Inside Track Readers' Choice Awards Announced

'Inside Track Readers' Choice Awards' announced!
Inaugural winners selected by the readers of Canada's top motorsports 
publication

For immediate release: June 18, 2003

TORONTO, ON - CASCAR stock car racer Steve Robblee was the big winner in 
the inaugural Inside Track Motorsport News Readers' Choice Awards. The 
Dorchester, ON driver came out on top in both the 'Stock Car Racer of the 
Year' and the 'Overall Racer of the Year' categories. In 2002, Robblee won 
his third consecutive CASCAR CARQUEST Sportsman Series championship, as 
well as the season-ending 'Great Canadian 300' at Delaware Speedway. The 
event was the final race of the CASCAR Super Series championship and is one 
of the most prestigious stock car races in the country.
Canadian road racing star Ron Fellows was selected as the 'Road Racer of 
the Year' for 2002, with an amazing 53% of the votes cast in that category. 
Fellows was also the runner-up to Robblee in the Overall tally.
Last year, the publishers of Inside Track Motorsport News decided to create 
a series of awards aimed at celebrating the accomplishments of Canada's top 
racers. Covering the entire spectrum of motorsports in this country, the 
Inside Track Motorsport News Readers' Choice Awards were born.
In order to get an extensive and broad sample from across Canada, 
postage-paid ballots were included in all subscriber and newsstand copies 
of the magazine that were distributed during the winter. The reader 
response to this new awards program was excellent, and several thousand 
ballots were returned to the Inside Track offices for tabulation.
The current issue of Inside Track (Volume 7, Issue 5) includes a listing of 
the winners for the various categories. "The Inside Track Readers' Choice 
Awards program is something we're very excited about," said Managing Editor 
David Weber. "When it comes to knowledge about Canadian racing, our readers 
are tops. All of the winners are incredibly worthy and we hope they are 
honoured to be the recipients of the inaugural Inside Track Readers' Choice 
Awards. It's also our hope that being recognized in this manner - by our 
readers - is a big boost to their careers, in the eyes of racing fans in 
Canada and abroad."
'Rally Racer of the Year' honours went to Subaru's Tom McGeer, who edged 
out Peter Thomson. Rob Atchison took top honours in the 'Drag Racer of the 
Year' category over Al Billes. Jean-Sebastien Roy beat out Miguel Duhamel 
in the 'Motorcycle Racer of the Year' poll.
In addition to the 'Racer of the Year' categories, there were also matching 
awards to recognize Canada's 'Up and Coming' stars of the future. And as 
was the case for the 'Racer of the Year' awards, six nominees were put 
forward by Inside Track's editors, with a blank line left in each for 
write-in candidates.
The 'Up and Coming Stock Car Racer of the Year' was CASCAR driver Jason 
Hathaway, who narrowly edged out ALSTAR competitor Pete Shepherd. The real 
'Barbie', Ashley Taws, dominated the 'Up and Coming Road Racer of the 
Year', while Superbike roadracer Andrew Nelson was the rider of choice in 
the 'Up and Coming Motorcycle Racer of the Year' category. Kart racer Kyle 
Herder was honoured by Inside Track readers as the 'Up and Coming Kart 
Racer of the Year'.

ITMN Readers' Choice Awards - Results:
Overall Racer of the Year: 1. Steve Robblee 2. Ron Fellows
Stock Car Racer of the Year: 1. Steve Robblee (24%) 2. Don Thomson Jr. (21%)
Up and Coming Stock Car Racer of the Year: 1. Jason Hathaway (22%) 2. Pete 
Shepherd (20%)
Road Racer of the Year: 1. Ron Fellows (53%) 2. Paul Tracy (13%)
Up and Coming Road Racer of the Year: 1. Ashley Taws (24%) 2. Billy Asaro 
(15%)
Rally Racer of the Year: 1. Tom McGeer (26%) 2. Peter Thomson (24%)
Drag Racer of the Year: 1. Rob Atchison (42%) 2. Al Billes (20%)
Karting Up and Coming Racer of the Year: 1. Kyle Herder (38%) 2. Juliana 
Chiovitti (34%)
Motorcycle Racer of the Year: 1. Jean Sebastien Roy (29%) 2. Miguel Duhamel 
(24%)
Motorcycle Up and Coming Racer of the Year: 1. Andrew Nelson (16%) 2. Ugo 
Levert & Phil Little (Tie - 14% each)
Inside Track Communications fast facts:
Inside Track Communications is the industry leader in motorsports 
publications. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Inside Track Communications 
publishes Inside Track Motorsport News (www.insidetracknews.com), Inside