CHAMPIONS HONORED AT ANNUAL PROCTOR SPEEDWAY AWARDS BANQUET

By Jerry O'Brien 
10-29-05

The Proctor Speedway held their 2005 awards banquet on Saturday October 29th at the Buffalo House Restaurant. About 160 fans and racers enjoyed the Italian buffet prior to the awards ceremonies and the dance afterwards. Doing the master of ceremonies duties for the evening was new Proctor Speedway announcer Mark Fleischer as he and Speedway President Jerry "Crash" Carlson presented trophies and point fund checks to the top ten in each of the five divisions that compete weekly at the speedway. 

For 2005 the five champions include Jim McClellan Duluth in the Proctor Pure Stocks, Justin Jones, Onamia, MN in the WISSOTA Midwest Modifieds, Ryan Aho, Chisholm, MN WISSOTA Super Stocks, Kelly Estey, Kelly Lake, MN WISSOTA Modified and Harry Hanson, Eveleth, MN WISSOTA Late Model.

Each year rookie drivers in each division are picked as the Proctor Speedway Rookie of the Year. The 2005 Rookie of the Year in the Pure Stocks is 14 year old Jesse Ogston who finished fourth in seasons points in his first season. In the Midwest Modified division the rookie award was kept in the Ogston family as 17 year old Joey Ogston made the move upward from the Pure Stocks and finished fifth in the seasons points to garner the Rookie honors. The first year Super Stock racer who won the Rookie title carries a well known name in WISSOTA racing circles. Steve Estey of Kelly Lake, the nephew of Modified standout Kelly Estey finished 10th in seasons points at Proctor. The WISSOTA Modified Rookie of the year is no stranger to the racing world having been a standout in the Super Stock ranks for several seasons. 

In 2005 Schultz from Grand rapids, MN raced both divisions finishing 12^th in seasons points for the Rookie of the Year award. Nick Musel, who now lives in Duluth, competed for several years in the Super Stock division before getting a ride in one of the Billy Nelson team Late Models for 2005. He made the most of it with a number of strong runs to become the highest placing rookie in the final seasons points in 17^th place. There was also an award for the "Overall Rookie of the Year" which went to rookie announcer Mark Fleischer. 

The Proctor Speedway Board gives Sportsman of the Year awards in each division and for 2005 they are Pure Stock Champion Jim McClellan, Midwest Modified racer Mark Kangas, Super Stock driver Jay Kuras, Modified racer Duane Dale and Late Model competitor Kevin Carlson. There is also an overall sportsman award and for 2005 it was past speedway President Chris Sailstad who, amongst many other things, was instrumental in two ground breaking special events, the first ever Twin Ports Twin 25's an event featuring twin 25 lap main events and the first annual "Proctober Fest", the first special at the speedway ever to be held in October. 

Annually there is a "President’s Award" bestowed upon someone who is judged to have done the most to further the speedways ends throughout the season and beyond. For 2005 the award was presented to two of the Speedway Board members, Lisa Walkowaik and Jamie Thomas. Also a number of "Good Guy" awards were given to those who help make the Speedway operate smoothly. Also awards were given to the major speedway sponsors which numbered 17 for the 2005 seasons.