The 2008 district 17 awards banquet was very smooth this year. The district directors have attempted to make changes over the past few years along with Pit Sticks Pavilion. The door prizes went better people were fed quickly and awards went smoothly. Dirt track is one of the disciplines that use the smaller room but that is OK we do not have the large number of participants. It was fun to see all the people we haven’t seen since October when the season ended. You get to talk about plans for the upcoming season and just generally catch up on what has been happing since the last race. Turn out was moderate this year still, I believe everyone enjoyed themselves. I particularly like to see the family orientation of this sport. There are currently quiet a few families that participate. The participation of girls/young ladies is growing also. I look forward to seeing everyone this spring which will be here before we know it so if you haven’t started yet; you better start getting ready for next season.... Stan Camp.

On the D-17 Hare-Scrabbles side it was a full year with the riders battling it out for the best of eighteen races to the end. We had the best turn out yet this year at the races and it show with a large turn out at the banquet. We had a few extra awards this year first going to Mike Armstrong with his 29 race under his belt with know one matching his pace "that is racing all the race that you do for the year.

 "Second was the Schmidt Family "Jim, Benjamin, and Keagan they all got first place in their class and Jim has one more Haydon who got a jacket and said he would match Dad next year. Dad you better stay on the gas! The last award was to Roger Swim who received the sportsmen of the year award. Roger is a friend to all at the track and is a good statesmen for the sport, nice job.  

 

  The top award in the AA class was Daniel Janus who should his speed and consents for the year, plus pulling extra duty in D-17 Enduros and the six day were he earned a silver medal nicely done Daniel. Shea Dickson was the top dog of the 4 wheel A's who looked great with all his new hardware and looked great in his new jacket. We had some great races this year between our all of our classes but one stands out and came down to the last race of the year it was between Derek Toberman and Mike Armstrong with Derek getting the top prize hope you boy's had fun this year it was allot of fun watching you on the track together trading first places.

  

I would like to thank all the competitors this year and hope they had as much fun as I did this year and hope to see you next year. I  would like to thank my wife Tammy Hall for all the help we could not do it without you and we might see her on a bike this year in the new women's class. Thanks for a great 07 Jay Hall Hare Scrambles Director.

 From the desk of Ryan Moss, Enduro Director The 2007 Enduro season saw 12 great events this season and had an average rider count of 150 riders per race.  Mother Nature wasn’t friendly and we saw one event cancel completely and one that had to postpone twice.  I know an Enduro cancelled due to Mother Nature???  In District 17 the old school Enduro days of running no matter what are gone for some of the clubs.  With land harder to get and landowners more concerned than ever about their land some clubs have to cancel when the weather is bad.  But even with those challenges the Enduros in District 17 were great this year.  I think all riders will agree that every club out there did a great job in providing seat time at all 12 events. 

Once again our AA and Grand Enduro Champion was Jeff Fredette on his Team Green / Moose Racing / FRP KLX450.  Jeff has proved once again that age doesn’t slow you down it just makes you smarter and smoother.  But Jeff didn’t have it easy this year with Daniel Janus on his Halls Cycle Gas Gas 250 putting in some excellent rides and pulling off a victory at the Cahokia Creek Dirt Riders State Championship Enduro that landed him in 2^nd for the season.  Another up and comer Kiel Muller showed that he was ready for the AA class with a few top 5 rides and a couple of established AA riders, Brian Neihaus and Scott Hofmann keeping up the pace up as well.

One of the most competitive classes this year was the Open A class.  Stan Redell of the WFO clan, Heath Drone of the P&G Team, and Larry “GQ” Berquist fought all year long for the 1^st place position.  Larry ended up missing a couple races so it was down to Stan and Heath at the final event.  Heath ended up working the event to get those valuable worker points, which meant Stan had to have a strong finish.  Stan came through with a 2^nd place in class and 9^th overall to take the year end jacket.

Senior A was another competitive class with the top three all within 3 points of each other.  Some of the B classes saw action with John Hardin taking the 200B win on his trusty KDX200, Darren Morgan winning the Open B, and Chris Huffman taking the 250B and Overall B award for the second year in a row.  Both Darren and Chris are new A class riders for 2008 so it will be fun to see how they fair in their new classes.

For 2008 District 17 added a Masters (60+) class and once again has 12 races on the schedule.  The Hill & Gully riders will be hosting the State Championship event this year too.  Some of the clubs will be hosting family events (they will not be points paying for D17) on the Saturday s before the Enduros this year.  These are a good way to get the family involved or new riders involved.  If you’re interested contact me and I can let you know which events will be holding the family Enduros.

Thanks to all that came to the banquet!  It was good to hand out the awards, I hope everyone liked and appreciated the Top Ten Challenge awards that the Kishwaukee Riders supported this year, and to do some bench racing with everyone.  Hope to see everyone March 30 at the Little Egypt Enduro in Marion, IL.

Motocross and Stadium Motocross was a smaller showing then normal, about the same as we all seen at the tracks this season. A very good showing of the mini classes came to the banquet ready to gather up the awards and see friends. We had for the first time in the history of D-17 a 4 class winner in MX and SX, Chase Sexton won 50cc Sr in both and also 65cc Jr in MX & SX. Women's class in Stadium MX was strong this season as well, with close competition.  Some of the racers points competition came right down to the final point races of the season. Although smaller in size the banquet went pretty smooth, talking with many this night revealed a appreciation for the new class structure and it will be interesting to see how that all plays out in 2008. The new owner of Lincoln Trail Motosports was at the banquet, Tim and Tammy Jackson are looking forward to starting a new career at this historic location. They got to meet a lot of the riders along with seeing old friends, it was good too see Tim again after all these years. 

Electric Blue did and excellent job again this season, this "DJ" and entertainment group worked well keeping the group hopping. Antics like a Blues Brothers stint, a new version of musical chairs to current music mad it fun for all. An exceptional amount of door prizes were handed out, some where around 100 tires, clothing, and just about anything that one could imagine associated with riding and racing.  ALL the directors and their families did not participate this year in the drawings making even more going to the riders. This process of door prize set up worked great (thanks to Jay and Tammy).  Special thanks to Parts Unlimited, and Moose for all the product, Todd Sheedy for the set up and work to get it done!  Have a great season and see you at the races..........Gerhard & Patty Ward

Several special awards were presented to Hill Climbers at the 2007 Illinois AMA District 17 awards banquet on January 26.
MULTIPLE CLASS WINNERS. Four riders won more than one class, with two riders winning three. Mike Pulver and Mike Popham were the triple winners. Pulver won both the 400cc Stock and Open Stock classes on his Hondas, as well as the Senior (+40) class on Andy Fortner’s CR500. Popham rode his Yamaha YZ450F to wins in both the 600cc Four Stroke and 450cc classes, and added the 250cc class win on his YZ250F.

Paul Hillard and Schuyler Kalaher enjoyed double class wins, with Hillard riding his Kawasaki two stroke triples to wins in both the 750cc and Open classes. Kalaher claimed the title in the 125cc class on his YZ125 and took the 200cc win on his vintage KDX200. That made the Kalaher family extremely happy as younger brother Brett also won the 85cc Junior Mini class to make it a perfect family season.

FAST TIMES: Joe ‘Jammin’ Joe’ McGurer was the fast guy in youth competition, claiming 8 Youth Fast Times for the year on his KX85 on his way to winning the 85cc Senior Mini class. Brett Kalaher was his closest competitor with 7 Fast times. Shane Green was the amateur fast time guy, with five Fast Times on his way to winning the big and very competitive 600cc class, despite spending over a month on the sidelines with a broken wrist.
RAW POINTS AWARD: This award is given to those riders accumulating the most total points in all classes combined. Logan Moody, was the Youth winner with 1096 points accumulated in the 65cc class, which he won, and a second place finish in the Junior Mini class. Moody is the 2007 National Champion in the 65cc class. Mike Popham took the Amateur Raw Points award with 1601 points accumulated on the way to his triple win season.

KING OF THE HILL: Kaleb Northrup, through his KingoftheHill.org website, sponsors a King of the Hill Series in Illinois/Indiana, Wisconsin/Minnesota, and Missouri/Kansas. The King of the Hill race is a one run, winner take all ‘Dash for Cash’ for the ten fastest riders, regardless of the class. Each participating club ran one such event. Northrup provided trophies for the local wins, and most clubs added a nice cash prize. Cody Jenner was the season ‘King’ in Illinois/Indiana with two wins, a second and a sixth in the local events, picking up the season winner trophy and a cash award from Northrup. Jenner rides a KX500 in the 600cc class and an incredible big bore Kawasaki four cylinder monster in the Open class, finishing second in both those classes despite missing many of the events. 

DIRECTOR’S CHOICE AWARD: Gordon Green, the D-17 Hill Climb Director, made a Director’s Choice award for the Most Improved Rider in 2007, giving it to Al ‘Big Al’ Petty. Petty, from Brownsburg, Indiana, rides a CR250 in the 400cc Stock class where he finished third, and a KX500 in the 600cc class where he claimed the 5th place jacket. His dad, Scott, is the D-15 Hill Climb Referee and also an outstanding climber. Hope everyone had a great season! Bud.