N.E.W. Dirt Concludes 2001 Season With Banquet! By Dave Panske

November 11, 2001; Seymour, WI -  N.E.W. DIRT closed the 2001 season with their 18th annual awards banquet on Saturday night, November 10 at the Edgewood in Seymour.

Overall, the club had a strong season despite the weather problems that plagued all area tracks. The average car counts in all four divisions increased. Attendance rose even though only 12 of 22 scheduled events were run during the season. All of the track work, despite being a problem early, helped keep the season strong, and now, nothing major has to be done to start the 2002 season on May 5th.

Photo Highlights

They are the champions! The N.E.W. DIRT 2001 Seymour Tri Oval Raceway Champs included (Left to right) IMCA Stock Car - Jeremy Christians, WISSOTA Late Models was captured by Troy Springborn but was accept by his sister Linda Springborn. Also shown are IMCA Modified champ Scott Mullen and Street Stock title holder Jamie Colwell. N.E.W. DIRT 2001 Seymour Tri Oval Raceway Rookies of the year included from left to right, IMCA Stock Car - Chaz Van Ooyen, Jr., WISSOTA Late Model - T.J. White, and Street Stock - Tim Cayemberg Rod Snellenberger took the honors in the IMCA Modifieds but was not pictured. N.E.W. DIRT flagman, Art Siefert, second from left, presents his Flagman's View awards to drivers he felt improved most over the season. L to R Jamie Schmidt - IMCA Modified, Darci Czarapapta - Street Stock, and WISSOTA Late Model driver Mike Babino, Jr.

All four divisions honored the top five drivers as well as a rookie, several special awards were also given out.

The Street Stock division saw 48 different drivers this season with 6 different feature winners. Jesse Colwell finished fifth in the standings with one feature win to his credit. Charlie Van Ooyen, Sr returned this season after retiring in 2000 to have a strong season finishing fourth in the points. Lance Arenson had as strong season with consistent top five runs all year and finished third in the standings, only l mark out of second place. Last years rookie driver, Jeff Treml, came back strong to record 2 feature wins and finished second in the standings. This years champion, Jamie Colwell, ran to a division leading four feature wins and a steady string of top four finishes to clinch his first career track title. In the 14 years the streets have been run at Seymour, Jamie is the 13th different champion.

The IMCA Stock Car division saw five different drivers win features this season out of the 53 different that competed. Three of those were first time feature winners here. Brandon Czarapata was a consistent runner all season long and took the fifth place finish in the point standings, Cousin, Jason Czarapata, last years rookie in the division, came through to finish fourth in the points. Defending champion, Tim Van De Hei, had an up and down season here but managed to take 2 feature wins to finish third in the final tally. Benji LaCrosse is always a steady runner and moved up from third place last year to take the runner up spot this year. Jeremy Christians made a jump from a fifth place finish last year to dominate the division this year with 6 feature wins here on his way to an 18 win season in the area. It is his first career track title here and he becomes the 6th different champion.

The IMCA Modified division remained the top division with 79 different drivers competing this year. Five different drivers shared the feature wins.

Brad Rohloff had some problems during the season but also claimed 2 feature wins to take the fifth place spot in the standings. Jared Siefert ran strong all season and won 1 feature this season to finish fourth overall. Brian Mullen was the defending champion and despite a division leading 5 feature wins, finished third in the standings. He picked up a third straight Nationals title to close out the season here, and sits second on the all time feature win list with 41.

R.M. Van Pay is a former three time champion, won 2 features this season and took the runner up spot in the points 5 points ahead of Mullen. His feature wins give him a total of 51 here at the Tri Oval to lead the all time list for the division.

Scott Mullen turned a steady season of top 5 finishes into his first career track championship. He did not win a feature but he avoided problems suffered by Van Pay and brother Brian to claim the title.

The WISSOTA Late Model division was boosted this season by the Hit the Jackpot series event to bring 39 different drivers to the track, with 6 drivers sharing feature wins. Tom Naeyaert, a former three time champion, had and up and down season but finished fifth in the division this year. Tim Buhler picked up one feature win to finish in fourth place in the standings. Former six time title holder, Pete Parker, collected two features flags and ran his division leading total to 105 career wins here at Seymour. Terry Casey used steady top five finishes to take the runner up spot in the standings.

Troy Springborn entered the season as the two time defending champion and used a division leading five feature wins and steady top 4 finished to clinch a third straight title. He enters his name in the record books joining M.J. McBride and Tom Naeyaert as the only drivers to win three straight titles.

Rookie drivers were presented plaques in each division. Tim Cayemberg took the honors in the Street Stock division. Chas Van Ooyen, Jr, last years Street Stock champion, moved up to finish 11^th in the standings this year and claimed the rookie title. He is only the fourth driver to with a championship and then the rookie title in a different division the next season. Rod Snellenberger became only the fifth different driver to win a rookie title in more than one division. He was Stock Car rookie in 1993 and is also a 2 time division champion. He claimed the IMCA Modified rookie title this year and finished 8th in the standings.

T.J. White has won features in both the street and stock car divisions, and took a couple years building a car for the late model division. He improved all season long and was awarded the Rookie title.

The club awarded special plaques to, Potawatomi Community for their generous support of the club last year. Chris Vandenlangenberg was honored for his never ending support and work at the track. John Bohl received an appreciation plaque for his many years serving as IMCA Modified rep. Tom Schmidt also received an appreciation plaque for his services to the club this past season. Angie Rosek has been a club supporter from the start and was honored for her dedication. Dave and Yvonne Panske were also honored for their 18 years of service to the club.

Art Siefert presented a Flagman’s View Award to a driver in each division he felt improved the most over the course of the year. Darci Czarapata in the Street Stocks, Kyle Fredrick in the IMCA Stocks, Jamie Schmidt in the IMCA Mods, and Mike Babino, Jr in the WISSOTA Late Models were the recipients.

Monthly club meetings continue throughout the winter on the first Monday of every month at 8 PM at the Edgewood. Plans are calling for a May 5th, 2002 season opener at the Seymour Tri Oval raceway.