47th Annual Banquet of Champions
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Orlando Gardens
4300 Hoffmeister
St. Louis, MO 63125
Annual Awards (in the order they were presented)
Outstanding Media – Tim Herbst
This year’s Outstanding Media winner works all sides of the media. He starts at the track as an announcer and PR official, and then he moves to the broadcast booth as both a regular contributor to “Let’s Talk Racing” on WBGZ in Alton and as a co-host of “Pedal to the Metal” on WDLJ in Breese, while also serving as the administrator of “All American Race Talk” on the internet. The 2013 Outstanding Media award winner is Tim Herbst.
Curt Lehman Award – P.J. Passiglia
The Curt Lehman Award recognizes an individual for their sportsmanship. This year’s recipient is an outstanding example of this, always available to assist a racer. He’s known for being a huge part of the Ed Dixon Late Model crew, but he’s also lent a hand to Modified and Sportsman drivers, whether the need is at the track or back home in the garage. He’s sponsored drivers and helped put race cars back together after they were destroyed on the track. To put it simply, he just keeps people racing. The St. Louis Auto Racing Fan Club is honored to present the Curt Lehman award to P.J. Passiglia.
Mike Meurer Award – Dave Beimfohr
This year’s Mike Meurer Ambassador Award honors an individual who never hesitates to get involved and, in the process, elevates an organization, track or a series. While he began by lending a hand on stock cars, he has since switched to drag racing. He’s served as a member of the original Competition Committee at Gateway International Raceway, the Gateway Motorsports Park Division 3 Team Leader, and single handedly consolidated Midwestern Jr. Dragster teams and families into the first dedicated Jr. Dragster series. His Midwest Jr. Super Series serves as the blueprint for other series across the country and offers the highest purses of any Jr. Dragster Series nationwide. The St. Louis Auto Racing Fan Club extend our thank you to Dave Beimfohr for his commitment these past eight years and counting, as both our Vice-President and Banquet of Champions Chairman, and applaud him for his dedication to raising the quantity and quality of all forms of motorsports throughout the Midwest.
Mechanic Award – Don Conner and Jerry Hodges
It took one “new school” and one “old school” engineer partnering to design and build what is now the premier Formula 1000 car in SCCA nationally. Starting with a clean sheet of paper and a set of personal computers linked together to do analysis, they set out to do something no one else has done – dominate a Formula class. In 2013 they won 12 of 17 races entered, earned 10 poles and set 5 lap records. They headed to the SCCA National Championship Runoffs and found their car on the pole after qualifying. With a bit of a miscue, missing driver’s equipment and no communications to their driver, their car ended up starting dead last on a wet track. On the final lap, their driver made a pass for the lead and pulled in afterwards as the Champion- with no clue he’d won. The Mechanic’s Award is being presented to two dreamers who followed their passion, dominated a class, and are in production to sell their winning JDR Formula 1000 design. The 2013 Mechanic Award goes to Don Conner and Jerry Hodges.
Bob Mueller Award – Sheila Burkett
This behind-the-scenes person who makes racing successful isn’t looking for recognition. Her heart and passion is in seeing an event or series succeed. Coordinating an SCCA Club Racing event is no small undertaking, and the registration position is perhaps the most demanding. As the visible face of the region to both drivers and workers she also serves as the facilitator between the race committee, stewards and the national office. Tonight’s recipient also assists with registration for PDX and Street Survival events; promotes the St. Louis Region via social media and served as liaison between the SCCA and Gateway Motorsports Park fostering a strong partnership that included hosting autocrosses at Gateway’s premier marquee festivals. The St. Louis Auto Racing Fan Club is delighted to present this year’s Bob Mueller Award to Sheila Burkett.
George Award – Dan Eby
Our “George” Award is presented in memory of Frank Suggs. Frank was a loyal and faithful member of our club, always there to lend a hand. This year’s recipient has lent a hand this year in countless and quiet ways. He’s helped us set up meeting sites, promoted the club, assisted with the cars you see here tonight, and has also been known to keep the officers on their toes, doing their jobs. It is with great pleasure that we present the “George” Award to Dan Eby.
Lifetime Membership – “Butch” Welsch
A race fan since 1947, our next award winner not only covered the races for National Speed Sport News at Lake Hill Speedway, but sold the publication as well. Back in the 60’s when you watched the Daytona 500 on closed circuit TV he obtained the rights and held the telecast at the Kiel Auditorium. In the 1970’s he leased Tri-City Speedway and ran Super Modifieds on Friday nights and flat track motorcycles on Tuesdays. With a trio of partners he promoted a pair of SCCA National races at Mid-America Raceway. He sponsored Ryan Newman’s 1999 championship winning USAC Silver Crown ride, which led Newman to a stock car tryout at Gateway and a NASCAR career. Next he watched his company logo ride around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on St. Louis racer Robby McGehee’s IndyCar for four years. He’s been a long time member of the Fan Club and a very loyal friend. Currently he holds the record for the longest consecutive streak of attending the Indy 500 at 66 years and counting. It is with great pleasure that we present our Lifetime Membership award to “Butch” Welsch.
Dale Mueller Award – Ken Roberts
Our final award of the evening is named for our founder, Dale Mueller. One of Dale’s dreams was to help promote our favorite sport through the media, and we annually honor an individual who has dedicated their efforts to that goal. This year’s recipient was covering the sport even before he was given a byline in the newspaper, and has spent time covering the sport on local radio. He’s covered it all- from IndyCars to NASCAR, the NHRA to the local scene, as well as our favorite sport’s stars. Ultimately, he is an avid fan lucky enough to be paid to watch and cover the sport for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch since 1985. The St. Louis Auto Racing Fan Club is pleased to present the Dale Mueller Award to Ken Roberts.