May 11, 2021
As the racing season is revving up in the Northland it is time for the FANSFund to kick off the 14th season of assisting drivers from all over the country get to Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wisconsin. It will again be the goal of the grassroots organization to raise as much money as possible to help offset the high costs of the racers get to the track, which may be even harder for the 2021 season.
This year we will continue the same successful format of the FANSFund as well as an added part that was started last year. This year we plan to invite 8 to 12 drivers to the USA Nationals held at Cedar Lake Speedway the first week in August. These drivers will consist of drivers who are new to the facility, or have not attended in a few years, and the ever-popular All-Star category. The All-Star drivers will again consist of any driver who has been to the USA Nationals in the past couple of years. Our hope is that the driver lineup will consist of 6 to 8 new drivers and 2 to 4 all-stars.
The voting will start immediately for the year and we encourage you to get your votes in as quick as possible. This will honestly help out the driver you want to see get invited because the votes later in the season normally go to drivers who have already received some votes. Also, with the late season votes, you risk the chance of the driver you want to be included from receiving an invite because of very close results come the final count. Yes, this happens every year!
The aspect of the FANSFund that will return in 2021 will be that we will help with the payout of the last chance qualifying races that places the last couple drivers in the main event. Last year we helped increase the non-qualifiers payout as a way to help as many drivers as possible. This portion of the event is a little different as there is no voting or need on the drivers part, besides racing, to see a benefit from our group.
One thing that will be added this year is being done to honor a long time member, and friend, of the FANSFund crew. Early this race season we lost a big supporter of the fund, both in terms of donations and volunteer work. Because of all of his contributions, which include pounding the pavement on regular nights to cleaning the facility and setting up tables for the lunch, we are dedicating the 14th season of the FANSFund to Kyle Koch. The most noticeable part of this will be the dash, which will be known as the Kyle Koch Memorial FANSFund Dash for the 2021. Along with the naming change of the annual dash it will also come with a trophy for the winning that will carry Kyle’s name.
Now it is your time to help get things moving by stopping and seeing us at the track and getting in your votes and donations for the 2021 event. As already mentioned, the voting can start immediately and will end on July 12th ad midnight. Those of you who have contributed to the fund in the past already know the drill, but for those new each vote is $5 each and with a $30 donation you will receive an invite to the luncheon and a t-shirt. At the lunch, held the Saturday of USA Nationals, we will again have all of the invited drivers in attendance for a private meet and greet.
Please watch the Facebook page and our website for more information as it becomes available, which include sponsor announcements and possibly new drivers added to the list.