2018 BCRA Championship Awards Banquet
On a rainy Saturday night on February 2, 2019 the drivers,
car owners, crews and officials of the Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) gathered
at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #1051 in Ripon California to share the
successes of the 2018 season.
Following the cocktail hour and a delicious dinner, after
recognition of the 2018 Hall of Fame inductees and the 2018 BCRA Board of
Directors members and track officials, the highlight of the evening was the
awards ceremony hosted by Kevin Triplett to honored the series’ 2018 top
performers.
For the BCRA midget lites division, Hunter Kinney captured
the 2018 driver’s championship followed by Scott Kinney, Dakota Albright, Brad Dillard,
and Terry Bergstrom in fifth place. Sixth through tenth place went to Brandon
Leedy, Danika Jo Parker, Steve Brown, Gus Carcione, and
Ric Johnson respectively.
Scott Kinney captured both first and second place finishes
in the 2018 BCRA Midget Lite owner’s championship, while Dakota Albright took
third place ahead of Craig Dillard and Kenneth Bergstrom. Sixth through tenth
place for the owners went to Brian Fonseca, Danika Jo Parker, Steve Brown, Gus
Carcione, and Jim Riddell.
Among the special awards for the BCRA midget lites division,
Dave LaManna was presented with the Tom Boune Midget Lite Sportsmanship Award,
while Rod Browning earned the John & Gladys Soares Sr. Memorial
Perseverance Award. Ken Bergstrom was the winner of the Morrie Caudle Midget
Lite Mechanic of the Year award and Brandon Leedy was the recipient of the
Tracy Taylor Most Improved Driver of the Year award. BCRA vintage division stalwart
Bob Mastroleo won the Pete Baraldi Best Appearing Car Award for non-competition
vehicles.
Turning to the BCRA midget division, Maria Cofer won the
2018 dirt series drivers’ championship followed by David Prickett with the
ageless Marvin Mitchell in third place. Robert Dalby from Anaheim California
was the fourth-place finisher in the dirt series, trailed by the always-smiling
JR Williams in fifth place. Among the dirt series car owners, John Cofer
captured the title followed by Neverlift Motorsports, Marvin Mitchell, J &
J Associates and Robert Dalby. John
Cofer was awarded the prestigious Lloyd Nygren Sportsmanship Award for his
tireless assistance to many competitors throughout the season.
The 2018 BCRA pavement series championship was captured by
driver Chad Nichols and Team 17, with Mark Maliepaard in second place as both
the driver and car owner. Young phenom Jesse Love III scored third place in the
drivers’ pavement championship and his car owner Tres Van Dyne nailed down
third place in the pavement series.
Maria Cofer scored a solid fourth place for the pavement
series for herself as the driver for her pavement car owners, the Arata’s Storcks
Garage. Cody Jessop scored fifth place in the pavement drivers’ championship
and scored the Johnny Baldwin Most Improved Driver award for the 2018 BCRA
midget season. J & J Associates, owner of the #74 midget driven by JR
Williams scored a fifth-place finish in the pavement owners championship.
With the 2018 BCRA overall midget driver’s champion Jesse
Love III racing in Las Vegas, his mother Liz accepted his 2018 championship
trophy and the Johnny Boyd Rookie of the Year trophy. Second through fifth in
the overall drivers’ championship were in order Maria Cofer, Chad Nichols, and
Mark Maliepaard as JR Williams rounded out the top five finishers.
In addition to the 2018 overall BCRA Car Owner Championship Tres
Van Dyne also copped the Pete Baraldi Best Appearing Car Award for competition
vehicles and the Morrie Caudle Midget Mechanic of the Year. Team 17 garnered
second place honors in the overall championship, trailed by Mark Maliepaard, J
& J Associates and John Cofer to round out the top five overall owners.
The Bay Cities Racing Assocation offers our thanks to all
our sponsors, fans, officials and competitors for their contributions to the
club’s safe and successful 2018 season, and looks forward to our bright
prospects for the 2019 season.
