Novebmer 2003 - Inside Line Column - by Floyd Busby

Smiles abounded and glasses were raised as the 2003 Bay Cities Racing Association champions were feted at the season-ending awards banquet. Held at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Pleasanton with more than 160 people in attendance, the top ten driver and car owners from the Midget and Midget Lite divisions were awarded trophies and Championship Fund checks. Championship rings were also received by the winners in both divisions and the BCRA Vintage Division members received participation plaques.

Master of Ceremonies Tim Joyce, himself a driving champion in 1990, called each award recipient to the podium with outgoing BCRA President Bob Roza congratulating and handing out the bounty that included $16,400.00 for the Midgets and $10,500.00 for the Midget Lite division.

Making his seventh trip to the podium as BCRA Midget driving champion was Floyd Alvis. Doug Hunting made his first trip
front-and-center as the BCRA Midget Lite driving champion. The top two car owner champions made their way to the podium, Cameron Beard in the Midget category and Scott Clark to accept the Midget Lite honors.

The evening proceeded until all forty awards were awarded with the special tributes interspersed during the ceremony.

Receiving special awards in the Midget Division were Carly Lawrence, Johnny Boyd Rookie of the Year, and Travis Berryhill, the Johnny Baldwin Most Improved Driver of the Year honors. The Perseverance Award went to Travis Johnson (out traveler from Tacoma, WA) and the Lloyd Nygren Sportsmanship/Service Award was presented to BCRA Office Manager and coordinator of most everything, Linda Manning. In the Midget Lite division Billy Graham Jr. and Rick Green were both awarded the Rookie of the Year honors. Sam Corso took the Tracy Taylor Most Improved Driver honors. The Perseverance Award was bestowed upon the Clay Green Racing Team. The Tom Boune Sportsmanship Award went to Rudy Warrington. The Pete Baraldi Best Appearing Car Award went to Frank Goularte for his Daimler powered Edmunds vintage Midget.

The trophies were sponsored by many businesses, contingency sponsors and individuals. Special award of appreciation plaques were given to the racing season contingency sponsors, including ART Enterprises, C.L. Bryant, Design 500 Racewear, Hoosier Tire West, Jack McCoy Enterprises, Inc., Lagario Communications, Norm Rapp Racing Equipment, Shasta Marina Resort, Stealth Motorsports West, TCR Performance and Weld Racing Products.

Many accolades go to the BCRA Board of Directors for the successful awards banquet, but the board's biggest asset, and the
person upon which almost all of the planning details and execution depend, is BCRA Office Manager Linda Manning.

So, BCRA's 64th racing season goes into the history books.

The final two Midget races of the season were dirt tack events with 18-year-old Tyler Brown winning at the Santa Maria Speedway on Oct. 4 with 21 cars on hand. So-Cal's Brown, a high school senior, plans on running a number of BCRA events in 2004. Look for great things from this youngster!

Leaving Santa Maria and heading to the final race the following Saturday at the Kings Speedway in Hanford, Floyd Alvis held
a 17-point lead over Glenn Carson for the driving championship.

When the dust settled at Hanford, Alvis won the title by a mere six points over the three-time champ. It was also a very close
race for the car owner championship with Cameron Beard leading Gary Dickenson. Dickenson, with a broken car from Santa Maria, didn't appear at Hanford and Beard was locked into his first title.

At the annual General Membership Meeting on Oct. 25, a new Board of Directors was voted in. Two incumbents, George Chandler and Scott Clark remained. Outgoing board member Ken Bonnema ran as Member-at-Large and was reinstated to the board. The new members are Joe Lindsey, Ralph Cortez, Kevin Hunter and Rick Holbrook. Several board members and others representing BCRA will be attending the Promoters Workshop in Reno in December, where the majority of the new
season's racing schedule is finalized.

Seems like you can't get away from the name "Alvis"! The perennial Midget driver also fill that capacity as an avid golfer. He
and his three sidekicks, Tim Joyce, Gary Haynes and Paul Brook won the TCR Performance 4th Annual Johnny Baldwin BCRA Classic Golf Tournament on Nov. 2 (Alvis' third win). Held at the Oakmore Golf Club in Stockton, six foursomes played 18 holes. A BBQ hamburger lunch was served following the event and a number of really great prizes were awarded to the duffers. Midget Lite driver Billy Graham Jr., a golf pro at a course in Roseville, donated several prizes, including a $300 driver! Again, it was a number of businesses and sponsors who came forward to sponsor the individual tees.

BCRA recently received the most expansive national coverage in its long history. Journalist Susan Wade from Indiana contacted myself and a number of BCRA drivers in an effort to do a story on the organization. In the special monthly "Elbow Up" insertion in the National Speed Sport News publication Susan's article ran as a two-page spread, complete with color photos and black-and-white photos of former noted drivers such as Hank Butcher, Bob DeJong and Bill Vukovich Jr. A job well done!

Looking to the future, BCRA's prospects for 2004 are very upbeat.

The beautiful 2004 BCRA Midget calendar is now hot off the presses! Printed in full color, it features more than 200 racing and driver photos. 8-1/2" x 11" spiral bound, it opens to 11" x 17" to individually depict each month. January features photos from the annual awards banquet with presentations to the top 10 drivers and car owners. The top eleven driver photos are featured in February through December, along with a variety of action and driver photos. The WMRA cars that competed at Shasta and Sunset are included, as are several USAC cars that ran at BCRA races. The price tag is $11.50 plus $3 shipping and handling. In quantities of five or more, the price drops to $10.00 each plus $5 S&H for all. Orders can be sent to: Buzco Enterprises Graphics, 1114 Lovell Ct., Concord, CA 94520 (Please include check - no credit card orders). Phone orders: (925) 825-1043. Email orders: buzco@buzco.com.

Ending this month's column with the following is difficult, because BCRA has lost one of its premier drivers from the past. Johnny Boyd succumbed to cancer at age 77 on Oct. 26 following a long illness. Johnny was the 1951 BCRA indoor champion and the 1952 overall Midget champion. He went on to race 12 times in the Indy 500, finishing in the top-ten five times, placing third in 1958. Johnny was always a true gentleman and a great friend to BCRA and all of open wheel motorsports. For a number of year BCRA's "Rookie of the Year" awards have been named in his honor. He seldom missed the awards banquet, where he would elegantly present his namesake award.