Daily Archives: June 14, 2010

FAN CLUB DAY UPDATES

Kalamazoo Speedway

We did manage to get a few days in this past May and that started out with a great day at Kalamazoo. Al Peltier took care of Kalamazoo Speedway on May 1st for the club and was able to present the MARFC Helmet bag to longtime Kalamazoo Speedway supporter and fan, Nancy Walker. Nancy has severe back problems yet she is there every week supporting the track and the racers in spite of the pain. Congratulations Nancy. Our MARFC member raffle was won by Bob Town. A big Thank You to Gary and Donna Howe for having the club out on a great night of racing.

Auto City Speedway

 
On the 15th we had Al Peltier, Sue Ginter, Cory and Steve Russell, and Laura Tucker, as well as Larry & Kenny Letts help out at the membership table at the Auto City Speedway. The MARFC helmet bag was given to Rusty Daggett in recognition of his over 40 years of service to the speedway. Young Randy Kinne was the MARFC member raffle prize winner. I want to say “Thank You” to Joe DeWitte and Sharon Fischer for having the club out to this great facility.

Owosso Speedway

 
After a rain-out and a quick re-scheduling we were able to get the show in at the Owosso Speedway on May 22nd. I do apologize if you missed it but we did try with e-mail and internet to reach as many as possible. It was a glorious night for racing and thanks to table helpers Laura Tucker, Sue Ginter and Steve and Cory Russell. Our Helmet Bag went to Pro Stock driver Eric Olson and the winner of our MARFC Member raffle prize was Jack Colpean Sr. Another big Thank you goes out to Rick & Jennie Miracle and Jeff & Pam Parrish for having the club out to this historic racing venue.

Well, we got started with fan club days this past month as well as all of the tracks getting up and running for the year. Well, sort of, you see, we have her highness, Mother Nature doing her gosh awful best to keep us in the doldrums of nasty weather. We lost a whole weekend of racing as well as our days at both Spartan and Owosso. By the time you read this we will have had a re-scheduled date at Owosso and look forward to a new date with Spartan on July 9th.  Life has been hectic so I apologize for not sending in updates for the website until now but I am told that once I learn how to, I will be able to update this site on my own so I will attempt to get it done quicker.  It has been fun getting back to the race tracks and seeing some old friends and making some new ones. I look forward to seeing all of you as we make the rounds this season.

Got a report from longtime Board Member Bill Walters from the Indy Convention. Tom Sneva was inducted  into the NAARFC Hall of Fame and was nominated by our club as was Bobby Unser. Tom was able to be there and hung around with our club members in attendance for a while. Bill reports that about 150 people showed up for the ceremonies and the breakfast and while MARFC was well represented the Buckeye’s beat us with 44. We’ll try again next year. I will give a full report with pictures in the July Newsletter.   As we did in our last update, here is a introduction to new board member Chuck Horan.

New MARFC Board Member Chuck Horan

This is how my life started with the passion of Motorsports. First I want to thank the Board of Directors of MARFC for considering me for this position in this terrific organization. My Dad was also a board member of this club many years ago. My beginning in auto racing started when I was 7 or 8 years old in the early to mid 50’s. My Dad (Pat) and my Mom (Jane) were both drivers at Motor City Speedway. Mom’s career was very short in the Powder-Puff series. We attended all the tracks as a family function. Some of the other tracks my Dad raced at were Mt. Clemens Race Track, Checker Flag Speedway (Canada), Flat Rock, and M-59 Speedway. After Dad won a championship at Motor City and Mt. Clemens in street stocks, he retired from driving and we continued working at all the tracks. I rented cushions for the legendary Vern (Flip) Fritch, sold Speed Sport News and Sports Illustrated in the stands, sold and took tickets at the front gate and also worked the concession stands for more than a dozen years. We would work at Jackson Speedway, Owosso Speedway, and then at Dixie Speedway every weekend before heading back to work on Monday. My son Jeff and I continue to attend races after all these years as time permits at places like Daytona, M.I.S., Indianapolis, Norwalk, and as many short tracks as we can in Michigan and Ohio. My son Jeff and I were selected MARFC Fans of the Year in 2007 and now as a Board Member I will do my best to participate in all functions of Motor Sports with the help of my very understanding wife Frann.

Thank You Chuck for giving to our great sport and for coming on Board the MARFC Board of Directors.