Super Shoe Nationals - 2007
The infamous Super Shoe Nationals
2007 is ready to take on the legendary high banks of
Kalamazoo Speedway, this upcoming weekend. This race has garnered
as much history as any short track race in the nation, in its
21st consecutive year of operation. As you will read below,
the winners of this race are a who's who list in short track
racing spanning over the last two decades.
Back in 1987, a young scraggly looking
kid from Indiana took home the top prize; this unknown kid's
name was none other than Scott Hantz. Then this old guy put
a whoopin' on everyone for 3 years in a row, his name being Gale
Cobb. Jeff Vochaska took over as the Top Shoe in 1991 and 1992,
with Bob Schippers winning in 1993. In 1994, Andy Bozell picked
up his first Super Shoe Crown, with Rick Sexton nailing it down
in 1995 and 1997. It was Eddie Payne winning it all in 1996
and 1998, as Brandon Lyons took his first of his 4 wins in 1999.
In 2000, Jerry Drake captured the coveted prize and Alan Vochaska
took the prize in 2001. The Bozell brothers of Andy and Jeff
won the Shoe in 2002 and 2003, while Mr. Lyons has taken the
top prize the last three years in a row. Other names like David
Stremme, Mike Van Sparrentak, Tommy Martin, Tim Curry, Gary Terry,
Burney Arnett, Lee Slaton, Jeff Ganus, Shawn McLaughlin, Tom
Thomas, and yes, even Al Heritz have all tried to nail this one
down, but like so many, it has eluded them all, and even iron
man Rich Hardy, who is the only racer to have raced in all 20
of the previous Super Shoe events, hasn't won the big one yet.
Who remembers the time Joe Clayton drove away from an accident
scene with a complete car and driver still on his roof?
The stories and names could go on forever,
especially if we want to talk about the "legendary back
40 campground stories." With over 250 drivers and nearly
400 camper units out in the camp area each year, you could only
imagine (well, maybe you couldn't) the stories behind the scenes
of this great event, the Super Shoe Nationals.
New for 2007 will be the addition of
the Modified Nationals. This end of the year event could see
50-60 of the best open wheelers in the Midwest, all vying for
the $2,007 top prize. Many if the USA Modified drivers will
hand, as well as the Kalamazoo regulars. Modifieds from 8-10
area tracks are also expected, making this perhaps the largest
Modified event in the Midwest.
This year's spectacular will take place
on September 28th - 30th . Log onto www.kalamazoospeedway.com
for all the information you will need, and we hope to see you
all at this year's Super Shoe Nationals.
|
