On December 5th, the Checkered Flag Sprint Season came to a close. It was not with a thunderous crash but rather a drizzling rain. The final race of the year was canceled due to constant rain in the Punta Gorda, Florida area. It did not lead the exciting nail biting end the season that 2008 provided, but it did produce the same results. Keith Butler and KJ Motorsports are the 2009 Checkered Flag Sprint Series Champions.
“It was not the ending we were looking for, but it certainly was the result.” Keith said, “If there is a race, we want to run it. I would race every weekend if I had the opportunity. We have a great car, I went over it with a fine tooth over the last week. We were set to run and win that last race.”
In addition to Keith’s championship, team driver Amanda Ferguson won the Checkered Flag Sprint Series “Rookie of the Year” and finished 5th in the points. “I’m disappointed we did not race.” Amanda commented, “I was ready. I was only 10 points out of 4th place and I wanted that position. I’ve shown already, we have the car and I can win in this series. I’m proud of what we accomplished and am thankful for the opportunity that Keith and Jennifer Butler gave me this year.”
A season overview is posted on our website and Facebook page. The following are some highlights and statistics from the season.
· KJ Motorsports won the CFSS series Championship (Keith, his second CFSS Championship)
· KJ Motorsports won the CFSS series Rookie of the Year title (Amanda, in her first full year of sprint cars of any type)
· KJ Motorsports drivers combined to win 46% of the CFSS races this season
· Keith won 5 races this season (5 straight to open the season)
· Amanda won one race (October 17th)
· Keith maintains his record of most wins in CFSS competition (8 wins)
· KJ Motorsports drivers combined to win 3 Barfield’s Clean Sweep Awards
· Amanda finished 5th in Checkered Flag Sprint Series and 8th place in series points in the Top Gun Sprint Series
· Keith has no finishes in CFSS competition outside of the top 10
The race season may be over, but the work still continues: The Checkered Flag Series Banquet is in Brandon, Florida on January 9th. The first race of the 2010 season is on January 29th.