2011 Minutes

Hello fellow MARFC Members,

I am very sad to report to you that longtime MARFC Member Steve Stien has passed away unexpectedly in North Carolina. Steve had been staying with his Brother and was undergoing treatment for Cancer but unfortunately suffered an aneurysm last night that claimed his life. Cremation will take place in North Carolina and a memorial service will be held in Michigan at a later time.

Steve was a longtime MARFC Member and never missed a meeting or a banquet and was always there to lend a hand when needed. Steve spent many years working on the cars of Larry LaMay and in later years, the cars of Arnold Kirsch and Jeff Metdipenningen. Steve also was a driver back in the heydays of the Mt. Clemens Race Track and brought home the checkers a few times and was always an entertaining driver to watch. Steve will be missed by many of us from the Mt. Clemens Race Track family and wish Gods Speed to our friend Steve “Cheeseburger” Stien. Rest well my friend, rest well.

Yours in Racing,

Dave DeHem

MARFC President

We here at MARFC are saddened by the loss of a young and outstanding driver Dan Wheldon. We are sure that he had many other championships yet to win. We know not why Dan was called home so early in life but we do know the he is in the arms of the Lord now. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and team members as well as the others who were injured in the tragic event. May the entire racing community remember Dan always!  “God’s Speed to you Dan!”

Well, here we are staring down the throat of the autumn season. There are still a few special shows on tap so get out and see one before all of our race tracks are shuttered for the winter. It was a great year at the tracks and I enjoyed seeing how many of you took advantage of our MARFC Fan Club Days. There were quite a few of you that made nearly every show and that is just super. Both personally and for all of our members I want to say Thank You to all of our member tracks for supporting us and having us out. We are really blessed in Michigan to have so many tracks running on a weekly basis and for the Fan Club days that these tracks give to all of our members. We need your ticket stubs and money by October 20, 2011 so we can be sure to have all the entries in the bin for the Grand Prize Drawing at our first monthly meeting on October 22, 2011 at the Kart 2 Kart indoor karting facility in Sterling Hgts. on Van Dyke just south of 19 Mile Road.

Remember to get your raffle ticket money and stubs sent in to Sue Ginter for the raffle drawing October 22nd, 2011 at Kart 2 Kart  located at 42705 Van Dyke Ave. Sterling Hgts., Mi. 48314, Mi. @ our first fall meeting of the 2011/2012 off season. Meeting starts @ 7 PM. You can use the envelope we sent with the tickets or if you have lost it send them to MARFC P.O. Box 8160 Roseville, MI 48066.

We Need Your Help Again! OK, since you all did so well last year, The Board of Directors and I are looking for a little help in selecting our MARFC Mechanic of the Year for 2011. The selected person will be honored at our January 21, 2012 Awards Banquet and Dinner Dance. Send me a resume of someone you think did an excellent job behind the scenes in supporting a race team as chief mechanic. Let us know who they are, where they race, what they did, and your name and address. You can e-mail it to me at president@marfc.org once again, thank you for your input.

MARFC Banquet is coming up on January 21, 2012. Tickets go on sale in November or get yours ordered right now. $39.00  per ticket and include Hors Douveres, Dinner, Dancing, Open Bar. Contact Dave DeHem at president@marfc.org.

Longtime Member on the Mend:Steve Stien, one of our longtime members and former driver and crew member at Mt. Clemens Race Track has been in the hospital with some vertebrae issues. Steve tells me that he is having surgery to repair the problem. In addition, Steve has been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma and will be heading down to North Carolina for treatment after recovery from the vertebrae surgery. Please keep Steve in your prayers.

MARFC Founder Ailing: Word has been received that one of our founders, Marion Flokstra is in a rest home in Zeeland, Michigan and it is not known at the present time if She will be able to return home. Willis and Marion Flokstra, Vito and Barbara Lopiccolo, along with Bob and Norma Lewis founded MARFC on September 25, 1965 at the kitchen table of Bob and Norma. It is through these folks vision and dedication that the club got it’s start so that it could grow to well over 1,200 members as it has today. Please keep Marion in your thoughts and prayers as well as Willis.

ANNUAL CHILDREN’S CHRISTMAS PARTY
1:00 P.M. SUNDAY DECEMBER 4th 2011
The Father Solanus Casey Knights of Columbus Council # 3797
16831 Twelve Mile Road
Roseville, MI 48066
(586) 771-9670

The hall is located on the north side of Twelve Mile Road just east of Groesbeck Hwy.
Entertainment, Clowns, Gifts, and Refreshments for all Kids!!
And a Special Visit With: SANTA CLAUS
To RSVP for the party we will need the names and ages of those who are attending and how many adults with attend also. Please RSVP to Cory Russell at crussell@marfc.org no later than 11-27-2011 Thank You!

Yours in Racing

Dave DeHem MARFC President

September 17, 2011 Auto City Speedway Well, Mother Nature decided that this was going to be a great day and night for racing and to decide Auto City’s Champions. The MARFC Helmet Bag was presented to longtime competitor, MARFC Member and supporter and Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame Driver and ageless veteran, Jay Woolworth. Jay and his family have been huge supporters of racing at Auto City as well as many area tracks. Jay started out the night with a win in his heat race but unfortunately, a burnt wheel bearing sidelined him halfway through the feature race while making his way to the front of the pack. Jack Davis was our MARFC Member raffle winner. Thanks to Bob Ryder and Barry Meschke for helping out at the membership table. Yours truly had the privilege of driving the Auto City Speedway Pace Car for the night. Thank You to Joe DeWitte and Sharon Fischer for re-scheduling this event after two rain-outs so we could enjoy some great racing action.Many thanks to Board Members pictured above with Jay Woolworth are Chuck Horan,  Jeff Horan, Dennis Trinklien, and members  Laura Tucker & Becca Pingel.