Jacklyn Gebhardt Trailer Sales, located in Jacksonville has signed on again for the 2008. Located at 1682 Liberty Rd, Gebhardts sponsors our winners circle sign. Give Jacklyn or Denise a call at (217) 245-1PRO for your trailer or your motor home needs in 2008.
Walt and Kelly Edwards from Cedar City Motors in Mattoon are once again a track sponsor in 2008. They not only have a sign on the tower, but also will once again sponsor the Queen of the Track race on Saturday June 7th. Stop and see Kelly at 501 S 26th in Mattoon for your next used car, or call them at 258-6023.
Gateway Liquors/Eastside Package
Gateway Liquors and Eastside Package in Charleston are continuing their track sponsorship in 2008. With a new location at 102 Lincoln and still on 18th street, they are your one source for beer, wine, and spirits in Charleston.
Browns Auto Sales
Browns Auto Sales in Mattoon is on board again in 2008, with both a track and a race sponsorship again. The Browns Auto Sales $1200 win S/P race will be on June 14th. They are still located on N 28th in Mattoon,
but also have a second location at the corner of Rt 45 and DeWitt Ave. Stop in and see Roger or Charlie for your next used vehicle, or give them a call at 217-234-7560.
Tim Paap from Paap Auto Body in Mattoon has signed on again as a track sponsor for the 2008 racing season. Tim has a sign on the tower and also helps out on our Big Bucks racing series. Paap Auto Body is located at the corner of Loxa Rd and 316, and his motto is "setting the new standard for excellence."
Billingsley BP
Dave and Sharon Billingsley of Decatur have agreed to continue their support of CCD in the 2008 racing season. With 4 locations in the Decatur area, they are your one stop for fuel, conveniences and car wash. We thank them again for the support in the 2008 season.
Glass Cutters
Dwayne and Carol Donner from the Glass Cutters in Mattoon are signed up again as a track sponsor for 2008. They are a family owned business located at 2405 Lake Land Blvd in Mattoon. We look forward to seeing them at the track in 2008.
Vic and Linda Seeley of Elliott Furniture on Lake Land Blvd in Mattoon have signed as a track sponsor for the 2008 season. Elliott's offers a fine selection of new and used furniture, and are proud supporters of Coles County Dragway. Stop in or give them a call at 234-7778 to fill your needs.
TA Bacon Auto Rebuilders
Ted Bacon of TA Bacon Auto Rebuilders in Charleston has signed on again as a track sponsor for the 2008 racing season. Ted and his son Doug are located at the corner of Rt 130 and Madison Ave, and will be glad to fix your damaged vehicle or apply that custom paint look to your race car or hot rod. Give them a call at 345-3313 to see what they can do for you.
Niemeyer Kubota/Repair
Tom Niemeyer from Niemeyer Repair in Humboldt has signed on as a track sponsor this year. They are going to be buying a 2 x 4 sign, and will also be at the track this year with a display of the full line of Kubota all-terrain vehicles for show and sell. We thank them for
their support of the 2008 racing season.
Attention Racers
Alton Delivery and Warehousing in Mattoon has signed on again this year as a track and race sponsor. They will not only keep their sign on the fence, but will also again be a bonus race sponsor. $1200 to win will be the top prize in Super Pro on Saturday July 19th. We thank them again for supporting Coles County Dragway in the 2007 season.
Attention Racers
The pit space map has been updated as of March 14th. Just a reminder, all reserved pit spaces are due to be paid by April 1st. After that, any unpaid pit space will be up for grabs to any racer. You can pay for a pit space by mail to the track office address which is 313 N 7th, Charleston, IL 61920.
Reserved Pit Spaces
Attention all racers with reserved pit spaces. You have until March 1st to reserve your space again for the 2008 racing season, and until April 1st to make your payment. If you have a reserved space now and do not wish to keep it, please notify me by email or call (217) 348-1000 to let me know. We have updated the parking space map, so you can now see some that are available if you wish to get one or move to a different space. After March 1st, any space that has not been reserved will then be available for purchase. If not paid for by April 1st then it will be available. Pit spaces are still only $100 for the race season. If you wish to mail in your payment, please send it to the office address which is 313 N 7th, Charleston IL 61920.
Attention Racers, Fans and Sponsors
This past weekend Cathy and I helped out during the St Judes Block party in Mattoon and am very happy to report that over $2000 was raised in support of the charity. We thank all of you that helped support this great cause during the annual drive for 2008.
Bill Protz Honored at Division 3 Banquet
Our Division 3 awards banquet weekend was kicked off on Saturday morning during the tech meetings with the first accolades for Coles County Dragway. Our tech director, Bill Protz, was honored with receiving the 2nd annual Don "Pinky" Cobbs memorial award. It was given in recognition of his outstanding service to NHRA Drag racing as a tech inspector in the North Central Division. Cathy and I, Terry and Rosalee, Jim Hooper and Ken Byard, and the entire Protz family were on hand and very proud of this achievement for Bill. He has worked tirelessly for Coles County Dragway for many years, and this award was quite an honor for Bill, Jackie, Randy, Brenda, Brandi and Jenna.
Attention Racers, Fans and Sponsors
This past weekend was a grand weekend for Coles County Dragway. It was the annual NHRA Division 3 Banquet at Indianapolis. Cathy and I are very proud to share with each and every one of you that during the awards ceremony on Saturday night we were fortunate to be honored as the 2007 Division 3 Track of the year. It is an award that we share with the staff, the sponsors, the racers and the fans. Without all of you none of the success that we had in 2007 would have been possible. It was with great pride and emotion that I accepted the award on behalf of our racing family. We look forward to seeing everybody at the awards banquet on the 26th of January, where we will share this award with all of you.
Ron
2007 Awards Banquet Winners
The annual awards banquet ceremony was held this past weekend at the Eagles in Mattoon. There were almost 300 people there, and a good time was had by all. All of the top 10 in all classes were honored, as well as the individual awards. Rob Fisher was named top male driver, and Kassie Edwards was named top female. Ralph Craig got the Most Improved award, and Jesse Brant was the Rookie of the Year. The hard luck of the year was given to Justin Long. Cedar City Motors was honored as Sponsor of the Year. Dave Wallace was honored with the Bob Chaney Memorial award, and Glenn Butt received the Walt Crabtree Memorial Sportsmanship award. In the Jr Dragster division, Holden English was the top male and Samantha
Kortte was the top female. Zack Paap was most improved, and Blake Hooper was the Hard luck winner. Hayden Bailey and Jocelyn Hooper were given the Ray Evans Consolation race King and Queen awards. Country Motors Trailer Sales was the top Sponsor in the Jr Division. Mike Pinkston was awarded the employee of the year and Craig Minor and Cathy Veach were each awarded the coveted Person of the Year. We send out our thanks to all who were there, and look forward now to the upcoming 2008 racing season.Click Here for Banquet Photos
Attention Racers
The Coles County Dragway family would like to send our sympathies to the family of Scott Gordon. Scott's mother Roberta passed away yesterday after a long battle with heart problems. The Visitation will be
Friday from 5-7 PM at the Schilling Funeral home in Mattoon. We send the best for the Gordon family in this time of need.
Ron
Attention Racers, Fans and Sponsors
This past week was a sad one in the racing community. We lost a dear lifetime friend of CCD this past week, Minerva Evans lost her long battle with cancer on Sunday the 10th. She was known in many ways around CCD
for many years. Her husband Ray was a long time racer, she was a former track champion in the Powder Puff class, ran the concession stand for years, and was a friend to all who knew her. Her daughters Cindy and Clatie raced the first Jr Dragsters at CCD, and her son Warren is a past owner and longtime announcer at the famed 1/8th mile. Minerva was also responsible for the first Teddy Bears that were given to racing accident victims through DRAW, as she hand made many of the first ones. She wore many hats and did many things in her time with us, and I am very proud to have called her my friend.
Ron
Dallas Montgomery, who for years has been the Hoosier Tire rep out of the Indy office and this past season was the operator of Action City Dragway in Terre Haute passed away last Friday. To his former customers, family, racers and friends we at Coles County Dragway send our deepest condolences and wish his family
all the best in this time of need.
Ron
2007 Powder Puff Class Champion
The 2007 Powder Puff Class champion is Kassie Edwards of Charleston. She was the top point earner over Brandi Leisher of Decatur. Kassie won all of the races that she competed in this year to win by a wide margin. She also had a very succesful year in Street and Pro in her Camaro Z28. We send congrats to Kassie and all of the other racers this year in the Powder Puff class.
2007 High School Class Champion
Kyle Wright of Ashmore, IL is your 2007 High School class champion. He won his second consecutive season title by holding off Kyle Veach of Charleston. Kyle also won the NHRA national dragster challenge race, as well as a top 10 finish in the Street class this year. Kyle also added a motorcycle class race win to round out a very successful 2007 race season. We would like to congratulate all of the participants in the High School class this year at Coles County Dragway.
2007 Quick 8 Series Champion
Craig Minor of Shelbyville is the 2007 Quick 8 Series champion. Craig won 3 of the 5 events and held off Richard Briscoe of Oakley for the title. Craig had a very successful season which also included a top 5 finish in the Super Pro class. Thanks to all of the Quick 8 sponsors as well. DDS Sales, Precision Automotive, Hopper's, Pinkston Auto Body, and JT Muffler. Congrats to all of the 2007 participants.
2007 Street Class Champion
Rob Fisher of Humboldt capped off an absolutely fantastic year with the season championship in the Street class by edging out Urbana's Bob Burnett. Rob was the track leader in round wins this year, winning races not only in the street class, but also the Pro class and he also won the US Army street legal title on Friday nights. The venerable "Million Dollar wagon" took Fisher from what appeared to be an insurmountable deficit in July to the track title. He also got to the quarterfinals at the Indy Bracket finals for Team Coles County. Congrats to Rob and all of the other Street competitors in the 2007 racing season!
2007 Motorcycle Class Champion
Decatur's Chad Beery was the season points winner in the Motorcycle class in 2007. Chad overcame a big lead by Richard Russell of Decatur and then held off a hard charging Chad Isley to claim his second points championship. Among his many highlights this year included this win on August 18th. Congrats to Chad and all of the other Motorcycle class racers who made for a great 2007 points battle!
2007 Pro Class Champion
Andy Romine of Tuscola is the 2007 Season points champion in the Pro class, holding off Terry Willard of Mattoon for honors. Andy also won the prestigious Walt Crabtree Memorial race to go with his 3 other wins during the 2007 season. Congratulations to Andy and all of the other contestants in the Pro class this year.
2007 Super Pro Champion
The 2007 Super Pro season champion is Gary Morse of Decatur. In what was a very consistent year, Gary edged out Steve Maxwell by one point and Doug Patrick by two. Other than winning the points championship, probably the season high point for "Too Tall" was winning the NHRA "Wally" race on October 7th. Congratulations to Gary for earning another season title, and to the rest of the Super Pro competitors on a fine 2007 season.
11/26/2007
Congratulations CCD Turkey Day Racers
Justin Long of Tuscola wheeled Andy Romines dragster to a final four finish at the Nashville race on Friday, and Walt Edwards of Charleston took the ride to the final 13 cars on Saturday! There were 12 of us who made the trek to Holly Springs in Mississippi, but we didn't get any racing in because of the weather. Congrats to Bubba and Walt though on a good weekend of racing.
Terry and Tie, Jim and Tammy, and Cathy and I all got to send some holiday cheer out on Saturday morning with the delivery of some Turkey Food-Baskets to some needy families in the area. The baskets were purchased with the money raised thru the proceeds of the sale of raffle tickets from the quilt that Tie made
from the National event T-shirts. Nearly 20 families were given a complete Thanksgiving dinner, complete with a Turkey and all of the trimmings. We would like to thank all of the racers who bought the raffle tickets, and would also like to thank My Store in Mattoon for helping us out with this project. I have already given Tie another batch of T-shirts to use for next years quilt, so we look forward to doing it again in 2008.
Ron
Attention Racers, Fans and Sponsors
Cathy and I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank all of you for the support that you gave us for the 2007 race season. We believe that we couldn't have had near the success we had without each of you! We are already looking ahead to next season, starting with the banquet on January 26th at the Eagles Club in Mattoon. Keep your eye on the web-page, as there will be all kinds of announcements until we open the gates back up in April of 2008.
Ron
10/29/2007
October 28th Race Results
Todd Stillwell of Marshall picked up his third win of the season in S/P Sunday, knocking off Paul Hargis of Humboldt. Tom Harlin of Mattoon also got his third win in Pro, defeating Levi French of Gays. And in the street class, it was Brad Talbert of Charleston defeating Humboldt's Rob Fisher. Hayden Bailey of Decatur got his second straight win in the Jr Dragster class over JJ Kortte of Effingham. In the Ray Evans consolation race, it was Sami Lynch of Dalton City who got the win over Samantha Kortte of Effingham. For complete
results, click on the results tab and October 28th.
The 2007 Season long points battles are now settled. Congratulations to all of our winners, and to all of you who participated. In Super Pro, Gary Morse of Decatur is the champ, in the Pro class it is Andy Romine of Tuscola. Your Street champ is Rob Fisher of Humboldt, and the Bike winner is Chad Beery of Decatur. Craig Minor of Shelbyville is the Quick 8 champ, and Kassie Edwards of Charleston is tops in Powder Puff. Holden English of Metcalf won his second in a row in the Jr Dragster class, and Kyle Wright of Ashmore is the High School champ. In the five race Hoch street radial shootout, it was Jeff Jones who came out on top. All of the classes were decided on the last weekend, so it was definitely a very competitive season!
10/21/2007
Brad Jones of Olney was the winner in the S/P class on Sunday, taking out Troy Salazar in the final. Andy Romine of Tuscola picked the win in Pro class, defeating Rob Fisher of Humboldt. In the Street class, Clayton Patrick got the win over Robby Easton in the battle of two Mattoon racers. In the Powder Puff class, Charleston's Kassie Edwards took the win over Decatur racer Brandi Leisher. In the Jr Dragster class, it was Hayden Bailey of Decatur getting the win over Holden English Metcalf, and Jeremy Lensing of Manhattan got the win over David Lyons of Ashkum. For a complete list of the results, click on the results tab and the date October 21.
10/15/2007
Chad Isley of Charleston was the big winner this weekend. Chad not only won both of the titles in Pro and Street class. In Pro, he took out the Mustang of Chris Little from Tuscola. In the Street class, he knocked off Kyle Wright of Ashmore. In Super Pro, Steve Hahn from Bondville got the win over Brad Jones from
Olney. In the Powder Puff race, it was Kassie Edwards of Charleston getting her 4th win of the year by defeating Decatur's Brandi Leisher.
10/8/2007
October 7th "Wally" Results
We finally got the NHRA National Dragster Challenge race in after the rainout. Gary Morse got his first win of the year in S/P, taking out Craig Minor. Kim Chase took the win in Pro Class, defeating Tony Lyons. Chad Isley got the win in Bike, defeating Walt Edwards. Rob Fisher took the prize in Street class over Nick Harlin. In Powder Puff, Kasse Edwards defeated Brandi Leisher, and in High School it was Kyle Wright defeating Kyle Veach. In the Hoch Street Radial class, Steve Hoch took the win over Scott Bunge. Congratulations to all the winners!
10/1/2007
September 29th/30th Results
Rob Fisher continued his winning ways on Saturday night with another Street class win. Fisher took out Alex Clodfelder for the Money, and in Motorcycle it was Chad Isley over Brandon Correll. John Doswell was the winner in the Burkhart Chassis Fun Street class by taking the final round over Bill Frye. In Jr Dragster action, Holden English took out Sami Lynch and Jocelyn Hooper won the Ray Evans Consolation race over Samantha Kortte. S/P action was halted at 10 cars remaining and Pro class had 7 cars still in as we were at our curfew time. On Sunday, it was another action packed day as Frank Linders took the win over Kyle Wright in the bonus $500 win Bike class. In the Hoch Street Radial shootout, Ernie Keppler was the winner over Jeff Jones. Jeff Blickensderfer was the winner in S/P, knocking off Dave Wallace. In the Pro class, it was Chad Isley earning his second win of the weekend when he defeated Dana Denney. In Street class, Brad Talbert knocked off John Wallace. Jr Dragster action saw Holden English sweep the weekend by winning over Skyler Southern, and in the consi race it was Dalton English taking the win over Eric Willenborg. For full results, click on the Results icon and the race date for details.
9/6/2007
Congrats to All Indy Participants
Congratulations go out to all 2007 Team Indy Bracket Finals racers. CCD finished in the 14th position, and we had numerous racers that finished in the money. Rob Fisher led the charge by getting to the quarters, and Craig Minor made it to round 6 in S/P. Corey Butler was the runner-up in the high school class. It was a lot of fun for us in our first Finals, and we look forward to next years event. We had some racers who made the trip to cheer us on, and we thank them for the support. Cathy and I would also like to thank Jim and Cathy
Falbe for helping us out on Saturday nights feast and also Matt and Kevin Sliney of Pershing Auto Body Parts for sponsoring our team. Also, for those of you who didn't take home your grandstand board, we brought then all home so you can pick them up. We look forward to seeing you all at the track.
9/24/2007
September 22nd/23rd Results
Troy Salazar was the big winner in the first annual Bob Chaney Memorial Supercharged race with his win over Jerry Dronenberg on Sautrday night. Rick Briscoe was the winner in S/P with his win over Dave Wallace. Rusty Hill took home the biggest check of the night by defeating Russ Jepson in the $1200 win Pro class race. Chad Beery got another win in the Bike class over Michael Aubert, and Neal Walker was the winner in Street class, knocking off Chad Isley. In the Jr Dragster division, Christopher Lee took the win over Abbi Willenborg. In the Ray Evans consolation race, it was Robert Gallaway defeating his sister Jordan in the final. On Saturday, Craig Minor clinched the Quick 8 season title and also took the win in the 5th race of the season by beating John Tilford. In S/P, Steve Maxwell knocked off Zip Donnan. Andy Romine won the $1000 Walt Crabtree Memorial Pro race when he took out April Paul. In the Street class, Brad Talbert got the win over John Wallace. Jr Dragster winner Zack Paap took out Nick Mistrata, and in the Ray Evans consolation race Dakota Kennedy took the win over Sami Lynch.
9/10/2007
September 9th Results
Coles County Dragway hosted it's first Big Bucks Box/No Box race on September 9th, and Jason McConnell of Humboldt was the Big Winner in the Box Class and Chris Little emerged victorious in the No Box Class. McConnell was the winner over Doug Patrick of Mattoon, and Little took the win by knocking off Terry Willard of Mattoon. McConnell pocketed $3500 for his win, and Little took home the top prize of $1500. We would like to thank all of those who attended, and also I personally would like to apologize for the length of time that the race took. It was our first foray into this type of race, and we definitely learned a thing or two. We will take all of the lessons learned into consideration when we host another event of this type. Congrats to all of those who earned some cash, and thanks again to Brad Jones of Rural King Farm Supply, Bill Little of Litter Gitters, Jason Bailey and Craig Minor from JC Cars, and Tim Paap from Paap Auto Body for your support and efforts to make this race a success!!
RonCongrats to Our Jr Racers!!
CCD had a strong showing of support to our 17 Jr racers who attended the Division 3 Championships in Terre Haute this past weekend. Holden English won the 13-17 class Race of Champions and Brittany Scott was the 8-9 class runner-up. Team CCD tied Chandler's Team X for the Team Spirit Award. We are all very proud our Jr racers!!
9/6/2007
Congrats to Our Racers!!
With us taking the Labor Day weekend off, some of our racers tried their luck at other tracks around the area. I know that Jason McConnel and Chris Little each took a win at ET, and that Chad Isley got a runner-up there also. Tim Paap, Max Lang, Tom Harlin and Nick Harlin all got in the money there as well. Jason Bailey got in the money up at Havana also. Congrats to those who got in the money and having a good showing across Division 3.
8/27/2007
Richard Briscoe returned to his winning ways Sunday, taking the win in the 4th race of the Quick 8 series over Tim Paap. John Tilford was the low qualifier. In the Super Pro class, Paul Hargis of Humboldt took the win over Vic Seeley of Lerna. In Pro, Billy Jo Mason of Lake Fork took the win over Terry Willard of Mattoon. In the Street class, Humboldt's Rob Fisher won for the third week in a row, taking out Kyle Veach of Charleston. In the bike class, Chad Isley took out Walt Edwards in the battle of Charleston residents. The Jr Dragster winner was Sara Morse of Decatur taking the win over Blake Hooper of Mattoon. In the Ray Evans consolation race it was Mattoon's Christian Weber defeating the Effingham entry of Samantha Kortte. For all of the results, click on the results tab and go to the date August 25th.
8/18/2007
US Army Strong Shootout Champion Crowned
Rob Fisher of Humboldt was the overall season series champion for the US Army strong shootout on Friday the 17th. Fisher took out Ashmore's Kyle Wright in the final of the 16 car shootout that was set throughout the 2007 street legal series. Congrats to all competitors!
8/19/2007
It was a big weekend for Humboldt's Rob Fisher as he doubled up this weekend. He won the Pro Class final with a win over Tuscola's Andy Romine, and also won the Street final over Mattoon's Nick Harlin. In the Super Pro class, Bill Mason of Lake Fork took the win over Mattoon's Terry Willard, and in the Bike class it was all Decatur as Chad Beery took out Richard Russell for the win. For complete results click on the result tab above.
8/12/2007
US Army Street Legal Results August 10th
The field is now set, as Dale Reeder and Asa McVicker have joined the 14 other qualifiers to compete for the season ending championship in the US Army Strong street legal shootout. Reeder took the win last Friday night over first time campaigner McVicker. The season ending 16 car shootout will take place next Friday night, August 17th. The US Army will be on hand with many giveaways and will also have the Future Soldier trainer there for fun and excitement. It should be a great night, so if you were one of the 16 qualifiers good luck to you. Also, CCD will be hosting the usual street legal format, so even if you didn't qualify for the shootout we will still be hosting unlimited time runs for all street legal vehicles.
8/6/2007
US Army Strong Shooutout Aug 3rd Results
Scott Bridges took the win the latest US Army Strong street legal shootout on Friday August 3rd. Scott drove his Neon to victory over the Motorcycle of Jermaine Cleveland in the money round. There are only 2 spots left now in the season ending shootout. Those spots will be up for grabs this Friday night on August 10th.
8/6/2007
Attention JR Dragster Racers
What a big day that all of you had yesterday. We had our NHRA O'Reilly Jr Dragster race. Winner in the 8-9 year old age group was Brittany Scott over Dalton English, Blake Hooper won the 10-12 year old class over Brandy Protz, and in the 13-17 year old class Jocelyn Hooper defeated Caleb Burton. In the Ray Evans Consolation race, it was Holden English taking out Austin Vaughn. In the King of the Hill run-off, Blake Hooper defeated Dalton English. Then in the All-run race, it was Zack Gosnell taking the win over Carly Bryant.
For the complete results please go to the icon that says Jr Dragster. A BIG thanks goes out to Jim and Tammy Hooper for putting the race together, and all of the sponsors who helped out with the purchase of savings bonds or door prizes as well as thanks to all of the employees who not only survived the heat but donated their time as well. We couldn't do it without all of you!
Ron & Cathy
7/29/2007
July 28th Results
