Brad Leighton and Goodwin Hannaford added to Hall of Fame at awards ceremonies.
Portland,Maine – With approximately 400 people in attendance, the Holiday Inn by the Bay was the setting for the crowning achievements of the 2005 NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series held at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway.
The 57th consecutive season was brought to a close as champions and distinguished members of the racing fraternity were honored.
Leading the list of honorees was 2005 NASCAR Pro Series champion Bobby Babb, who capped off another strong season with his fourth championship in the past eight years.
Babb would also receive his second Driver of the Year award, much to his surprise as he noted in his acceptance speech.
Robert “Beaver” Norton stepped to the podium next to collect his first Sport Series championship. Norton gave praise to his competitors and crew noting that the championship effort could not have been possible without their dedication.
Bobby Nadeau received his first championship laurels after winning the 2005 Wildcat title. Nadeau honored his very small but dedicated team and his family for the effort that got him the championship and he looks forward to moving to the next level next season.
Jamie Heath collected the inaugural championship honors from the Road Runner division. Heath will not return next season but stated how much he enjoyed his brief racing career at Beech Ridge.
Rookie of the Year awards were presented to Shawn Twomy (Pro Series), Jason Webster (Sport Series) and Cole Watson (Wildcat).
Most Improved awards went to Trevor Sanborn (Pro Series), Dustin Reynolds (Sport Series) and Bill Nason Jr (Wildcat).
With the champions crowned it was time for the much-anticipated special awards and the first was presented to Goodwin Hannaford as he was inducted into the Beech Ridge Hall of Fame.
Hannaford, a longtime Beech Ridge supporter and noted engine builder, was humbled by the honor and gave a very emotional and heartfelt acceptance speech.
Also inducted into the Beech Ridge Hall of Fame was Brad Leighton, a former Limited Sportsman champion who moved on to be a champion with ACT and NASCAR Busch North. Leighton told the crowd about not giving up on your racing dreams and how honored he was to be included with the list of Hall of Fame members.
President’s Awards were presented to Sally Gherardi, Charlie Roussel and Lewis Anderson for their various contributions to Beech Ridge.
Al Robinson, NASCAR Busch North Series Media Coordinator, was on hand to represent NASCAR and gave out the Craftsman Mechanic award to Tim Hatch crew chief for Sally Gherardi’s Sport Series team.
This concluded the 2005 NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series events for Beech Ridge with opening day 2006 scheduled for April and the debut of the new Whiz Kids racing division and another season of special events that will be announced in the coming weeks.
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