CMRA HONORS 2007 CHAMPIONS AT ANNUAL BANQUET The CMRA held its annual awards banquet on Saturday, December 1st at the River Ranch in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards, with over 300 persons in attendance to honor over forty 2007 racing champions and pay tribute to sponsors, officials, and members for their contributions to the organization. Chris Romeo won the CMRA #1 plate for 2007, winning four class championships along the way. Danny Kelsey won the Rookie Expert of the Year award, finishing second in two classes and third in three others against some of the fastest club racers in the country. GMAN Racing won the hard-fought 2007 Shogun Motorsports Endurance Series title over the course of seven events and 40 hours of racing on their Kawasaki ZX-10R, while Team Hambone was the overall winner in the Shogun Motorsports Mini Endurance Series on their Kawasaki Ninja 250 throughout 22 hours of racing at seven events. In 2002, the CMRA Hall of Fame was established to honor those CMRA members who have made significant contributions to the CMRA organization through their time and hard work or brought positive exposure to the organization through their National and International racing championships. Jamie James was the first 2007 inductee into the CMRA Hall of Fame. Jamie, the 1989 AMA Superbike champion as well as two-time 600 Supersport champion, started racing with the CMRA (then CRRC) in 1984, and went on to ride for Team Suzuki Endurance, Team Yoshimura Suzuki, Ferracci Ducati and Vance and Hines Yamaha. He has since started his own custom bike business and his own high-performance riding school. The second Hall of Fame inductee was Norm McDonald, who has raced and been involved in all aspects of motorcycle racing for over 50 years. The “N” in K&N Filters and K&N Yamaha, Norm has spent countless hours and worked in so many ways to support the CMRA over the years, including a combined eight years on the Board of Directors, three of those as President. The annual CMRA Board of Directors election was held recently, and new members Christopher Corder, Ronnie Hay and Don Wagnon were introduced during the banquet. Each will serve a two-year term. A big part of the banquet each year is the silent auction, where banquet guests bid on donated products and services. All proceeds from the auction go to the CMRA Safety Fund, which helps pay for Airfence and other safety-related equipment for CMRA race events. This year, over $10,000 was raised, thanks to the generosity of members and sponsors throughout the motorcycle industry. Thanks to everyone who helped put on another great CMRA awards banquet, and we look forward to a great 2008 race season. Congratulations to all!