HOMAK PENN OHIO PRO STOCK SERIES CELEBRATED THE 2017 SEASON AT TIMBER LAKE LODGE ON JANUARY 13TH!
Immediate Release
January 16, 2018 (Sandy Lake, PA) 126 people gathered at Timber Lake Lodge in Titusville, PA on Saturday, January 13th to celebrate the 2017 season of the Homak Penn Ohio Pro Stocks. The Humanic family and Timber Lake Lodge employees outdid themselves by providing a fabulous atmosphere and delicious food.
The evening kicked off with the first guests arriving at 4:35 p.m. Attendees had an opportunity to mingle and participate in the Chinese Auction and 50/50 raffle until about 6:15 p.m. A buffet style dinner was served for guests to enjoy before beginning the awards portion of the event. Chris Schneider, former Penn Ohio Point Champion, delivered the invocation.
Emcee for the evening was Ken Humanic. Mr. Humanic began the awards ceremony by recognizing the Series’ sponsors from the 2017 season. Although many sponsors were unable to attend, each sponsor was announced and recognized for their contribution to series. Those in attendance were asked to stand and were applauded for their contribution to the Series.
Following the sponsor recognition, the Touring Series’ members finishing 53rd through 26th in points were announced and brought to the stage if present. Each member in attendance had an opportunity to speak and received a driver prize through a random drawing. Driver prizes awarded were:
Paul Petrovich – wrap donated by Animal Graphics
Steve Allison – Homak tool bag with racing supplies donated by Homak and Precise Racing Products
Ryan Moyer – nose piece donated by ARbodies
Sonny Baker – four wheel covers and a hood scoop donated by Dirt Defender
Hunter Exley – beadlock rim donated by SS Chassis and wheel cover donated by Wedge Motorsports
Jacob Billyk – set of 4 shocks donated by Genesis Shocks
Terry Wheeler – nose piece donated by ARbodies
Before continuing on with driver recognitions, some of the 56 door prizes were drawn with the main prize being two Penguin Tickets donated by Heim Racing. Some of the Chinese Auction prizes were drawn as well.
Ken Humanic then recognized the Touring Series’ members finishing 25th through 16th in points. These members received a framed picture certificate, point money, a $25 certificate from Big Daddy’s Speed Center and a driver prize. As they were announced each came to the stage for an opportunity to give a speech and to draw their prize. Driver prizes awarded were:
Chris Schneider – Homak gun safe
Chris McGuire – fuel jug and $100 certificate donated by Big Daddy’s Speed Center
Paul Davis – nose piece donated by ARbodies
Jeff Broniszewski – fuel jug and $100 certificate donated by Close Racing Products
Tim Bish – beadlock rim donated by SS Chassis and wheel cover donated by Dirt Defender
Pat Fielding – fuel jug and $100 certificate donated by Close Racing Products
More door prizes and Chinese Auction prizes were awarded before proceeding with 15th through 11th place touring series point finishers.
As 15th through 11th were announced each member was presented with a trophy, point money, a $25 certificate from Big Daddy’s Speed Center and a chance at a driver prize.
Andy Buckley – Large Homak Tool Box
Jackson Humanic – Homak tool bag with air cleaner, tire groover, rivot gun and racing supplies donated by Homak and Big Daddy’s Speed Center
Andrew Gordon – Homak hand carry tool box, funnel, trick shot, and cleaner donated by Homak, Precise Racing Products and Trick Shot
Curt Bish #00 – beadlock rim donated by SS Chassis and wheel cover donated by Dirt Defender
Nick Kocuba – Homak tool bag with various racing supplies donated by Homak and Wedge Motorsports
The special awards were on the agenda next with the women recognition highlighting the presentations. Ken Humanic, owner of E&K Equipment and Timber Lake Lodge, made it his mission to make every woman at the banquet feel special by asking them to gather on the dance floor and present them with a trophy to acknowledge their important role in racing. Each lady had the opportunity to choose a trophy and each trophy had a prize award attached. The prizes ranged from $5 to $100 in cash with five grand prizes being three lottery ticket trees and two wine baskets with a variety of items. As the women accepted their trophy and prize, they were given the opportunity to say a few words and/or to share a story. Some spoke while others chose not to, but most wished drivers especially their own good luck in the 2018 season. Kudos to Ken for his efforts in making all of the ladies involved in racing feel special and to recognize them as being important.
Before resuming with the remainder of the special awards, the 50/50 and remaining prizes were drawn.
Although not present due to a prior engagement, Bob Schwartzmiller was announced as the recipient of the Penn Ohio Honorary Racing Supporter award. Bob supports all levels of racing and the SGM logo can be seen on numerous cars. Bob and his family truly love racing and have been supporters of the Series since its inception in 2014.
The Penn Ohio 2017 Season Hard Charger trophy was presented to William Hurrelbrink, driver of the c8. In 2017, Bill raced 12 out of 13 races and gained a total of 35 positions throughout the 12 races. His biggest gain was at the Sharon Applefest when he started 23rd and finished 12th, considering there was only one caution in the 25 lap race passing 11 cars was quite an accomplishment. Bill only had two races where he lost positions with one being at Tri City where he started 2nd and finished 3rd.
Nick Kocuba was the 2017 Penn Ohio Spirit Award recipient. Nick attended 12 races in 2017 and was always positive and enthusiastic about racing and the Series.
The Penn Ohio Series’ Breakthrough Driver in 2017 was Andrew Gordon, driver of the #25. Andrew’s breakthrough in the Series occurred when he swept the Applefest weekend at Sharon and Tri City. Considering the drivers ran 75 laps with only 3 caution flags and there were 48 cars at Sharon and 38 cars at Tri City, back to back wins in two very prestigious events paying $2,000 each was quite an achievement. Andrew continued his September very successfully securing the Timber Lake Lodge/E & K Equipment Segment Three Series as the point champion with two wins and three seconds in the five race series.
Rusty Martz was presented with the Penn Ohio Award of Excellence. Although Rusty fell short of the point championship, placing second, his tenure in the Series is one to be recognized. Rusty has raced for 19 years and has been in the Series since its creation in 2014. He has only missed one race throughout the four seasons. Rusty has been a point contender each season receiving a fourth in points in 2014, fifth in points in 2015, sixth in points in 2016 and second in points in 2017. Rusty has five Penn Ohio Series race wins, including Ed Laboon Memorial wins in 2015 and 2017, making him the sole repeat Laboon Memorial winner. In 2017 Rusty had 11 top 10s; 6 top 5s; and 2 wins.
Two excellent and well-known drivers were awarded the Driver Lifetime Achievement trophy. Rusty Moore, driver of the 17M, has raced 29 years and in the Series for 4 years. Rusty was the point champion at Mercer Raceway Park for four consecutive years with 14 wins in one season at Mercer. He raced all 14 Penn Ohio races in 2017 and finished third in points with 11 top 10s and 7 top 5s.
Paul Davis, driver of the #3, has raced for 37 years with 7 years being in a stock car. Paul captured the point champion title at Sharon Speedway in 2016 and was the Penn Ohio Mini Series Co-Champion in 2016. Paul joined the Series in 2017 and traveled to 8 races. He secured 4 top 10s and 2 third place finishes. Paul tied for second in the M&T Allison Construction Segment One Point Chase at Sharon Speedway.
Perfect Attendance Awards were announced and drivers were given a framed certificate and a driver prize.
Bobby Whitling – Hoosier tire donated by Hoosier tire/Precise Racing Products and purple wheel cover donated by Wedge Motorsports
Rusty Martz – Homak tool cart (blue)
Rusty Moore – Homak tool cart (orange)
Rod Laskey – pressure washer donated by Alternative Power Sources
The final special award was the Monkey Wrench Award which is an 8 foot tall wrench. Rusty Martz, the 2016 recipient, had the privilege to hand it over to Rod Laskey. Although Rod finished seventh in points, he suffered numerous mechanical issues throughout the 2017 season.
Before continuing with awards Greg Wheeling was invited to the stage as the spokesperson for the $10K race at Sharon Speedway.
After Greg spoke the Segment awards were given. There were three segments which gave drivers an opportunity to secure additional point money by attending certain races.
The M & T Allison Construction Segment One consisted of three races at Sharon Speedway. The top three drivers were awarded points money with the point champion taking home the $1,000 big check and point money. Paul Davis and Chris McGuire tied for second, while Bobby Whitling was the point champion of Segment One.
The M & T Allison Construction Segment Two showcased the three Penn Ohio races at PPMS. The top three drivers were Bobby Whitling in third, Rusty Martz in second, and Wayne Carbo as point champion. Each received the point money with Wayne getting the big check for $1,000.
The final segment was sponsored by Timber Lake Lodge and E&K Equipment and consisted of the five September races – Dog Hollow, Sharon Applefest, Tri City Applefest, Lernerville, and McKean County. The top five drivers took home point money with the champion securing $1,500 and the big check. Finishing in the top five were Curt Bish #29, Rusty Martz, Rusty Moore, Bobby Whitling, and Andrew Gordon as the champion.
After a brief break, it was time to award the top 10 point finishers for their superior accomplishments in the 2017 season. Drivers received a trophy, point money, hand carry Homak tool box, and driver prize.
10th Place – Leigh Wheeler #717 – Homak hand carry tool box, fuel funnel, hood scoop, bag of rags donated by Homak, Precise Racing Products, Wedge Motorsports, and E & K Equipment
9th Place – Curt Bish #29– set of four wheel covers and hood scoop donated by Dirt Defender
8th Place – Joe Stajnrajh #04 – fuel jug with $100 certificate donated by Wedge Motorsports
7th Place – Rod Laskey #1R – fuel jug with $100 certificate donated by Wedge Motorsports
6th Place – Bobby Heim #92 – wrap donated by Phantom Graphics
5th Place – William Hurrelbrink #c8 – fuel jug with $100 certificate donated by Precise Racing Products
4th Place – Randy Wyant #11T – Homak black tool box
3rd Place – Rusty Moore #17M – Homak tool cart
2nd Place – Rusty Martz #16M – wrap by Animal Graphics
Champion – Bobby Whitling – headers donated by Schoenfeld Headers, a locker donated by E & K Equipment wrapped by R&R Graphics, champion check donated by Wrapz by Reiser
The banquet finale consisted of two drawings. The first was for the free 2018 Penn Ohio membership and a free $10K race entry, valued at $250. To be eligible for the drawing, drivers had to submit both entry forms with payment before or at the banquet. A total of 30 drivers were entered for the drawing with the lucky recipient being Andy Buckley in the #965. The second drawing was for a tranny rebuild donated by Les Myers. All drivers in attendance at the banquet were given a chance at the tranny rebuild and the winner was Ryan Moyer, driver of the 13x.
The banquet was certainly a memorable event because of the endless support and contributions. A special thanks to all of the door prize donors, Chinese Auction contributors, the driver prize sponsors, E & K Equipment, Timber Lake Lodge, Homak Manufacturing, the Humanic Family, Donna Appel, the Wheeler Family and crew, Stevie and Travis Harry, and to all attendees of the 2017 Homak Penn Ohio Pro Stock Championship Series Banquet.
The Homak Penn Ohio Pro Stock Championship Series is currently accepting 2018 registrations for the Touring Series and the $10K race at Sharon Speedway. Forms are available on the website at www.pennohioprostocks.com. Anyone registering for the Touring Series before January 31st will receive a $50.00 discount. We look forward to an exciting 2018 Season.
For more information on the Homak Penn Ohio Pro Stock Championship Series contact Series Director, Shaun Hooks, at 724-730-1623, visit the website at www.pennohioprostocks.com, or email info@pennohioprostocks.com. Like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennohioprostocks.
