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Five Champions Crowned at the 2009 Awards Banquet
Anderson Speedway honored the five
divisional champions and handed out numerous special awards to bring the 2009
racing season to a close.
The 2009 Awards banquet took place at the Officer’s Club in Anderson on
Saturday.
Bret Miles Sr. captured the 2009 Street Stock championship recording three heat
and three feature wins during the season and overcoming mechanical problems on
his primary racecar to win the title. Miles led the point season the entire
season.
“I thought we were done point racing in early March,” Miles said. “We didn’t
expect this. We did it with hand me down stuff. It was in storage before we went
racing.”
Miles said he has no definite plans for 2010, but currently doesn’t plan to
defend his title.
Jeff Swinford won his second ImmediaDent Figure 8 championship in a car owned by
his brother, Mike. Swinford won the title in 2004.
Swinford recorded four heat and two feature wins to
hold off Mike Riddle Jr. He survived a crash in the final event of the season to
win the championship.
Rod Phipps added the Thunder Car championship to go along with his racing resume
at Anderson Speedway that includes titles in Street Stocks (2006) and Figure 8
(2007).
“It was a pretty good year,” Phipps said. “We were just going to race at Salem
(Speedway) and decided to run for the championship on Super Bowl Sunday. We
worked closely with Rob Allman all year.”
Allman finished second in both the Thunder Car and Street Stock divisions.
Jeff Saxon captured the Front Wheel Drive Oval title scoring three heat and four
feature wins to hold off Gary Bragg Jr.
“I had a lot of good people around me,” Saxon said of his 2009 effort. “I grew
up around the track, watching my dad race.”
Nick Warner won the Front Wheel Drive Figure 8 championship for the fourth time
in five years. During the year Warner won seven feature events.
“Although the car count wasn’t what it should have been at times, there was
plenty of competition every week,” Warner said. “I lost three motors at the end
of the year and was fortunate enough to borrow cars to complete the season.”
Josh Poore won the Rookie of the Year honors in the ImmediaDent Figure 8
division finishing eighth in the point standings.
Winners of the Rocky Tharp Sportsman Award were Miles, Phipps, and Ranny Hinton
in the ImmediaDent Figure 8 division, Gary Bragg Sr and Elliott McKinney in the
Front Wheel Drive division.
“Not many people knew Rocky Tharp,” Miles said, “He was a heck of a man. I’ve
been trying to win this award forever.”
Tharp was a popular driver at Anderson Speedway who died in a traffic accident
in 1984 on his way to a fire as a member of a local volunteer fire department.
Bob Remington Memorial Dedication awards went to: Street Stock owner Dave
Hacker; Hannah Lundy in Thunder Cars; Bruce McFall, ImmediaDent Figure 8; Harry
LaShure, Front Wheel Drive Oval; and Andy Keller, Front Wheel Drive Figure 8.
The 2010 season kicks off with the annual New Year’s Day Bash at Anderson
Speedway.
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