The St. Louis Karting Association holds 2002 Awards Banquet ST. CHARLES COUNTY, MO - The historical 2002 season for the St. Louis Karting Association officially came to a close Saturday, January 11th with their annual end of the year awards banquet. Nearly 200 racers, family and friends gathered at the Knights of Columbus Hall in St. Charles County to celebrate the season's champions. The evening started off socially with lots of talk about the off-season and the upcoming racing only months away. After a word of prayer, all in attendance were fed a catered dinner that was topped off with a bountiful assortment of desserts. Then it was down to the serious nature of the evening. The St. Louis Karting Association's 2002 season was a milestone as that year saw the completion of it's new kart track at the I-55 Raceway complex in Pevely, Mo. A digitally prepared slide show was presented to the crowd chronologically capturing all the blood, sweat, and time that went into what is now a premiere kart track located in the heart of the country. At the end of the slide show, the club gave themselves a well deserved round of applause. Master of ceremonies, and club member, Glen Hardeman then turned the focus of the evening to the presentation of trophies to the class winners. Each sponsor representative was given the opportunity to award the trophies to their sponsored class. The sponsors and winners were as follows: Brian Hannon, representative of Margay Racing Products, a world leader in racing karts, was on hand to award several special winners. Margay has always had the history of recognizing the class champion in the 4-Cycle Rookie Class. This year was no exception. Brian awarded Brett Cogo a new 2003 Margay chassis to use to defend his title in the upcoming season. Margay also awarded a new set of tires to the first place winners in every class. A special recognition was given to Craig and Debbie Goodhart and Bill and Norma Bade for all the time and effort that they have put forth for the club, providing us with food service for all of our club events. The final award of the night was sponsored by Bill and Norma Bade, owners of Bing and Nagle's Automotive, and it was the "Sportsman of the Year" award. This award goes to a person who has shown true sportsmanship throughout the year both on and off the track. Tim Bade, and outgoing sportsman, Barry Hufstedler presented the award to Skip Wiese. This presentation included not only a beautiful trophy, but also a one-day shifter kart driving school at Bob Bondurant's complex in Phoenix, Arizona under the direction of instructor, and karting legend Alan Rudolph. The evening concluded with drawings for the vast array of door prizes and more talk of the upcoming season. A special thanks goes out to all of the many sponsors, too numerous to mention, who donated prizes to the banquet. Also thanks to Victoria Reed, Glen Hardeman, Tim Bade and all of the rest who helped to make this a very special occasion. For more information on the St. Louis Karting Association, and a schedule of upcoming events and races for the 2003 season, visit us on line at www.slka.net. 2002 St. Louis Karting Association Champions 4-Cycle Rookie (Cogo and Snap-On Tools): 1st - Brett Cogo, 2nd - Tommy McKenzie, 3rd - Matt Bruns 4-Cycle Junior (Viper Racing Engines): 1st - Becky Kaestner, 2nd - Greg Dingess, 3rd - Jacob Piel 4-Cycle Medium (Viper Racing Engines): 1st - Matt Riggs, 2nd - Mike Nesbitt, 3rd - Tim Mayer 4-Cycle Heavy (Viper Racing Engines): 1st - Cale Downs, 2nd - Ken Williams, 3rd - Mark Litteken Yamaha Light (H&H Racing): 1st - Sherry Hufstedler, 2nd - Emmett Pyatt, 3rd - Ed Loetscher Yamaha Heavy (Sponsor: H&H Racing): 1st - Randy Shekell, 2nd - John McCracken, 3rd - Tim Bade Senior Sportsman (Margay Racing): 1st - Matt Riggs, 2nd - Tim Mayer, 3rd - Skip Wiese 2-Cycle Rookie (Stern Brothers): 1st - Brooke Wankel, 2nd - Kevin Bade, 3rd - Devon Nichols 2-Cycle Juniors (TB Reality and Construction): 1st - Derek Crockett, 2nd - Alex Pezzolla, 3rd - Adam Crepin Shifter Class (Harris Automotive): 1st - Jon Harris, 2nd - Craig Pyatt, 3rd - Jim Mayer Kid Kart Class (H&H Racing): (All Winners) - Caleb Wankel, Danielle Johnson, Austin Duncan, Spenser Boyd, Jeremy Remick, Mario Nigo, Jake Hughes, Ryan Tharp, Davey Steen, Elizabeth Maestas, Emily Kaestner, Joseph Patrick, Matthew Drury