AND THE WINNERS ARE ... THE 13TH ANNUAL DOT COM AWARDS
Each year, since 1999, CompetitionPlus.com has conducted its annual Dot Com Awards as a means of allowing race fans and readers of the Internet magazine to select the best [and worst] of the recently completed season.
The winners we are about to announce are 100-percent reader VOTED achievements. This year produced an incredible year of votes from our respective ballots with over 10,000 votes cast in a four week period of time.
Each year, since 1999, CompetitionPlus.com has conducted its annual Dot Com Awards as a means of allowing race fans and readers of the Internet magazine to select the best [and worst] of the recently completed season.
The winners we are about to announce are 100-percent reader VOTED achievements. This year produced an incredible year of votes from our respective ballots with over 10,000 votes cast in a four week period of time.
And, in another tradition, we'll also provide the POLITICALLY INCORRECT Dot Coms by clicking on the provided link.
And, without further delay, here are the winners ...
Mike Aiello Person of the Year is …
JOHN FORCE
Mike Aiello, the individual for whom this Dot Com Award is named after, epitomized the spirit of fighting the fight, against the odds.
Last year John Force won the most prestigious of all Dot Com Awards for overcoming the odds and winning world championship No. 15. This time it’s because of what he has done for the sport. When drag racing needed a cheerleader outside of our tight-knight circle, he formed the Traveling Road Show to introduce the sport to others. He and his team also developed a weekly internet video show to showcase the merits of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series and the sport. Force has given a lot to drag racing and this Dot Com Award just goes to show the fans have noticed.
Professional Racer of the Year …
DEL WORSHAM
Forget the fact, he’d spent the better part of two decades honing his skills behind the wheel of fuel Funny Car, when Del Worsham climbed into a Top Fuel dragster to drive for Alan Johnson, he performed like a natural. Worsham concluded the regular season as the No. 1 seed headed into the Countdown to 1 championship.
Worsham won eighth of 11 final rounds en route to his second first career NHRA series championship. He was the 1992 IHRA Funny Car champion.
Sportsman Racer of the Year is …
FRANK MANZO
Last year we branded Frank Manzo as a mix between man and machine. Clearly our reader’s opinion hasn’t changed and neither has ours. Manzo captured his 15th NHRA Lucas Oil Top Alcohol Funny car championship on the strength of five national events in eight events. He is undefeated in his last 35 final round appearances.
Message Board of the Year …
YELLOWBULLET.COM
There might have been a glimmer of hope for the competition during the first week of voting, but those hopes were dashed once the strength of the member contingent kicked in.
This is about the time the membership realized another message board was within ten percent of their total domination. YellowBullet.com, the wild west of drag racing message boards, continues their streak, now at four in a row.
Internet Radio Show of the Year is …
WFO RADIO WITH JOE CASTELLO …
Joe Castello and the WFO Radio team capitalized on their monumental victory in the inaugural year on the ballot to successfully nail a second term. Castello and his band of tireless producers, along with NHRA announcer Alan Reinhart, will have another year to celebrate success as the Internet Radio Show of the Year.
FACEBOOK Page of the Year is …BANGSHIFT
More and more websites are pimping their content through the popular Facebook venue and for our readers the Bangshift.com gang has a good time promoting gearhead stuff of all eras. Headlined by former CompetitionPlus.com staffer Brian Lohnes and Chad Reynolds, Bangshift is your inaugural Facebook Page of the Year 2011.
Printed Publication of the Year is …
NATIONAL DRAGSTER
The house publication for the National Hot Rod Association continues its domination of the Dot Com awards. This marks the 13th virtual trophy for the hard-working staff headed by Editor Phil Burgess. In a world where many printed magazines have struggled in a complex economy, National DRAGSTER maintains a high standard.
Drag Strip of the Year is …
TULSA RACEWAY PARK
A first-time nominee, Tulsa Raceway Park was nearly left for dead earlier this season when the track was to be sold and eventually be closed down. If not for the tireless efforts of its dedicated staff, racers and patrons the site of so many drag racing legends might have become a rock quarry. Drag racer Keith Haney and Todd Martin, a pair of Oklahoma businessmen, stepped forward and formed a partnership to save the 45-year old facility.
Sponsor of the Year …
LUCAS OIL
Whether it’s their sponsorship of the NHRA’s sportsman drag racing series, sponsorship of the drag strip in Indianapolis, or the national events on the tour, you’d be hard-pressed to find a family more dedicated than the Lucas family.
Their company reflects this passion in their support of drag racing.
For the second year in a row, Lucas Oil is the Dot Com Award Sponsor of the Year …
News Story of the Year is …
WORSHAM WINS TITLE; THEN RETIRES …
Del Worsham stunned many drag racing fans when prior to the 2011 season he announced his intentions to leave the Funny Car ranks, his stomping grounds since 1990, to run Top Fuel dragster. Worsham had run a dragster before, having campaigned one in 1995 and even winning a race on the IHRA series, and took to the challenge admirably. Even more surprising was just weeks after winning the Top Fuel point standings; he made another move announcing he was retiring from driving to become a crew chief.
OH YEAH ... about those other Dot Coms ... THE POLITICALLY INCORRECT DOT COMS
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