HARTFORD -- A crowd of 600 was on hand at Yankee Lake ballroom recently for an awards celebration to

HARTFORD -- A crowd of 600 was on hand at Yankee Lake ballroom recently for an awards celebration to honor Sharon Speedway's 2003 champions.
Dave Blaney, track co-owner and NASCAR Winston Cup driver, handed out a record $40,000 in point fund money to the top 15 drivers in each of Sharon's four divisions.
Hubbard's Dan Lewis earned top honors in the City Disposal Services Pure Stocks division with six feature wins, eight top fives and 11 top 10s. He also received the & quot;Most Improved Driver Award.
Racing to a record of two feature wins, nine top fives and 13 top 10s, Richard Stiffler of Niles was honored as the Coy Brothers Trucking E-mods division champion.
Rock Creek's Jarod Larson accepted the winner's check in the Sunburst Environmental Sprints division. Larson drove to four feature wins, 10 top fives and 14 top 10s on his way to the champion's table.
For the second year in a row, Ron Smoker, of Hamburg, N.Y., was top finisher in the Gibson-Governor Insurance Modifieds division. Smoker - who won the championship competing in one fewer races than the second- and third-place finishers - earned six feature wins, 12 top fives and 13 top 10s.
Other drivers, such as Niles' Jim Mechling, was honored with the & quot;E-Mod Hard Charger Award. & quot;
Rob Kristyak of Bristolville finally had a change in luck as he was presented with the & quot;Hard Luck Award. & quot;
Keith Taylor of Salem was & quot;Rookie of the Year & quot; after finishing a strong 15th in the points in his first year of racing sprints. Warren's Dave Willoughby received the & quot;Good Guy Award, & quot; which was voted on by the drivers and presented for sportsmanship both on and off the track.