Back-to-Back Banquets: USAC DMA Champs Krawiec and Matczak Honored in Indiana and Vermont
FAIRLEE, VT – Driver Joe Krawiec and car owner Skip Matczak were honored on Friday and Saturday at banquets in Indianapolis, IN and Fairlee, VT for winning the inaugural season championship of the USAC Dirt Midget Association in races held at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, VT.
On Friday at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in downtown Indianapolis, Krawiec joined USAC National Driving Champion and National Midget Champion Bryan Clauson, Silver Crown and National Midget Champion Levi Jones and Pavement Sprint Car Champion Bobby Santos III in collecting USAC championship medallions.
Just 24 hours and one airplane flight later, Krawiec and Matczak were at the Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee accepting an eight foot tall trophy for their Bear Ridge Speedway championship.
“I just have so many people to thank,” Krawiec said. “Skip Matczak, of course, who had the idea and made it happen and who gave me a great car to race, Fred Gormley at RPM enterprises, my mechanic Mike Hamilton- without him I would not be here, my buddy Jeremey Maliga, my teammates Denny Zimmerman who’s been such a mentor to me. So many other guys have worked so hard for DMA like Ray Miller and Rusty Tefft. My girl friend Christen and my parents who brought me up through quarter midgets and brought me up right.”
“Last year at this time we were searching for a place to race and Bear Ridge Speedway made us a new home, it’s just incredible what Butch Elms and April May Preston have done for all of us in DMA. With the level of talent that DMA is developing, this group is going to be one to watch next year.”
Skip Matczak said “To see Joe standing on the stage in Indianapolis with Levi Jones and Bryan Clauson and to hear references to A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti and Gordon Johncock was a real thrill. It was the icing on the cake of a wonderful year that everybody worked so hard to accomplish and for which we owe so much to Butch and April May.”
USAC DMA drivers compete for both USAC and Bear Ridge Speedway points, each of which is tabulated under a different formula. With four feature wins and six top-five finishes, Krawiec earned 440 USAC points and 428 Bear Ridge points while runner-up Scott Holcomb, a former Empire Super Sprints hotshoe, had 405/409 and 69-year-old New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame member Ray Miller, who returned to the throttle after an absence of two decades, placed third with 383/385.
At the Bear Ridge Banquet, Miller was recognized as DMA Sportsman of the Year, Kevin Chaffee was named most popular driver and Jeff Horn received the Big Al’s Photos “What a Picture” hard luck award.
At the USAC banquet, it was announced that all USAC DMA competitors, along with all USAC Silver Crown competitors, will receive a free season-long supply of Ignite ethanol, courtesy of Ignite Racing Fuel, the Official Fuel Supplier of USAC.
The USAC DMA Midgets return to their exclusive home at Bear Ridge Speedway for 11 races in 2012. They’ll be at “The Home of the Coupes” every other Saturday night starting on May 5.
Final USAC DMA Driver Points: 1. Joe Krawiec (440), 2. Scott Holcomb (405), 3. Ray Miller (383), 4. Tim Gallant (328), 5. Kevin Chaffee (326), 6. Dana Shaw (300), 7. Dean Christenson (271), 8. Jeff Horn (248), 9. Jaime Spalding (227), 10. David Rose Jr.( 217), 11. Scott Viets (174), 12. Jim Close (170), 13. Greg Olson (161), 14. Tony Montessi (156), 15. Adam Whitney (153), 16. Thom Ring (127), 17. Denny Zimmerman (114), 18. Jim Mossman (104), 19. Tyler Rivard (94), 20. Hank Rogers Jr. (43), 21. Doug Meyer (33), 22. Vince Jacobs (31), 23. Nutsy Fagan (28), 24. Randy Cabral (24).
Final USAC DMA Entrant Points: 1. Matczak Racing #4 (440), 2. Holcomb Racing #33 (405), 3. Miller Racing #1 (383), 4. Matczak Racing #3 (374), 5. Tefft Racing #72 (328), 6. Olson Racing #7 (300), 7. Mossman Racing #1 (298), 8. Tefft Racing #27 (283), 9. Miller Racing #2 (271), 10. Tefft Racing #93 (251), 11. Rose Racing #11 (217), 12. Miller Racing #11v (202), 13. Close Racing #7x (170), 14. Olson Racing #6 (161), 15. Douville Racing #6x (127), 16. Whitney Racing #12 (111), 17. Matczak Racing #23 (109), 18. Rivard Racing #37 (94), 19. Whitney Racing #9 (77), 20. Meyer Racing #9 (33).
Final Bear Ridge Speedway DMA Midget Points: 1. Joe Krawiec (428), 2. Scott Holcomb (409), 3. Ray Miller (385), 4. Tim Gallant (340), 5. Kevin Chaffee (336), 6. Dana Shaw (312), 7. Dean Christenson (287), 8. Jeff Horn (272), 9. Jaime Spalding (256), 10. David Rose Jr.( 233), 11. Scott Viets (225), 12. Greg Olson (190), 13. Adam Whitney (180), 14. Thom Ring (156), 15 Jim Close (156), 16. Tony Montessi (138), 17. Tyler Rivard (127), 18. Denny Zimmerman (107), 19. Jim Mossman (102), 20. 20. Hank Rogers Jr. (40), 21. Doug Meyer (33), 22. Vince Jacobs (30), 23. Randy Cabral (27).
Sources: Mark McKeon/USAC DMA PR