OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
ROCKFORD SPEEDWAY
Contact: Kevin Ramsell (608) 219-5912, Gregg McKarns (815) 633-1500
NSTC 06…A TRADITION…A GATHERING OF THE BEST
By:
Kevin Ramsell
Tuesday, August 22, 2006 (Loves Park, IL) – “40 years ago, Hughie
and Bill Ernest were partners and they decided they should have a year
end race and invite all of the racers from around the
area
to come and race. And that is what we did and it was called the
‘200’,” Rockford Speedway Owner Jody Deery recalled about the
beginning of the National Short Track Championship in 1966.
Today,
the event is still going strong as the 41st Annual Chicago
International Trucks National Short Track Championships will take
place on September 22-24 at the Rockford Speedway.
The
history of this event is unspeakable. Mrs. Deery recently recalled
about how her legendary husband, Hugh Deery, made this a memorable
event. “40 years ago everyone around the country closed at Labor Day,”
Mrs. Deery remembered. “And there was nothing after Labor Day.” So
Deery and Ernest created this event. From 1966 to 1987, the main
event of NSTC was a 200-lap Late Model feature race.
The
2006 edition returns to the traditional 200-lap feature event for
the CRA Super Series Late Models with $750 to start and $4,000 to win.
Nine other divisions will be competing over the three days allowing
the best
stock
car drivers in the Midwest to come together and prove who will be
the best driver in their class.
Dick
Trickle won the first event in 1966. “It was the most money I made at
the time,” Trickle recalled. “I won $1,755 and the reason I remember
is because they paid me in $5 bills. I will never forget that.”
Trickle also won in 1978-79.
“In
fact, when Ramo Scott won it (in 1969), he got paid in $1 bills,”
Mrs. Deery recalled. Mrs. Deery has promised that this year’s winner
will not be paid in $1 or $5 bills.
For
the winner, it’s an opportunity to put their names the record books
alongside Dick Trickle, Ramo Scott, Joe Shear, Steve Carlson, Mark
Martin, Dave Watson, Jim Sauter, and Eddie Hoffman. Hoffman has three
NSTC titles and which includes the last two years. Hoffman looks to
become the first driver since Steve Carlson to win NSTC three
years in a row. Carlson a seven-time champion won his titles in
1992-95 and 1998-2000.
Along
with the trophy, the feature winners will also have the opportunity to
wear the traditional horseshoe wreath, an idea that Hugh Deery started
when he saw the winning Kentucky Derby horse wear one and Deery felt
that an NSTC champion earned the same honor for their efforts. “For an
end of year event, Hughie thought the champion should wear a
wreath as well,” Mrs. Deery recalled. The wreath used today is
not the original, but the second one.
The
competition guides are now available and have already been mailed out
to competitors and racetracks.
For
more information on the 41st Annual Chicago International Trucks
National Short Track Championships, please visit the track’s website
at
