The John Smith Memorial Race
The John Smith Memorial Race is a race that has been held the past 2 years to honor one of the great racers of Western Pa. John was a well established and respected racer in the stock divisions and has countless wins to his record. After several years of prodding from his close friend, Ralph Spithaler, John and his boss,Sylvan Easler decided to put together a UAS kart and run with the Keystone Unlimited All-stars. John was instantly likeable and there was no question that he was going to be a great addition to our quirky little group of Muscle Kart pilots. The highlights of Johns Rookie season in the KUAS were a third place in his debut then later in the season he swept both dated we raced at Goodhope Speedway and locked up the 2009 KUAS Rookie of the year honors.
Just 3 weeks later while racing BSP clones with friends at his home track it is reported that John just did not seem himself. He still had that mischievous smile but his normal energy was not present. John brushed it off as maybe having a bug and after the race loaded up and headed home for his normal ritual of prepping his kart for the following week. A few hrs later his fellow competitors in the UAS that considered this 48 year old rookie a friend started receiving the calls to inform us that the newest member of our fraternity would not be racing with us the following season. The UAS as a whole is a tight group of guys and gals and the Keystone region may possibly be the tightest of all. It is now 2 1/2 years past and I personally still feel the hole left in our group. The decision was quickly made that the KUAS first date at Goodhope Speedway in June of each year would become known as The John Smith Memorial to honor our friend and fellow racer at the track where the "rookie" took all the seasoned high horsepower racers to school. 2012 will be the third annual John Smith Memorial at Goodhope Speedway on June 16th. This race in just 2 years has become the largest attended open/UAS race in the region and this year promises to be even bigger. The Keystone Region in the 2012 season is growing to include an adult Stock Animal and Builder Prepared Clone division to go with our UAS class. In the past I did not actively seek sponsorship for the John Smith Memorial because I did not want this special race to turn into a reason to push a product and take away from the spirit of the event to honor a fallen racer that meant so much to our region. This past winter it dawned on me that John was walking version of 4cycle.com. His understanding of karting from chassis and engine set up to the dreaded tire game combined with his willingness to share that information with his fellow racers made him greater than just a racer. I quickly formed the idea of combining the promotion of the internet’s best knowledge base with the race to honor one of the great knowledge bases of Western Pa. So I am placing a call to all Bobs 4cycle.com members to please help support this year’s John Smith Memorial presented by the 4cycle.com Members. There is no set amount required to be part of the sponsor group for this event and every little bit will help. The final amount collected will determine exactly what we will be able to do for the event but here is a list of what we hope to be able to do for the event: 1) Have a 4 ft by 6 ft banner printed up with the 4cycle.com logo on the left with the words The John Smith Memorial at Goodhope Speedway in bold lettering. Each donator/donation company will have their name printed on the banner in lite grey. All racers that attend the race will also sign the banner. After the event the banner will be sent to Bob Evans as a thank you from all the people/companies that make the race the best it can be and for providing the racing community with such a great depository of karting knowledge that can be shared with all current and future racers. 2) We would like to have a "red neck" fireworks show after the event. We cannot have some of the better air burst fireworks due to Ohio state law but we can defiantly have some fun after the racing. 3) All money collected after payment of visual items will be placed in a show fund for all 3 Keystone Racing All-stars divisions. Our series will use its standard entry fee pay out that pays back half the field. The show fund will be split equally among all racers in the 3 KRAS divisions. This fund will be limited to a max of $30 per racer. If we receive enough donations that we have more than the max amount we will use the extra funds and present to the track to be divided equally among all kids classes that run that night. (I am expecting a total of approx. 40 racers to represent the series for this race so $1200 would cover the show fund and any moneys collected beyond that would go to the regular Goodhope Speedway kids classes) 4) The track holds a 50/50 each week. If any companies wish to donate product or services to support the event in lue of cash donation they may choose to donate it to any of the 3 KRAS divisions or to a general raffle that will use the tracks 50/50 ticket sales to determine recipient of the product/s. 
John Smith Memorial Cash Donation
Please donate what you can for this event
$ 0.00 Any comapny wishing to donate products to the John Smith Memorial presented by the 4cycle.com members please call Eric Rector at (412)596-8972 to pledge your support.
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The John Smith Memorial Supporters
Late Model Clone Sponsor
Santiago Ruiz de Gopegui
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