A look back at a successful 1999 Season at Seymour!
By Dave Panske

December 11, 1999; Seymour, WI - N.E.W. DIRT officially closed their 1999 season with their 16th Annual awards banquet at the Edgewood Supper Club on Saturday night December 11th, 1999.

Trophies, point fund money and awards were presented to the four divisions following the dinner. In the WISSOTA Late Model division, 6 different drivers won features during the season. Troy Springborn led the point chase off and on during the season, winning his first career tri-oval feature on May 30th. Consistent top 5 finishes throughout the season helped him take his first career track championship by only a 6 point margin, 725-719.

Troy Springborn (#81) earned his first career WISSOTA Late Model title when he won a hard fought championship at Seymour Tri-Oval in 1999.

He becomes the 7th different division titleholder in club history. Tim Buhler finished the close point race in second and also led the chase several times during the season. He did not win a feature but ran strong at the top every week.

Former three time champion, Tom Naeyaert finished the season tied for the division leading 5 feature wins during the season, finishing 3rd in the overall standings with 710 marks. He also led the chase and challenged to the final night. His 5 wins move him to 4th on the all time feature win list with 15 victories. T.M. Miller ran a full season at the tri-oval in '99. A strong contender throughout the season he won his second career tri-oval feature on May 2, and finished the year in 4th place in the standings.

Former 6 time champion, Pete Parker, was also a five time feature winner this year and leads the all- time win list with 97 career wins here at Seymour. He finished 5th in the standings this season after two consecutive championships.

After years of hard work and dedication to N.E.W. Dirt these club officers will be retiring.  From the left are Vice President, Doug Vandenlagenberg; Treasurer, Karen Baye; President, Bernie Baye and Late Model rep, Bill Lemmens.  Bernie and Karen who had served on the board the past nine years received special club awards for their efforts, the awards were only the third and fourth ever presented by the club.

The divisions Rookie of the year was Doug Klemp. Doug took his time this season running at the rear of the field for part of the season to get the feel of the late model. He ran consistent enough to place 6th in the standings running all 17 nights.

The IMCA Modified division had 7 different feature winners this season. Mike Mashl of DePere made the feature every night during the season, finishing out of the top 5 only once and recording 2 feature wins. Mike becomes the 11th different titleholder here at Seymour and it is his first tri-oval championship.

Brian Mullen is a former three-time champion who won 3 futures this season to keep him second on the overall list with 29. He led the points several times during the season and also made every feature. A couple of low finishes kept him out of a fourth title.

The 1999 Seymour Tri-Oval  - N.E.W. Dirt Champions displayed their hardware as they posed for a group shot.  From the left are IMCA Modified Champion, Mike Mashl; WISSOTA Late Model champion Troy Springborn; 1999 IMCA Stock Car kingpin Rod Snellenberger and Street Stock top point earner Jason Czarapata.

R.M. Van Pay is also a three-time champion and was the defending champion. He ran to a division leading 5 feature wins in '99 to boost his division leading total to 47. His second feature win this season on July 25th was also a career milestone as it was his 100th career IMCA feature win.

Travis Spaulding ran a strong season consistently in the top to finish 4th in the standings despite missing one feature this year. He experimented with two cars which made him have to make the main most of the season through the consy.

There was a tie for the 5th point position this year between Scott Mullen and Brad Rohloff. Mullen ran consistently in the top 6 throughout the season and did not win a feature but made the main every week. Rohloff was able to win 3 features this year which moves him to 3rd on the alt time time list with 12 wins.

Mike Broekman was chosen as the division rookie of the year. He ran 12 nights this year, missing several because of action at other tracks prior to the Sunday night programs.

The Street Stock division showed the way with 75 different entries during the year with 7 drivers winning features. The division also received their track point fund and Goodyear tire money, Jason Czarapata ran at the top of the division all season long making all of the features, winning 3 and finishing out of the top five only twice.

Top rookies this season picked up plaques in recognition of their efforts.  From the left are David Hoerning, Street Stocks, Bill Lemmens accepted the award for top IMCA Modified rookie Mike Broekman, Doug Klemp topped the WISSOTA Late Model rookies and Shawn Wagner the former Street Stock champ claimed rookie of the year honors in the IMCA Stock Car division.

In the 12 years the division has run here, Jason becomes the 11th different titleholder. The title is his first for N.E.W Dirt. He will be moving up to the Stock Car division in 2000 which will leave the doors open for another new champion.

Jared Siefert shared the point lead several times during the year and was a steady top 5 finisher although missing 1 feature. He won his first career tri- oval feature on May 9 and won 2 during the season. He was also the top heat race winner during the season. Third place finisher, Brandon Czarapata was also a consistent top 5 runner. He missed one feature but did win 4 of them, tying for the most wins this season.

Chas Van Ooyen, Jr has always been a top runner here but has yet to win a feature. He missed one feature this season end finished out of the top five only twice to record the 4th place standing. Darren Otto finished the season making the feature every night and winning one during the season to round out the top 5 in the standings for 1999.

The Rookie of the year honors went to David Hoering. He ran all 17 nights, won several heat races and as the season progressed, became a steady feature qualifier, He finished 13th in the final standings.

The IMCA Stock Car division continued to grow with 64 different drivers competing this season, and 7 different wining features.

Rod Snellenberger is a former champion who won a division leading 7 features this season. He now leads the all-time list with 24 wins to his credit. He shared the point lead with two other drivers during the season, making every feature, finishing out of the top five just three times. He entered the final night in second place but a strong finish and problems for the point leader helped him earn his second track championship by only 2 points.

Two time defending and former 3 time champion, Joe White, was one of the drivers that led the standings with Snellenberger during the year. He made every feature, winning three and finishing out of the top 5 only twice. He was leading entering the final night, with problems dropping him to second by a slim 514-518 margin.

Jerry Wilinski also made every feature this season, winning one and finishing out of the top 5 only once. He led the points much of the season finishing in third place with 511 for the closest point chase ever here.

Tim Van De Hal was the 1998 rookie of the year and managed to win 1 feature this season. A strong performance earned his the 4th place finishing position in the standings.

The 5th place finisher was the defending 1998 Street Stock Champion. Shawn Wagner, Shawn was consistently a top runner throughout the season and just missed winning his first division feature a couple times. Shawn was also honored as the divisions Rookie Of the Year for his fine performance throughout the season.

Along with the officers and reps this past season, a total of 66 other workers were also mentioned for their dedication to the club.

Several special awards were also presented, Doug Vandenlangenberg was presented a plaque as retiring club vice-president. He has been a club member the entire 18 years and has served in several other capacities over the years as well. Bill Lemmens and Jim White were presented plaques for serving as division reps for the past several seasons.

The club also presented only its 3rd and 4th Club Awards to Bernie and Karen Baye. They have served a President and Treasurer of N.E.W. DIRT for the past 9 years and recently submitted resignations for the final year of their terms effective the first of the year. Both have given endless hours in their duties that covered every aspect of running the club and helped build the weekly Sunday night programs into one of the finest in the state.

The 2000 season opener was announced for Sunday night April 30th.