Inside Track Announces Readers' Choice Awards Winners
Winners Chosen for Inside Track Readers’ Choice Award Canadian Racing Legend Ron Fellows on top in four categories July 12, 2006 TORONTO, ON – The votes for the fourth annual Inside Track Readers’ Choice Awards, presented by Castrol, have been tallied, and the winners were announced in the July 2006 issue of Inside Track Motorsport News. In past years Inside Track supplied a list of potential nominees in each of 12 categories representing various popular forms of racing in Canada, however this time voters were given free rein to nominate any racer they chose. Inside Track wanted to ensure that every single Canadian racer had the chance to win, regardless of whether or not they were a ‘popular’ choice. The category winners are: Stock Car Racer of the Year – Don Thomson Jr. (CASCAR); Up & Coming Stock Car Racer of the Year – Ed Bowlby Jr. (OSCAAR); Road Racer of the Year – Ron Fellows (ALMS, SPEED GT); Up & Coming Road Racer of the Year – Travis Walker (Grand Am Cup); Motorcycle Racer of the Year – Jean Sebastien Roy (Canadian National Motocross); Up & Coming Motorcycle Racer of the Year – Harley Dunn (Canadian National Flat Track); Drag Racer of the Year – Carl Spiering (IHRA); Kart Racer of the Year – Robbie Wickens (SRFKC) and Rally Racer of the Year – Pat Richard (Rally America). Ron Fellows picked up a trio of additional awards. For the second time in Inside Track Readers’ Choice Awards history, he was chosen as Overall Canadian Racer of the Year, previously taking that title in 2004. Also, he was selected as the Canadian Racer of the Year Competing at the Highest Levels of International Competition and Most Deserving of Induction in the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame. First-time winner Don Thomson Jr. said, “I’m just blown away. I’ve got goose bumps. Winning the Inside Track Readers’ Choice Award is a huge honour for myself and the whole Home Hardware Chevy team, and it means a lot to me. I especially appreciate all of the fans going online and voting for me. It’s pretty cool." Inside Track Motorsport News is Canada’s top racing magazine, and the Readers’ Choice Awards are a key component of the magazine’s commitment to shine a bright light on this country’s current and future stars. The program is supported by title sponsor Castrol Canada, and Karting award presenter PartSource. Also, the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame has incorporated several Readers’ Choice Award winners into their induction celebrations. All voting for the Inside Track Readers’ Choice Awards, presented by Castrol was conducted via a controlled balloting procedure at the official Inside Track web site (www.insidetracknews.com). Polls closed at 6 p.m. on Friday, April 28, 2006. Previous Overall Canadian Racer of the Year winners include CASCAR driver Steve Robblee (2002), former Champ Car champion Paul Tracy (2003), and ALMS and 24 Hours of Le Mans GT1-class winner Ron Fellows (2004). Inside Track Readers’ Choice Awards, Presented by Castrol 2005 Winners based on voting in the Winter / Spring of 2006 (Percentage of votes cast in category) Overall Canadian Racer of the Year 1. Ron Fellows (19.1%) 2. Sean McIntosh (13.6%) 3. Don Thomson Jr. (8.5%) Stock Car Racer of the Year 1. Don Thomson Jr. (14.2%) 2. Rollie MacDonald (13.2%) 3. Rob Clarke (8.8%) Up & Coming Stock Car Racer of the Year 1. Ed Bowlby (10.8%) 2. Pete Shepherd III (10.2%) 3. Shawn Turple (9.7%) Road Racer of the Year 1. Ron Fellows (35.9%) 2. Sean McIntosh (26.5%) Up & Coming Road Racer of the Year 1. Travis Walker (30.6%) 2. Sean McIntosh (25.3%) 3. Robbie Wickens (17.0%) Motorcycle Racer of the Year 1. Jean Sebastien Roy (37.2%) 2. Miguel Duhamel (17.6%) 3. Pascal Picotte (9.8%) Up & Coming Motorcycle Racer of the Year 1. Harley Dunn (34.5%) 2. Cameron MacAlpine (18.1%) 3. Steven Nickerson (9%) Drag Racer of the Year 1. Carl Spiering (21.0%) 2. Rob Atchison (19.2%) 3. Todd Paton (10.5%) Kart Racer of the Year 1. Robbie Wickens (34%) 2. Kyle Marcelli (28.6%) 3. Andy Tallman (9.5%) Rally Racer of the Year 1. Pat Richard (28.6%) 2. Peter Thomson (21.4%) Canadian Racer of the Year Competing at the Highest Levels of International Competition 1. Ron Fellows (25.2%) 2. Sean McIntosh (8.9%) 3. Paul Tracy (8.1%) Most Deserving of Induction in the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame 1. Ron Fellows (20.8%) 2. Scott Fraser (16.5%) =3. Paul Tracy (3.8%) =3. David Empringham (3.8%) 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 Karting, Inside Motorcycles (www.insidemotorcycles.com), and Inside MotoX (www.insidemotocross.ca). For more information on the Readers’ Choice Awards, contact David Weber at (519) 869-4969.