CMRA HONORS CHAMPIONS AT ANNUAL BANQUET The CMRA held its annual awards banquet on Saturday, November 11th, 2006 at the River Ranch in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards, with over 350 persons in attendance to honor over forty 2006 racing champions and pay tribute to officials, sponsors and members for their contributions to the organization. Ty Howard won the coveted CMRA #1 plate for the second year in a row, winning five class championships while juggling a full-time ride in the AMA Formula Xtreme series. There were many times that he had to take a red-eye or drive overnight to make it in time for the CMRA races on Sunday. Danny Kelsey was the #1 Novice rider with CMRA in 2006, winning his five class championships with one race to spare and choosing to compete at the AMA Grand Championships at Mid-Ohio. Desert-Rats.net won the competitive 2006 Shogun Motorsports Endurance Series title over the course of seven events and 40 hours of racing on their Yamaha R1, while Team K&N was the overall winner in the Shogun Motorsports Mini Endurance Series with their Honda RS85 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. Previous inductees include Colin Edwards and Kevin Schwantz (2002), Lou Linden, Sam McDonald and Freddie Spencer (2003), Ronnie Lunsford and Doug Polen (2004) and Brooks Gremmels and Ben Spies (2005). Britt Turkington, the 1993 AMA 750 Supersport champion, was the first 2006 inductee into the CMRA Hall of Fame. Britt started racing with the CMRA (then CRRC) in 1981, and went on to ride for Team Suzuki Endurance and Team Yoshimura Suzuki. He retired in 1995 to surf and run his own business in south Texas, but has recently re-joined the sport as an instructor for the Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School. The second Hall of Fame induction was an emotional one with Connie, Charles, Robert, Aimee and Aaron Brothers, who as a family ran the CMRA for over 20 years throughout the ’80s and ’90s. Connie passed away last January, but the family was there to accept the award and to share in the stories and memories of a lady who put her heart and soul into the CMRA for two decades. The annual CMRA Board of Directors election was held recently, and new members Pierson Callahan, Frank Newman and John O’Donnell 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 $11,000 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 2007 race season. Congratulations to all!