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PROMOTER
OF THE YEAR STOKES WILL WEAR TWO HATS IN 2008 WITH NeSMITH CHEVROLET
DLMS
Johnny
Stokes
CARTERSVILLE,
GA – Johnny Stokes of Columbus Speedway in Columbus, MS was named
the 2007 StormPay.com Weekly Racing Series Promoter of the Year at the
series awards banquet on December 5.
Stokes has announced that he will wear two hats in 2008, as the
series changes names for its Weekly Racing Series and its National
Tour.
Stokes, who is both an accomplished promoter, as well as a race
car driver, will continue to promote Columbus Speedway in 2008 as a
part of the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series, but he will also
trade is promoter’s hat for a helmet, as he will also compete for
the NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Championship.
“I’m a racer that became a track owner and a promoter, so I
understand both sides of the fence,” Stokes said while accepting his
Promoter of the Year Award. “I
still have the competitive drive to race, and I try to race whenever I
can. I have really enjoyed
promoting the Weekly Racing Series at
Columbus
Speedway
,
and competing on the National Tour.”
Stokes has announced he will compete for the 2008 NeSmith
Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Championship.
The first race of the 2008 season will be this Saturday and
Sunday at
Talladega
Short Track in
Eastaboga
,
AL
with a 50-lap $3,000-to-win main event.
In a racing career that began in 1970, Stokes is a multi-time
Mississippi State Late Model Champion, and has also won on the
national level with a win at Columbus Speedway in the 1990s with the
Hav-A-Tampa Dirt Late Model Series.
Stokes ran a limited schedule in 2007
with the StormPay.com Dirt Late Model Series, competing in eight of
the 21 events, and turning in four top five finishes, six top ten
finishes, and one pole award. He
finished 14th in the point standings, and also led 37 laps
of competition.
In 2008,
Columbus
Speedway
will begin its eighth season under Stokes’ guidance, and its third
straight season as a part of the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing
Series. The 2007
StormPay.com Weekly Racing Series Promoter of the Year Award was a
reflection of Stokes’ skills as a track promoter, and manager, who
has assembled a staff of prolific officials.
“When we choose the Weekly Racing
Series Promoter of the Year, we look at a lot of different
administrative things that the fans don’t see on race night,”
NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Director Roby Helm said.
“Not only do Johnny Stokes and his staff do many great things
on race night, but during the week his staff led by track manager
Samantha Lewis always got things done correctly, and on schedule.”
Helm said Stokes and Lewis always had
their web site updated by Sunday morning after a Saturday night event,
always met the Monday
noon
deadline for reporting their results, and always sent in their
administrative paperwork in a timely manner.
“If we had to show other tracks an
example of how to do things the right way, we would point them towards
Columbus
Speedway
,”
Helm said. “They get
high marks on both promotional and administrative skills, both of
which are important in being a successful weekly race track.
Johnny Stokes works hard on providing a competitive racing
surface, and Samantha Lewis works hard in the office to make sure
everything gets done on schedule.”
The NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series National Tour will
visit
Columbus
Speedway
twice in 2008. Columbus
Speedway will host the second round of the 2008 NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt
late model Series National Tour with the 40-lap $2,500-to-win Annual
Winter Classic on January 26, and the final points race of the season
with the 40-lap $2,500-to-win Annual Possum Town Grad Prix on November
29.
Columbus Speedway will also host the 30-lap $2,000-to-win 3rd
Annual NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing Series Fall Nationals
Invitational Race, along with the NeSmith Chevrolet Weekly Racing
Series Race of Champions and Race of Regions on November 28.
For
more information about
Columbus
Speedway
, visit the track web
site at www.columbusspeedway.net. |
