Speedway Honors Champions; Lundy First Female Champ

(November 12, 2011) – Approximately 160 members of the Anderson Speedway family gathered at the Madison County Shrine Club last Saturday to officially crown champions in six divisions.

In addition to the awards posted by the speedway, the champions were awarded a special watch from McIntyre Jewelry, a framed photograph from David Sink Photos and a special Richmond Gear Weekend Warrior Prize Package compliments of the Contingency Connection.

Alexandria driver Hannah Lundy made track history by beating Lonny Burton to capture the WMDH ThunderCar championship. Lundy became the first woman driver to win a track title. During the season Lundy set fast time eight times during Herald Bulletin qualifying, recorded three feature wins and finished in the top five a total of 13 times. “I couldn’t have done it without my dad,” she said of her car owner and father, John. “There was also a little bit of luck.”

John Lundy said his daughter was competitive and he kept telling her she could do it when it came to competing for the championship. “It took six years to get up here,” he said.

Terry Cater won the championship in the return of the Late Model Division to Anderson Speedway for the 2011 season. Cater has been competing on race tracks in central Indiana for almost four decades, but this was his first championship at Anderson Speedway. “It was a good year,” he said. Cater said William “Willy” Mefford got him interested in racing late models at Mt. Lawn Speedway three years ago. Mefford died in a crash during a race at Anderson Speedway on May 21. “William Mefford would have been tough to beat,” Cater said.

Josh Poore opened the 2011 season continuing a streak of feature wins from 2010 that reached eight before it was finally snapped. During the year he never finished lower than third in the division feature races. Poore held on to beat Josh Myers and Rob Allman, who was runner-up in the division the past four years. “We took it one week at a time,” he said. “I couldn’t do it without my crew. “It was a pretty amazing run,” Poore said of the eight consecutive wins. “It didn’t sink in until after the end of the season.” Poore received a certificate for a Late Model body from Five Star Body.

Curtis Chapman didn’t secure the Figrue-8 title until the final race of the season holding off a determined Josh Tharp to win the championship. “It was an awesome season,” he said. “I want to thank all the competitors. I want to thank my crew for beating out the same dents night after night.” Chapman also congratulated Tharp and car owner Mike Swinford for winning the Best Way Disposal National Crown.

Jeff Williams captured the Front Wheel Drive championship in what can only be called a dominating season. Driving for Kevin Harmon, Williams won seven features, set fast time nine times and only finished lower than second once. “We managed to keep it together all season long,” Williams said. During the late stages of the season, Williams was challenged for the top spot by Jerry Dane, when asked what might have happened if Dane competed all season, Williams said, “We would have figured out a way to beat him”. Harmon said the team set goals for the year, adding some of the other teams in the division suffered bad luck.

Chris Teepe, who won the oval championship in 2009 and 2010, captured the Front Wheel Drive Figure-8 title this season. He recorded five feature wins during the year. “It was harder,” Teepe said of competing in the Figure-8 Division. “I wasn’t sure how the year would go. I had a lot of luck until the last race of the season.” Teepe said he was taking a year off from competition and planned to return in 2013 in the ThunderCar Division, but he added that he would come back if a team was looking for a driver.

Two drivers captured rookie of the year honors during the 2011 annual banquet. J.P. Crabtree captured rookie of the year honors in the EDCO Welding Street Stock Division, which included a $1,000 product certificate and Rob Noel took home the honor in the WMDH ThunderCar Division. Noel won a late model body from Five Star Body.

Mary Ann Remington presented the Dedication Award named in honor of her late husband, Bob, who was an integral part of Anderson Speedway. The winners were: Dave Hacker, EDCO Welding Street Stocks; James Peterson, Figure-8; Bob Noel, WMDH ThunderCars; Elliott McKinney, Front Wheel Drive Figure 8; and Marshall Clark, Front Wheel Drive Oval.

The Rocky Tharp Sportsmanship Awards were presented by Anderson Speedway Starter Gary Mong. The winners were: Tyler Marsh, EDCO Welding Street Stocks; Bruce McFall, Figure-8; Lonny Burton, WMDH ThunderCars; James Frawley, Front Wheel Drive Figure-8; and Sean Bragg, Front Wheel Drive Oval.



































 
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