FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 30, 2010

FASTRAK NORTHEAST KEEPS ON ROCKIN’; HARD ROCK CAFÉ PITTSBURGH TO HOST 2010 NE & MOV TOURING BANQUET ON JANUARY 30

By Mike Leone
(Pulaski, PA)…FASTRAK Northeast is excited to announce that the 2010 Northeast and Mid-Ohio Valley Late Model Touring Series Awards Banquet will be held at the Hard Rock Café Pittsburgh at Station Square on Sunday, January 30, 2011 at 5 p.m.

A record cash payoff will be dolled out to the top 15 drivers in the Northeast Touring and the top 10 drivers in the Mid-Ohio Valley Touring Series. Special awards will be handed out as well including “The Wheelman” Bonus Event Challenge Series.

“We’re extremely excited to be able to have the Hard Rock Café host our awards banquet,” expressed Northeast co-Director Vicki Emig. “We felt Pittsburgh was a central location for the Northeast Region especially with the Mid-Ohio Valley included this year. And what better place to host this affair and bring everyone together than the Hard Rock Café! With this change of pace from the traditional banquet setting, we thought Hard Rock could offer a more casual and fun atmosphere.”

For the second time in three seasons, Max Blair is the FASTRAK Northeast Touring Series Champion. The 20-year-old Centerville, Pa. driver captured four wins bumping his career win total to an all-time Series high nine in his Specialty Products/4 Your Car Connection/Moody & Son Welding/Bossard’s Sales & Service-sponsored #111. Blair becomes the first repeat champion in the four-year history of the Series.

The record-setting Northeast Touring Series saw all 20 events completed with six of those achieving 40 cars or more including an all-time high 53 at the opening event at Tyler County Speedway. The average car count was 32 per event with a record 176 different drivers competing! Twelve different drivers won events including eight first time Touring winners.

Gary Knollinger will go down in the history books as the first ever Mid-Ohio Valley Touring Series Champion The Wheeling, West Virginia driver, who also finished fourth in the Northeast Touring including his career first Touring Series win at Sharon, recorded a season best third in MOV action at West Virginia Motor Speedway on September 2. Knollinger drove the Gumby’s Grab & Go/H.P. Excavating-sponsored #38K. A total of 106 different drivers competed in the MOV events with an average car count of 37.

Thanks to three top four finishes in the non-qualifier events, Justin Kreider of Linesville, Pa. captured the inaugural “Wheelman” Bonus Event Challenge Series Championship. Jason Genco finished second thanks to victories at Sharon and Raceway 7. There were six different winners in as many races.

“The 2010 season was such a great year for FASTRAK and its racers,” stated Northeast co-Director Mike Leone. “Our drivers will take home approximately $100,000 in FASTRAK point fund monies not even including race winnings and local track point funds! We feel we’ve grown enough now that we can hold a banquet of our own. The date should be good for everyone as it doesn’t conflict with any other track banquets and it is an off weekend for football and racing.”

After the banquet, attendees will have the opportunity to enjoy and partake in some of the Pittsburgh night life, whether it be at any one of the other great establishments located at Station Square or perhaps Rivers Casino, which is just a few minutes away.

Dinner will begin at 5 p.m. and will be followed by the awards presentation. Tickets are $34. For ticket information, please go to our website at www.fastraknortheast.com.

FINAL 2010 FASTRAK Northeast Late Model Touring Series Top 15 in Points: 1. MAX BLAIR (111) 629 2. Mike Pegher, Jr. (Geisler 1c) 576 3. Butch Lambert (27) 538 4. Gary Knollinger (38K) 536 5. Josh Holtgraver (00) 529 6. Bud Watson (2/Powell 100) 479 7. Joe Martin (55) 352 8. Dan Angelicchio (14) 346 9. Steve Dixon (50) 329 10. Bryan Force (31) 285 11. Dan Karalagas (G1) 276 12. Mike Blose (5) 253 13. Kyle Zimmerman (z17) 214 14. Kyle Lukon (1) 211 15. Troy Shields (11) 205.

FINAL 2010 FASTRAK Mid-Ohio Valley Late Model Touring Series Top 10 in Points: 1. GARY KNOLLINGER (38K) 161 2. Kyle Thomas (57) 142 3. Mike Pegher, Jr. (Geisler 1c) 135 4. Josh Holtgraver (00) 129 5. Shane Hitt (2) 123 6. K.C. Burdette (KC44) & Joel Prosser (77) 117 8. Aaron Barley (28) 106 9. Shawn Jett (1J) 103 10. Dan Karalagas (G1) 86.

The Hard Rock Cafe Pittsburgh is located at 230 W. Station Square Drive between the Grand Concourse Restaurant and the Sheraton Station Square Hotel. A one-story building with an industrial ceiling and exposed-brick stage, the new HRC has indoor seating for 200 people with additional seating on our outdoor patio to accommodate 70 guests. For more information, check out www.hardrockcafe.com/pittsburgh.