10/12/2003
RAY
FITZGERALD IN BOOKS AS FIRST NEETS CHAMPION
It was a beautiful day
for a Grand Finale. A warm 70 degree day with the sun
shining down on 34 cars sitting on the track behind the pace
truck all viewing to win Billy Bartley's' North East
Enduro Tour Series last race of the 2003 season...the Bartley
Racing Enterprises 250.
The current point leader, Ray Fitzgerald from
Manorville, NY, was sitting in the 15th starting spot hoping
he had prepared his #16 ride that carried him this far in the
tour to get him to the end of this final event. It was
mathematically possible for 9 different drivers to take this
championship off of him with double points on the line. With
Bartley paying $1,000 guaranteed to win and almost $2000 in
lap money up for grabs it would not be such an easy task for
Ray this time.
Fitz up to this day has entered all the NEETS
races and faired very well at all the tracks the tour visited.
The main concept of the series is to put the competition back
in the drivers hands with testing their driving skills and
setting their cars up for all type of different size tracks
and surfaces, not just one track and one set-up weekly.
Ray has proved he can do this by racking up 3 wins and 8 top
10 finishes which brought him to where he is today.
As you know by the headline to this story, Ray
did indeed win the championship points. he finished the race a
respectable 9th place, keeping all his competition in
site the whole one hour and twenty five minutes it took for
the 250 laps. #41 Joe Jentile won the BRE250 and took home
$2000 for his efforts.
After the trophy presentations and pictures for the top
5 finishers in victory lane, Bartley called out Ray from the
pits to go to victory lane for his Championship win pictures.
Little did he know the NEETS officials and other drivers had a
surprise waiting for him. Ray buckled up, drove onto the track
and on the frontstretch in front of the fans...did the
longest, smokiest set of victory donuts we have ever seen. He
then pulled to the winners circle, got out of his car, and
while posing for his awaited picture, he and his car were
buried in mounds of "Silly String" from his fellow
drivers and officials. When it was over he looked like the
monster from the movie the "Swamp Thing".
When interviewed, Ray had many compliments about
the new series he had joined and will be back in 2004 to
defend his title. Before then, on November 15th at the Best
Western/ Genetti Manor in Hazleton, he will be the man of the
hour at the first NEETS awards banquet where he will recieve
his Championship trophy and series point fund money along with
the other top ten tour members.
The other top ten in the final NEETS points
were the drivers that were trying for "Fitz's" title
all year. 2- "Racin" Rich Johnson, Mastic,NY.
3- "Uncle" Richard Petey, Hackettstown, NJ. 4- Bill
"Bad Boy" Blessing, Westfield, NJ. 5-" Dr.
Destruction" Howie Bott, Budd Lake, NJ. 6- "
Dangerous" Dave Shafnisky, Whitehall, Pa. 7-"All
Hail" Caesar Cunaccia, Lindenhurst, NY. 8- Bobby
"Pease don't pass me" Pease, Medford, NY. 9- Jim
"The Flame" Erdbrink, Bellmawr,NJ. 10- George
"Pappy" Herman, Kutztown, Pa.
With the successful first season for NEETS
now in the books, Billy Bartley has some big plans for the
upcoming and future seasons. In 2004 the "Stocks"
will be a regular part of the show and join in the same race
as the touring Pro-division. He says he would not be surprised
if the membership doubles from the first season from all the
contacts he has had the past few months. Billy is now
talking to new speedways that are calling and wanting an event
scheduled at their facilities. He said he is going to schedule
11 or 12 events giving the tracks that believed in him the
first year priority, however there are some tracks he will add
because his members asked if he could secure them. Many
sponsors are now interested in the series and Bartley will be
busy meeting with them all winter and hopefully come up with a
major corporate partnership for the tour . The 4cyls will
stay as part of the show at certain tracks but may be added to
the tour series if the numbers are there to travel. There is
already talk of expansion with separate regional NEETS series
into other areas of the North east including the Northern tier
of New York and some New England states and also another
in Western Pennsylvania and Ohio. Some big names in
racing have contacted Billy and interested in being part of
his series. Meetings dates are already set for this planning
in November and could be in black and white before the 2004
season.
NEETS has come a long way in it's first few short
months, but with the uniqueness of its concept, the
professionalism with which it is run, the best promotional
skills, and the best Enduro drivers in the Northeast...how
could it of failed. Look for this to be a great success story.
Sources: NEETS PR
Posted: October 16, 2003
