by Rich Olson
NEW RICHMOND, Wis. -- I am excited to announce the second annual F.A.N.S. (FANS SUPPORTING RACERS) Fund for the 2009 USA Nationals! For those of you unfamiliar with the F.A.N.S. Fund, we were able to take donations sent in 2008 from fans all over the country (cash, check, and Pay Pal) and provided those funds to Bill Frye to make the long haul and offset his expenses to come to the USA Nationals. Last year we (the fans) were able to raise over $2,800.00 to provide to Bill. While Bill did not make the feature event due to motor trouble, Will Vaught who came with Bill, made a stunning drive to finish in 5th place in the back-up #66 in his first ever trip to Cedar Lake Speedway. Again, we want to THANK all the fans from around the country that made this happen!

In the sprit of starting off the 2009 USA Nationals F.A.N.S. Fund, I pulled a quote from one of the Internet posts from last year's event that I believes captures the essence of the F.A.N.S. Fund:

“When you go to the races it's supposed to be special. Something or someone is supposed to give you a chill and get your heart pumping. Forget all of the 'grown up stuff and act like you're 8 years old again. Act like the guys driving these cars are super heroes. I spent several years all wrapped up in the negative stuff that goes on in my sport (yeah, my sport!) and forgot all of that. That wasn't fun. When the crowd goes crazy as a car from Greenbrier, Arkansas rolls onto a racetrack in Wisconsin.... I’ll be happy.”

With that sprit in mind, the 2009 event brings with it some exciting changes.

First Update:
I am extremely excited to announce that we have identified a sponsor. This sponsor is a fan just like the rest of us who saw what happened with the 2008 event and wants to help. He and his company are helping in a major way… a donation of $5,000.00 has already been made to the 2009 USA Nationals F.A.N.S. Fund. What a start!

Second Update:
We hope to make this year’s event bigger and even better. Rather than inviting one driver, we are looking to invite 10 or more drivers to the 2009 USA Nationals as part of the F.A.N.S. Fund. The goal is to raise $10,000 in which $1,000 would be given to each driver identified in the F.A.N.S. Fund. We are already halfway there and I know that fans will get behind this again as they did so well last year. Also, for each $1,000 over the $10,000 we collect, we will invite an additional driver to attend the event and provide them with $1,000. So, if we raise $14,000, that means we will invite 14 different racers who must be in attendance and racing to receive the money. We will again be accepting contributions by cash, check, Pay Pal and new for this year, credit card. We will require a minimum contribution for credit cards processing. As a reminder, I guarantee 100% of all funds collected will be distributed to the drivers. Absolutely NO funds will be retained to cover any operating costs or expenses. The funds you donate go directly to the drivers.

Third Update:
Based upon contributors requests last year and a promise I made, this year's event will truly put the fans in control of some of the drivers attending this year’s USA Nationals. Fans contributing to the fund will now have the ability TO VOTE on the drivers they want to see receive funds to attend the USA Nationals in 2009. Businesses who want to contribute to the fund (especially those in racing) will also be able to contribute. The business making the contribution will still get only one vote for their contribution just like the fans.

There is one stipulation regarding driver voting; drivers who have attended within the past two years are not eligible for the F.A.N.S. Fund. The intent of this event is to bring drivers back to Cedar Lake who may have not been able to run here for whatever reason for the past few years. Examples of drivers who can be nominated: Rick Aukland, Skip Arp, Steve Francis, John Mason, Rick Eckert, Terry Phillips, John Gill, Shane Clanton, Freddie Smith, Josh Richards, Kyle Berck, Ray Cook, Ronnie Johnson, Chub Frank, Billy Drake, Darrell Lanigan, Davey Johnson, Randle Chupp, Clint Smith, Randy Korte, and Dennis Erb Jr. just to name a few. How about some new guys who have never been to Cedar Lake such as Tim Dohm, Jason Feger, Jason Fitzgerald, Tyler Ivey, Josh McGuire, Brad Neat, Tim Fuller, Vic Coffey, and Eric Wells. Again, your fan contribution and vote will determine the top ten or more drivers who will receive the F.A.N.S. Fund contributions to race at the 2009 USA Nationals. If a driver is voted, asked and cannot attend, we will default to the next driver.

Fourth Update:
As we did last year, we will be requiring all drivers receiving the F.A.N.S. Funds to provide about 4 or 5 t-shirts, hats, possibly a die-cast, and a door panel to be given away at a drawing for those fans contributing to the fund that are in attendance. Cedar Lake will once again be donating a 2-seater late model ride for the prize raffle. New however, for those fans not in attendance, we will have a special drawing for you as well. We will be giving a grand prize of two event t-shirts and two tickets to the 2010 USA Nationals as well as some other prizes that we can ship. While we highly encourage you to attend one of the best Dirt Late Model Crown Jewels, if you cannot be here it still allows you to contribute and be in a select drawing to recognize your contributions.

We also have a new Grand Prize that I believe will create a lot of interest. Cedar Lake Speedway has stepped up once again and is offering 4 tickets to Saturday night to sit in the VIP Suite area high atop Cedar Lake for an incredible view of this years USA Nationals. You and three friends will watch the b-mains and feature event from a terrific view. The chance to sit in these seats to watch this race is worth a donation for any fan. Again, a big thank you to Cedar Lake Speedway for working with us to offer this unique prize.

Fifth Update:
We are going to create tiers of donations. Based upon donation level, each level you achieve will award you more tickets for the drawings for prizes. Below are the donation levels and tickets awarded to each level:

• Tier 1 - $5.00 – allows you to vote for driver, ticket for luncheon with F.A.N.S drivers Saturday afternoon, and one ticket for entry into prize raffles
• Tier 2 - $10.00 – vote, luncheon, and two tickets for entry into prize raffles
• Tier 3 - $20.00 – vote, luncheon, and three tickets for entry into prize raffles
• Tier 4 - $30.00 – vote, luncheon, and five tickets for entry into prize raffles
• Tier 5 - $50.00 – vote, luncheon, and ten tickets for entry into prize raffles
• Tier 6 - $100.00 – vote, luncheon, and twenty tickets entry into prize raffles

Again, a big thank you to Cedar Lake Speedway for stepping up as this year they are going to help our luncheon by providing us a space to host our luncheon with the drivers and all those that contributed.

Wow, that is a lot surrounding this years F.A.N.S. Fund event! We have so much more planned that will be forthcoming as plans finalize. With the racing season soon to begin at Cedar Lake, we wanted to get an announcement out early. Especially with this years event being a fan vote and the requirement to contact ten or more drivers after the vote.

In the coming weeks, we will be updating all on news, voting, and other items relating to this event and the 2009 USA Nationals. Please watch the message boards and we are working on the possibility of a website (TBD).

In closing, we recognize that in light of the economy, for many these are difficult and for some, unfortunate times. That said, everyone needs a release from all the negativity surrounding our lives and in the world today. Racing has always been that release for me, many of you, and for families and friends whether that is a weekly show or a Crown Jewel event like the USA Nationals. I know no other form of entertainment for a family that is more exciting yet so inexpensive to attend. It is in this spirit why the F.A.N.S. Fund was formed. Our desire as fans banding together to help ensure the USA Nationals for both fans and drivers continues to be a marquee event and to create an exciting weekend escape to the races that everyone so needs and deserves. This is purely a fan contribution event to allow people who can do so to give and have an influence on the USA Nationals. If you cannot contribute, we understand and hope you continue to support the spirit of what we are doing. By providing a unique opportunity to the fans to have a direct influence to the USA Nationals and the drivers selected to receive the funds we will continue to make the USA Nationals a treasured event in so many ways for so many people.

Please watch for further updates and until then enjoy the races!