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MARFC Welcomes New Board Members for 2021!

(Left: David Howe) (Right: Kelly Hollister) ( Bottom: Nancy May) Well, our April general & elections meeting did not go as planned. With the big uptick of the COVID virus in our area we thought it would be better to cancel our meeting and not take the chance on our members being possibly exposed. Our apologies to Larry LaMay who was going to be on hand to talk about his second printing of his book 60 years of racing on both sides of the fence. A particularly good read for race fans. As for our elections this is what the current board of directors had decided to move forward. The current board will stay in place for a one-year term with hopes by then a formal election can be held next April. But we still needed to fill three positions on the board as the three current board members had chosen to move on. We appointed three new members to the board by the Executive Board to fill the positions needed for this term as only three were applied for so there would not be any need for a vote by our members to be done. Below are our newest board members with a short bio of there interest in racing. We welcome the follow MARFC members to the board of directors: Kelly Hollister, David Howe, and Nancy May. I would personally like to thank Dave DeHem for all he did for our club as Vice-President. Dave has decided to step down from being Vice-President and return to be a regular board member as his duties as President of the Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame keeps him extremely busy an as MARFC VP it was just a little too much and we all appreciate his choice and are thankful that he will still be apart of the board. With that the current board has selected John Jackson current board member to step up into the Vice-Presidents roll. John will be a tremendous asset in the new position and is eager to help our club move forward in the VP roll. Congratulation to both John and David for their service to MARFC. (Left: Dave DeHem & Right: John Jackson)

Many Thanks to Out Going MARFC Board Members!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Left: Al Peltier) (Right: Kyle Peltier) (Bottom: Barbara Gullett) I would like to take a moment to give a special thank you to a few board members who have decided to not return to the board. Big thanks to Al Peltier who served on the board for several years and will be missed by us tremendously. Al retired this past April and has moved down to Alabama. We wish him well in his retirement. Al’s son Kyle also has decided to follow the family down south and is not able to return to the board. Good Luck to the Peltier family and hope to see them come back for a visit once in a while. Also, after taking over for former Secretary/Treasurer Susan Ginter, Barbara Gullett has decided to move on from MARFC and in a different direction with other family members. Barb has been a tremendous asset to the club over the last few years not only with her board duties but, as chairperson of our annual Children’s Christmas Party. We wish her nothing but, the best in her future and hope she enjoys the time in her new endeavors. Once again, many thanks to all these folks for their time and efforts, they put into serving on the MARFC board.

Easter Blessings to All Our MARFC Family & Friends!

Just wanted to send out Easter Blessings to all our members across the state and the country. It has been a very trying year and many families have endured so much it is hard to fathom. For those who can be with family and other will have to be alone. Give trust in the Lord for he is there for all of us. All we need to do is ask for his guidance. Remember what this day is all about. If you cannot be with loved ones this year be sure to call them and let them know you are thinking about them. Please enjoy the day and be safe and pray for the Lord’s blessings to be with them again soon. Have a Wonderful Easter Sunday!

“God Bless” to all!  Stay safe and we will see you all soon!

Wild Bill Barnhart MARFC President

4th Annual MARFC Charity Bowling Event in the Books for 2021!

Despite having to utilize a new venue and still in the midst of a “pandemic”, the 4th Annual Michigan Automobile Racing Fan Club (MARFC) Presented by Northside Towing and Service Bowling Tournament can be considered a rousing success!  32 bowlers made their way to the Royal Scot Golf and Bowling center in Lansing, MI on Saturday March 20th to gather and raise funds for the Randall Ginter Memorial Benevolent Fund and the Wounded Warrior Project. Bowlers and bench racers were greeted at sign in with a raffle table full of prizes to be won courtesy of the generosity of race fans, drivers, track owners and series officials from around the state of Michigan.  All bowlers who competed were also given a free pass for any one of their house shows or Eve of Destruction events held at Birch Run’s Dixie Speedway.  Other forms of revenue generating for the benefactors came in the form of a 50/50 cash raffle, a Tony Stewart autographed die-cast auction and a Jimmie Johnson jacket auction. With the total raised from the bowlers, donations from Northside Towing and Service, Midwest Classic Racers, Horsepower Happenings, prize table raffle sales, the 50/50 cash raffle, with winners Becca and Zach Hiser’s donated it back, and the Tony Stewart die-cast auction the event raised $1,268! After the announcement of the totals raised, the bowling awards were handed out. Speedway Convenience Stores $25 gift cards and a trophy were awarded to the Men’s High Score (Jeffrey Brennan 266) and the Team High Score (Jeffrey Brennan and Theresa Beckner 984) while the Women’s High Score (Theresa Beckner 257) would receive the trophy and gift card as well as an extra $50 donated by Cindy Kramer.  The Greg Yost Never Give Up Award for the lowest score (Sophia Curtis with a 10) received a trophy as well as $50 donated by Cindy Kramer. The Chris Throgmartin Spirit Award Presented by Talin RV was awarded to Kevin England earlier in the day for his work at Galesburg Speedway.  Kevin’s encouragement of racers from “The Burg” to visit other tracks while they were shut down showed true passion for the sport.  Dave and Dora Howe of Beacon Sales and Service presented $25 to the two farthest travelers who were Rich Frantz and John Jackson. “Big” Ed Inloes was the first guest speaker for the March MARFC general meeting, where he gave an update on working at Birch Run’s Dixie Speedway on Friday’s and the Owosso Speedway on Saturday’s.  Sean Sprague came up next to talk about his switch from the dirt of I-96 Speedway to being back to where it all started for him at Corrigan Oil Speedway.  Zach Hiser and Rich Frantz then spoke about their podcast on Monday nights as well as the coverage they plan to give local and national auto racing from around Michigan and the Great Lakes region.  Jeff Finley was on hand and told of how his family got involved in racing as well as the Northside Towing business and going from being a driver to seeing his son transition from the local short tracks to NASCAR and then back to switch to dirt racing.  The Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame was represented by Dave DeHem as he talked about the history of the organization as well as planning for this year’s banquet to be held in Mt. Pleasant in November. (Photo Top Left: Chuck Darling & Kevin England)(Photo Top Right: Bill Barnhart, Theresa Beckner, Jeffrey Brennan, Chuck Darling) (Photo Center: Bill Barnhart, Sophia Curtis, Cindy Kramer, Chuck Darling) (Photo next: Sean Sprague,  Zach Hiser & Rich Frantz, Big Ed Inloes, Jeff Finley, and Dave DeHem) ( Story by: Chuck Darling)