this year. Thank You for being a part of the greatest club in the world and helping to make our sport a success. While it was a busy and hectic period for me, I already miss seeing my friends at the tracks and sampling some great “Race Track Food” as well feeling and being part of the scene that we call auto racing. My nostrils miss the racing fuel, the burnt gear lube, the overheated brakes, the burning oil and tire smoke as well as the barbeque smoke from many of our great concession stands. Keep those thoughts as the weather turns colder and the snow begins to fly and I guarantee that you can transport yourself back to the track, if only for a little while.

Our first monthly meeting of the winter season was held on October 23rd at DeCarlo’s Banquet Center in Warren, Michigan. Club President, Dave DeHem gave a rundown of the past summer’s events and an update on what is coming up over the winter and into the spring. Our first speaker was Bill Martens, Senior Program Manager of GM Performance Parts. One of Bill’s major responsibilities is the “GM Crate Engine” program that is so prevalent in many of our short track race cars these days. Bill gave a very thorough update on what General Motors is doing with the program and gave many examples of how these sealed crate engines are being used in not only Late Model racing but in many types of open wheel modifieds. Bill spoke about the origins of the program and relayed to us, the racing community how committed GM is to the “Grass Roots” of racing, the short tracks of the country. The winners of our annual raffle were drawn from the barrel and this year’s top prize winner of $300 was Sandra Bell, James Warren took second prize of $150, while Jeffery Horan took home the $100 third prize. Larry Spodeck was the 50/50 winner and Fran Russo was the door prize winner of two tickets to a professional boxing show at DeCarlo’s Banquet Center. Many thanks to the staff and owners of DeCarlo’s Banquet Center and for the boxing tickets!

Our November meeting will be on Saturday afternoon, November 13th at Foty’s Café in the Birch Run Outlet Mall in Birch Run. The meeting gets the green flag at 2:00 PM and there will be food available for purchase along with soft drinks. Jim Pape will be speaking on the many opportunities for the Go-Kart Racers in the state and will also have a couple of our young racers to talk about their careers thus far and where they hope to go in the future. Foty’s Café is located off of exit 136 from I-75 in the Birch run Outlet Mall at 12200 S. Beyer Rd., Birch Run, Mi. 48415. 989-624-1100