History was made on and off the track at this year's 50th edition of the Morgan Hughes National Open at Williams Grove Speedway.
Donny Schatz won an unprecedented fifth National Open title after a tightly contested battle with local underdog Brian Leppo. But what happened before a lap was turnedduring Saturday's program had a much greater impact on the sport.
Kolten Gouse Promotions partnered with O'Neill Race Gear and BMW Construction Specialists to hold the National Open Injured Drivers Benefit in the back pit area at Williams Grove. The event included a chicken barbeque, a World ofOutlaws autograph session, appearances by racing celebrities and an auction that raised $16,000 for charity.
“If I had to use a word or phrase, it was very humbling and overwhelming,” Gouse said. “I never imagined it would get near that number.
“My goal was $10,000 and if I could get that number, it would be remarkable. To almost double that and triple last year's number was amazing.”
Proceeds from the benefit were distributed to four charities. The World of Outlaws Benevolent Fund and York County Racing Club Injured Driver's Fund received $7,000 each. The Kevin Gobrecht Memorial Fund and Eastern Museum of Motor Racing received $1,000.
This event was founded in 2008 by Lisa and Vince Magaro to benefit John Westbrook, who was involved in acrash at Williams Grove Speedway. Gouse, a Mechanicsburg High School grad and crew member for Kasey Kahne Racing standout Joey Saldana,came aboard for the 2011 event.
When Lisa and Vince Magaro took a step back, they handed the reins of the benefit to Gouse and his promotional for the 2012 season and the success continued.
“Everybody that helped out, the people who started this event, I can't thank them enough,” Gouse said “Greg O'Neill from the Baltimore Grand Prix, Jenn and Chad Clemens, FK Rod Ends and Fragola got behind me a great deal, not just financially, but donating things and advertising.
“We also had a long list of sponsors.Without the people that helped out with this event, sponsors and volunteers, this never would have come together. It's remarkable the way the racing community got behind this event and pushed it to where it is going.”
As pleased as Gouse was with this year's event, he has already started the evaluation process and is looking for ways to improve the event in 2013.
“The biggest thing is to have an open mind and realize that there are things to improve,” Gouse said. “We want to add new tastes and keep it interesting.
“One of the things we pushed for this year was to make it fan friendly. I wanted sponsors and fans not to just come for the charity, but also to have a good time.
“What I would like to see is for the National Open to come around and people to say that they want to go to the National Open but also go there for the Saturday morning. I want them to make it part of their weekend schedule.”
Here is a list of sponsors that helped with this year's event:
Golden Flavor Sesame Sticks, Ti64, Wings Unlimited, Indy Race Parts, O'Neill Race Gear, ABC Bowling Inc., BMW Construction Services, Looks Like Gold Salon, Fragola, GW Signs, Top Flight Wings, Moose's LZ Bar and Grill, Rick's Auto Body, Zemco Headers, Classic Ink Screen Printing, Speedway Motors, Hazlitt Winery, Sage Fruit, Middeslwarth Chips, J & K Salvage, S & S Enterprises, Gravino Paint and Body, Chaparral Hunting Adventures,CJB Motorsports, Simpson, Jake's Carts, Moose Blocks, S & S Construction, FK Rod Ends, UNOH, Lelands.com,Goodyear, Fullyinjected.com,Penske Shocks, MS Motorsports, Roth Motorsports, HighlandsTire, Kelly Racing Fuel, Drop of Ink Tattoo, DMI, Rucker ComputerSolutions, Premier Autoworks, Baker Carburetion, R & R Racewear,Wounders Canopy Rentals, Blazer's Body Shop, Pancho's Racing Products, WRT Web Designs, Pig Tail's BBQ, http://www.driverwebsites.com/.