 2006 Class Champions: Front row, Taylor Duell - Jr. Dragster B; Middle row, Ron Smith - Pro Sled, Steve Doss - Pro, Kevin Wuest - Bike/Sled Trophy, Gene Stankivitz - Super Pro, Gene Stankivitz III - Street Money; Back row, Ken Taylor - Modified, Shean Barney - ATV, Jack Vault Jr. - Jr. Dragster A. Missing from photo: Lynn Major - Pro Bike, Rob Forbes - Pro and Carl Askenback - Street Trophy.
11•25•2006 We had a great turnout for our 2006 Awards Banquet with over 200 in attendance at The Empire Room to honor the season's points champions and top finishers. It was nice to see so many of the top finishers talk about their season and thank the people that helped them throughout the year. Here is a recap of the evening.
Gene Stankivitz
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Super Pro
Super Pro was won by Gene Stankivitz of Chittenango, NY after his runner-up finish in 2005. This year Gene was on a mission going 2-for-2 in Super Pro final round appearances. 2004 Super Pro champion Vince Musolino made a run at Gene, but was unable to catch the cagey veteran.
| Pos. |
Driver |
Pts. |
Wins |
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
9.
10. |
Gene Stankivitz
Vince Musolino
Lynn Dote
Howie Smith
Tim Roberts
Tom Belvick
Mike Dote
Ken Miller
Billy Caprara
Frank Barbagallo |
65
57
50
49
46
39
38
38
37
36 |
2
3
1
2
1
1
1 |
|
 Steve Doss
 Rob Forbes
|
Pro
The Pro class ended up being tied as two former champs, Steve Doss and Rob Forbes ended the season with 72 points each. Todd Lipke finished third.
"Stinger" Steve strung together 3 straight wins at the end of the season to earn the tie with Rob, who led the class for the majority of the season. Steve led the class with 5 wins in 9 final round appearances, while Rob carried a 4-2 record in his 6 final round appearances.
| Pos. |
Driver |
Pts. |
Wins |
1.
1.
3.
4.
5.
6.
8.
9.
10. |
Steve Doss
Rob Forbes
Todd Lipke
Howard Roberts
Mike LaRose
Kim Lipke
Bob Mayers
Jason Richardson
Eric Sadowski
Jason Wahl |
72
72
55
54
53
42
42
41
39
38 |
5
4
1
3
1
1 |
|
Lynn Major
|
Pro Bike
Lynn Major won the Pro Bike title over last year's champ Darrell Aubin. David Ashby finished in the third spot. Lynn led the class with 5 wins in 6 final round appearances.
| Pos. |
Driver |
Pts. |
Wins |
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. |
Lynn Major
Darrell Aubin
David Ashby
Floyd Appleby
Skip Tamburino
Jim Collins
Tracy Stanley
Leroy Jenney
Stephen Luffman
Jeff Strickler |
48
33
31
30
29
27
26
25
23
21 |
4
1
2
2
1
1
2 |
|
Ron Smith
|
Pro Sled
Ron Smith kept the Pro Sled crown in the family as he finished first in the points with his '97 Polaris. His son Heath, who was last year's champ, finished fourth behind Kevin Wuest and Nick Grevelding.
| Pos. |
Driver |
Pts. |
Wins |
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
9. |
Ron Smith
Kevin Wuest
Nick Grevelding
Heath Smith
Bernie Sadowski
Jamie Torio
Dennis Boston
Jeff DeSellems
Derek Eastman
Mike Stiles |
48
33
31
30
29
27
26
25
23
21 |
4
1
2
2
1
1
2 |
|
Gene Stankivitz III
|
Street Money
Street Money was won by Gene Stankivitz III, making this the first time that a father/son duo has won ESTA Class titles. David Zangari was second and Klaus Dieroff was third.
| Pos. |
Driver |
Pts. |
Wins |
1.
2.
3.
4.
6.
7.
8.
9.
9. |
Gene Stankivitz III
David Zangari
Klaus Dieroff
Carl Askenback
Dick Aversa
Anthony Zangari
Terry Lee Sr.
Anthony Rotolo
Keith Granholm
Ashley Samsel |
51
45
44
41
41
33
32
25
23
23 |
4
2
1
3
2
1 |
|
Ken Taylor
|
Modified
Ken Taylor won the Modified title, while Rich Duffer and Ken Miller tied for second. One of the "W-town Boys Racing, " Kenny scored a class championship in only his second season of racing.
| Pos. |
Driver |
Pts. |
Wins |
1.
2.
4.
5.
7.
8.
9.
9. |
Ken Taylor
Rich Duffer
Ken Miller
Billy Caprara
Terry Scheirer
Bill Wyatt
Heather Scheirer
George Cannellos
Miles Higby
Brian Jennings |
45
39
39
30
24
24
21
19
16
16 |
4
2
1
2
1 |
|
Carl Askenback
|
Street Trophy
Carl Askenback winning the Street Trophy class is one major understatement. With a 23 point cushion over second place finisher Diane Blaylock, Carl's ultra consistent '55 Chevy carried him to 9 total wins out 12 final round appearances in 2006! Will Monroe scored an impressive third place finish in his F250 pickup.
| Pos. |
Driver |
Pts. |
Wins |
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. |
Carl Askenback
Diane Blaylock
William Monroe
Adam Relyea
Earl Snyder
Sid Cuff
David Zangari
Tom Samsel
Heather Scheirer
Dick Aversa |
52
29
28
26
23
18
11
10
9
6 |
7
2
2
1
1
1
1 |
|
Kevin Wuest
|
Bike/Sled Trophy
Five-time Pro Sled champion Kevin Wuest added a sixth championship to his resume besting second place finisher, Bernie Sadowski by three points. Both drivers scored 4 wins each while David Ashby was a close third on his custom built Kawasaki.
| Pos. |
Driver |
Pts. |
Wins |
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
8.
10.
10. |
Kevin Wuest
Bernie Sadowski
David Ashby
Tim Phelps
Stephen Luffman
Herb Bingel
Jeff Taylor
Darin Barton
George Brown
Jeff Strickler
David Wood |
43
40
38
30
26
23
21
19
15
13
13 |
4
4
2
1
1 |
|
Jack Vault, Jr.
|
Junior Dragster "A"
Jack Vault, who is moving up to the big cars next season, won the Jr.Dragster "A" division out pointing Matt Bunal and Mike Phelps who finished second and third respectively. With 5 Jr. Dragster Championships, Jack graduates to the "big" car classes as the the "All-time" winningest Jr. racer.
| Pos. |
Driver |
Pts. |
Wins |
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
9. |
Jack Vault
Matt Bunal
Mike Phelps
Katrina Bear
Robbie LaPointe
Rebecca Searles
Nicole Woodcock
Malik Scott
Jessica Desiato
Gary Wilson |
41
39
32
29
23
22
20
16
5
5 |
5
4
1
3
2
1 |
|
Taylor Duell
|
Junior Dragster "B"
Taylor Duell of Blossvale, NY stepped it up in 2006 with a faster ride and consistent finishes to score the inaugural Jr. Dragster "B" Division Championship. Rookie of the Year, Jake Lipke, Shaquille Scott, and Hunter Woodcock all refused to budge and settled for a 3-way tie for second place.
| Pos. |
Driver |
Pts. |
Wins |
1.
2.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
9. |
Taylor Duell
Jake Lipke
Shaquille Scott
Hunter Woodcock
Justin Hardman
Paige DeSalvo
Kali Stever
Alexa Pedersen
Morgan Bunal
Samantha Wilson |
42
35
35
35
34
33
31
22
20
11 |
2
2
3
4
1
1
1
1 |
|
Shean Barney
|
Trophy ATV
Shean Barney legged his Bombardier DS650 to the ATV title, while Fank Caprara finished second
| Pos. |
Driver |
Pts. |
Wins |
1.
2. |
Shean Barney
Frank Caprara |
15
3 |
na
na |
|
Special thanks were given to Kali and Samantha Balstra for their help with the 50/50, and they were given a gift certificate from D.R.A.G. for their efforts. Karstin Roseamelia, Tracy Doss and Michelle Musuraca were also recognized for their help. April Martin and Jennifer Belvick were thanked for all their help with the Bracket Finals team fund raising efforts. And the Jr. Dragster team was congratulated for their Team Spirit Award that was won at the Mason Dixon Divisional Race in August.
Thanks to everyone that came out this year in what was one of the wettest seasons we have had in recent memory. Enjoy the off season, have a safe and happy holiday season and we'll see you in the Spring for another exciting season of drag racing.
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ESTA Special Awards
Most Improved:
Ken Taylor
Mr. Bracket Racer:
Lynn Major
Rookie of the Year:
Jake Lipke
Sportsmanship:
Steve Searles
Best Engineered Vehicle:
Bryan Backus
Best Appearing Vehicle:
Tim Roberts
Best Appearing Crew:
Wahl Racing
Special Service Award:
Jane Bersani
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