Awards Banquet Completes 2018 Dirt Kings Tour Season
Little Chute, WI - Drivers, teams, sponsors and fans gathered to celebrate the 2018 DiscountShopTowels.com Dirt Kings Late Model Tour at the annual Awards Banquet at the Fifth Quarter on Saturday, November 10. More than $22,500 in cash and prizes were paid out as part of the 2018 DiscountShopTowels.com Dirt Kings Late Model Tour Championship Point Fund.
During the past two seasons, 81 different drivers have competed in Dirt Kings Tour races across the state of Wisconsin. Brett Swedberg, Ron Berna, Jim Schmidt, Justin Schmidt, Chris Engels and Tim Buhler have been in attendance at each race. These six drivers were honored with a perfect attendance trophy along with 2018 Rookie of the Year Turk Letizia.
Nick Anvelink was crowned King, earning the title of Champion for the second straight year. Anvelink had 5 wins, including three back-to-back wins with 10 Top 5 finishes and 11 Top 10 finishes in 2018. Anvelink took home a check for $2750 and a Championship Jacket, compliments of Hoosier Tire, and custom billet aluminum trophy from Wehrs Machine.
Turk Letizia was honored as the 2018 Rookie of the Year, which was sponsored by Sunoco Race Fuels. In addition to a barrel of race fuel, Letizia took home a Hoosier Racing Tire jacket.
In addition to the presentation of the 2018 DiscountShopTowels.com Dirt Kings Late Model Tour Point Fund checks and trophies, drivers were also honored for several special awards.
Ron Berna was honored as the 2018 DiscountShopTowels.com Dirt Kings Late Model Tour Most Popular Driver, presented by Hobby Town USA Green Bay. Hobby Town USA Green Bay provided Berna with a custom Traxxas Slash with a dirt late model body. Berna dominated this years voting both at the track and online.
Diamond Jim Letizia was honored as the 2018 DiscountShopTowels.com Dirt Kings Late Model Tour Diamond Person of the Year. Letizia can always be found sporting a smile as bright as his nickname indicates, he always has positive things to say about the event, the series, and the drivers he is racing against. With one of the best personalities in the pits, Letizia becomes the first recipient of the Diamond Person of the Year Award and sets the criteria for future awards.
Mark Rose was honored as the 2018 DiscountShopTowels.com Dirt Kings Late Model Tour Most Improved Driver. With the youngest, most dedicated pit crew, Rose earned 2 Top 5 finishes and 7 Top 10 finishes and finished seventh in the point standings.
Two drivers experienced similar luck that prevented them from racing the entire 2018 DiscountShopTowels.com Dirt Kings Late Model Tour. For Joe Bongiorno, it meant missing the Battle by the Bay at Luxemburg Speedway when his engine wasn't cooperating and missing three races in a row: The Diamond 40 presented by Greater Milwaukee Auto Auction, the Independence Day Bash presented by Kirkpatrick Law Office at Eagle Valley Speedway and the Mid Summer Showdown at Dodge County Speedway. Once the engine woes were behind him, Joe rallied to race into the Dairyland Duel at Wilmot Raceway. But his hopes at the Rookie of the Year Title had already gone away. For Zack Kessler, his engine problems came toward the end of the season, forcing his rookie season to be cut short and missing the DiscountShopTowels.com 30 at Plymouth Dirt Track, the Jim Wildman Watson Classic at Wilmot Raceway and the Crowning of the King 40 at 141 Speedway. Kessler received a Snap-On Tools Reciprocating Saw Kit presented by Jared Siefert and Snap-On Tools and Bongiorno received a digital welding shield and a welding table presented by Miller Welders.
Rick Zeinert was honored as the 2018 DiscountShopTowels.com Dirt Kings Late Model Tour Crew Chief of the Year. Zeinert helped his driver, Chris Engels, achieve 2 top 5 finishes and 8 top 10 finishes. Zeinert received a Rechargeable Flashlight Kit, presented by Mike Formella and MATCO Tool.
Allstar Performance sponsored the 2018 Hard Charger Award. Passing 36 cars, finishing in 3rd place Jared Siefert received a $100 certificate from Allstar Performance. Passing 37 cars, finishing in 2nd place Justin Schmidt received a $150 certificate from Allstar Performance. Passing 39 cars, Nick Anvelink finished in 1st place. Nick received a product certificate for $250 and an Allstar Performance jacket.
Title Sponsor Loren Vavricka, from DiscountShopTowels.com, introduced the Dirt Kings Tour Driver Loyalty Program. Drivers were given loyalty cards to hand out to their family, friends, and sponsors with a coupon code to receive 10% off their purchase at www.discountshoptowels.com. At checkout, the customer enters the drivers information and the driver receives credit for the order.
Looking ahead to next year, Jason Shultz, Dirt Kings Tour Promoter, plans to announce the 2019 schedule in December. "We're planning to add to the Dirt Kings Tour Fan Zone in 2019 and start a kids club. We want to continue to grow the community of dirt late model fans and have a fun place for everyone to visit at the track," says Shultz.
A 2018 Dirt Kings Tour video is in the works, thanks to Bill Holland. The finished product will be 90 minutes in length and feature coverage of the entire 2018 season including driver interviews and video coverage from Bill Holland. To order the 2018 Dirt Kings Tour video, please send a check for $25 (includes shipping) to Dirt Kings Tour (W2250 Olive Garden Way, Freedom WI 54913). Videos will be ready for Christmas are expected to ship in early December.
To learn more about DiscountShopTowels.com Dirt Kings Tour, be sure to follow the Dirt Kings Tour on Facebook (/dirtkingstour), on Twitter (@DirtKingsTour), on Instagram (DirtKingsTour) and Snapchat (DirtKingsTour).
Contact:
Jason Shultz
dirtkingstour@gmail.com
(920)450-6047
