Phil Parsons, ARCA RE/MAX banquet Guest of Honor

ARCA RE/MAX Series Awards Banquet Full-Ahead; Phil Parsons Guest of Honor
 

TOLEDO OH (11-3-04)  Preparations are full-ahead for the 52nd annual ARCA RE/MAX Series national championship awards banquet to be held at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, Kentucky on Saturday night, December 11. The event is open to the public.

 

This awards celebration will feature NASCAR/ARCA veteran driver and SPEED Channel TV analyst Phil Parsons as Guest of Honor. Parsons is currently the color commentator for SPEED's live coverage of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Parsons also provides, on occasion, color for SPEED's ARCA RE/MAX Series programming. Prior to Parsons's NASCAR driving career, which includes over 200 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series starts and 252 Busch Series starts, the Detroit, Michigan native won a RE/MAX Series race at North Wilkesboro in 1980. Parsons is the younger brother of current NBC motorsports analyst, '73 Nextel Cup champ and two-time ARCA RE/MAX Series champ Benny Parsons.

 

This year's event will honor the top-20 drivers and owners including six-time series champion Frank Kimmel along with champion car owner Larry Clement as well as ARCA RE/MAX Rookie of the Year TJ Bell. Other top honorees include championship runner-up driver Brent Sherman, third place Bell, fourth place Billy Venturini and fifth place Jason Jarrett. In addition, six-time series winner Ryan Hemphill, who also won six Pork Pole awards in 2004, will be honored as the Pork Pole award champion.

 

Other special awards presented include the Superspeedway Challenge championship, the Bill France Triple Crown, the HG Adcox Sportsmanship award, the Reed Cams Most Improved Driver, the Holley Performance Crew Chief of the Year, the Manufacturer title, the Marcum award, the ARCA Motorsports Media award and the Clevite-Victor Reinz Mechanic of the Year.

 

SPEED Channel's Ray Dunlap, who is also part of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series talent team on SPEED, will be Master of Ceremonies before an expected record number of attendees. Dunlap, prior to his tenure with SPEED, served as motorsports talent for ESPN after working several years at ARCA as the company's public relations director.

 

In addition to the on-stage ceremonies, the audience will be treated to big-screen video productions of the RE/MAX Series season in review, the top-20 teams as well as special tributes to the late Iggy Katona, whose six series championships were matched by Kimmel in '04. Dinner will accompany the black-tie affair. 

 

Plus, the annual ARCA RE/MAX Series press conference, also open to the public, will precede the banquet at 2:30 pm eastern at the same location.

 

The banquet welcome reception begins at 5:15 pm with doors to the Grand Ballroom opening at 6.  

 

Tickets are still available. Call (734) 847-6726 for more details.