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It's serious business for winners
Sunday, May 29, 2005
By Tina Reed
The Jackson Citizen Patriot

Mark Burmis, Ronnie Johncox, Sean McGonigal, Chris Conklin, Jamie Grace, Brian Glick and Randy Glick

Every team has its secret to winning.

For this year's Junior Achievement Grand Prix 2005 champions, Alro Steel No. 11, it came down to serious racing, said winning driver Ronnie Johncox.

"At the end of the day, it's all fun," Johncox said. "But as soon as that helmet goes on, it's all business."

Eaton Aerospace came in second overall on Saturday and CertainTeed Technology Inc. took third in the 10th annual race, held for the first time this year at the Sparks Foundation County Park.

The real winner on Saturday was Junior Achievement that raised thousands of dollars this weekend for student programs, said Connie Poisson, Junior Achievement president.

"This is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year," Poisson said. "This is one of those fun community family activities. It draws groups of people together."

This year, the event teamed up with the Jackson County Rose Festival Inc.'s Weekend in the Park, instead of being held in downtown Jackson.

There was a carnival and car show during the day and fireworks scheduled later in the evening to kick off the first Cascades illumination of the season at the park.

There were a number of new teams to the race this year including Gilbert's Steakhouse, Worthington Specialty Processing, The Parlour, and Shafer Redi-Mix. The Walton Agency came to the race with the first-ever all women's team this year.

Rachel Meadows, 20, of Jackson was part of The Parlour pit crew and said the group was concentrating on having fun after having trouble with the chain on their car.

The change in location could breathe new life into the event, said Dave Turk, a founding member of the Jackson event.

Numbers of teams competing have declined: There were 28 teams racing Saturday; at its peak, the event drew 85 teams. The trend is not alarming, Turk said, but it is a sign that more needs to be done to draw new interest.

The setting and the time of year the event is now held allows more Junior Achievement students to become involved with the planning process, Poisson said.

She called the new location a success.

Teams were mixed on the location of the track that was T-shaped and included five sharp turns and a pit stop that guided drivers over a bridge and away from the race for tire changes.

Many agreed that the track was more challenging than in the past.
Dan Hoch of Parma, was on the Little Caesar's team and said he liked the new setting.

"Downtown was just a modified oval," Hoch said. "It's prettier out here. It's a good family environment."

But Chris Conklin of Jackson, from the winning Alro Steel team said he missed the atmosphere from past mini Grand Prix's.

"I personally liked it downtown," Conklin said. "Grand Prix' are typically in the downtown setting."

Race fans watched a tough championship race on Saturday as Alro Steel took an early lead and actually lapped some cars in the race before finishing first.

Bringing home a win sealed a great day for the Alro Steel team, said Johncox who said he races many different vehicles, such as stock cars, but loves this event, in particular.

" I'm a sucker for go-carts," he said.

© 2005 Jackson Citizen Patriot. Used with permission