12/22/05

 

            Well, another season is over. Not the race season, that has been over for a while, the season that has just ended is the Banquet season. Every year, after the race season ends, we have the banquet season. It’s interesting to see who has what announcements to make and who will ad-lib their acceptance speeches as opposed to having a well (or not so well) written speech to read from a teleprompter. I’m sure the banquet is a fun but stressful place for the winning drivers and teams, and a boring and humbling place for the non-winning drivers and teams. For the media members, it is a fun, laid back atmosphere where we can visit with some of the folks we haven’t seen since the racing season ended and a place to dress up and show off our lovely spouses as well as get a free meal and possibly a few drinks.

            The NHIS banquet is always a fantastic evening. This year we were entertained at the Holiday Inn in Concord N.H. Not only were we treated to a wonderful meal and some ice cold New Hampshire beer, we were treated to the presentation of the “Seven Seals Award” by the Department of Defense and the N.H. Committee for Employer Support of the National Guard and Reserve. The award was presented to Bob and Gary Bahre on behalf of NHIS for their “meritorious leadership and initiative in support of the men and women who serve America in the National Guard and Reserve”. This was a very impressive presentation and display of patriotism. Next year we at Busch North Scene will attempt to one-up them with our presentation of the first annual “Seven Meals Award”. We will present this award to Fred Neergard and his media Center staff at NHIS for their “meritorious leadership and initiative in support of feeding the media men and women who serve the NASCAR series’ on race day”. A good look around the media center will confirm that precious few of us miss a meal while we are working a race at NHIS.

            Ted Christopher was recognized as the 2005 NHIS Lincoln Electric/Merriam-Graves Whelan Modified Tour Track Champion and by the time the name of the award had been announced, and he had found his glasses, there wasn’t much time for Teddy’s speech. Ted was announced as the biggest winner in the history of NHIS.

            Mike Stefanik was announced as the NHIS Lincoln Electric/Merriam-Graves Busch North Series Track Champion and it was mentioned that Mike is the 2^nd biggest winner in track history. Mike was his usual quiet, humble, classy self and made a very short speech, thanking everyone else and taking very little credit for himself.

            I’m sure it’s no coincidence that the two winningest drivers in track history have not only had huge success in their respective divisions, but have succeeded to a big extent in each other’s division as well. I guess if you have it, you have it.

            Speaking of having it, at the BNS banquet last weekend at Mohegan Sun Casino, Andy Santerre was awarded his 4^th consecutive BNS championship. Andy was also voted the most popular driver for the 3^rd time, no surprise there, everyone expected that with the possible exception of Andy, himself.

            During his speech, Andy confirmed a couple things for us. As many expected, Andy is going to take a break from driving in 2006 and concentrate on being team manager for Grizco and it’s 3 drivers. Andy also confirmed another thing that most of us have suspected for a while. That Sue has been not only been solely responsible for taking care of their daughter, Sara, but has also been in charge of keeping schedules for 3 Grizco drivers, 3 Grizco Crew Chiefs, dozens of Grizco crew members and possibly a partridge in a pear tree. Pretty impressive!

            Matt Kobyluck accepted the Busch Pole award and commented on just how much he and his crew enjoy the Busch products. Matt also kept his speech short and sweet, a trait that he has gained a reputation for in the past few years.

            Sean Caisse accepted the Rookie of the Year award and a lot of fingers pointed toward Sean when Andy announced that he wouldn’t drive next year, many expect to see Sean in the #44 for 2006. When asked what he had learned during his rookie season, Sean replied that getting called to the NASCAR trailer gets old…..fast! Most of us look for a little more subdued and relaxed Sean next season.

            Comedian Jimmy Travis entertained us throughout the evening with jokes and songs and as I’d never personally heard the song “I Don’t Look Good Naked Anymore”. That was a moment I’m glad I didn’t miss. There was another moment that I would have hated to miss. In a typical BNS show of support, Mike Olsen received a standing ovation when he accepted his 4^th place trophy, then someone in the crowd hollered “Hold onto it, Mike, in case they try to take it away!” Fortunately, Mike is not only one of our most likeable and loyal drivers, he’s also one of the easiest going and can laugh and joke about past mistakes.

            NASCAR had a couple of big announcements to make. Andy Santerre has tested the new composite bodies and the spec motor with excellent results and NASCAR had Brett Bodine in tow to help study them and to answer any questions we had. I only had one major question for Brett, but I managed to find the bar on my own without asking. The big announcement of the evening was the change for 2006 of the Busch North Series to the Busch East Series. I’m not sure when Busch’s contract runs out, but I’d hesitate to spend a huge amount of money changing everything from decals to signs only to have to do it again in a year or so. I expect that there is already a team of NASCAR employees working hard and long somewhere, cutting up little pieces of adhesive tape and writing “EAST” on them to be used on all the official’s uniforms and on the sponsor stickers that go on the cars. Unfortunately, there was no real schedule announcement to make other than it is being worked on, the only thing certain right now is the annual Busch North Scene Snowmobile Poker Run in Rangeley, Maine on February 4^th. Don’t miss the fun this winter as we ride during the day and party that evening. We’ll have comedians, music, a few drivers and crews, some media members pretending to work and possibly even a couple NASCAR officials that we can complain to about the lack of a schedule.

As always, send Questions, Comments, Hate Mail, and Indecent Proposals to, Fish c/o Busch North Scene or e-mail them to fishy@ctel.net