Kalamazoo Speedway Hosts Prestigious Dion Parish Memorial
December 2, 2018 – Goshen, IN…The Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series, (SUPRS), moves into Michigan and Kalamazoo Speedway for the third straight year this week for the 15th Dion Parish Memorial, a race that honors the memory of supermodified racer Dion Parish.
Kalamazoo Home Track for Parish
Kalamazoo Speedway was one of Dion Parish’s favorite tracks, and one that he had much of his racing success at while running vintage coupes. He considered it his home track because it was so close to his home, and practically grew up there watching his dad turn wrenches on real supermodifieds.
Even so, it was at Kalamazoo Speedway that Dion Parish lost his life in a testing accident in 2002 while preparing for a late season event at Sandusky Speedway. His dedication to the supermodified division and “Never Give Up” attitude was the inspiration for the founding of the SUPRS league and is a constant reminder to all members that there are more important things in life than winning races.
Parish Memorial is SUPRS Most Important Race
From the beginning of SUPRS, this race has embodied the sanction’s Mission Statement of giving back. SUPRS established the Dion Parish Memorial Benevolent Fund for Supermodifieds in the late racers name to help injured supermodified drivers and their families in their times of need. Through members donations, various fund-raisers and race sponsorships, SUPRS has been able to give thousands of dollars to injured drivers through the fund.
Three Now Have Multiple Wins
Last year, Rob Warren became just the third driver in the history of the Dion Parish Memorial to win the race more than once. Warren’s first win came in 2015.
Nine-time SUPRS Gold Crest Champion Ray Sand, Jr. of Rochester, NY was the first to win the race twice and is still the only driver to go back to back and win the race three times. Sand won in 2006, 2007, and 2013.
Chris Meyers is the third driver on the multi-winner list with wins in 2008 and 2014 both in the NASCAR Heat sim racing platform.
More Details
The SUPRS racers invade southwest lower Michigan and Kalamazoo Speedway for the 15th Annual Dion Parish Memorial December 4, 2018. Practice starts at 8:00pm. Time Trials follow at 8:15pm and Racing gets underway at 9:05pm.
SUPRS is proud to present the 15th Annual Dion Parish Memorial supermodified sim race to the public via live streaming video, timing, scoring and instant track telemetry on SUPRS LIVE! beginning at 9:00pm est.
You can learn more about this race on the SUPRS schedule page.
Get Social with SUPRS
Regular season updates as well as real supermodified and sim racing news are popular features on the Supermodified Ultimate Pavement Racing Series Facebook page and @SUPRSOnline. If you miss the show live, you can always catch up with SUPRS On-Demand YouTube video within 72 hours of the race.
Dion Parish Memorial 62-State Fair/Rander Speedways/Kalamazoo Speedway
- 2004 Dion Parish Memorial Champion-State Fair Speedway: Bobby Gangwer
- 2005 Dion Parish Memorial Champion-State Fair Speedway: Sean O’Kane
- 2006 Dion Parish Memorial Champion-Rander Speedway: Ray Sand, Jr.
- 2007 Dion Parish Memorial Champion-Rander Speedway: Ray Sand, Jr.
- 2008 Dion Parish Memorial Champion-Rander Speedway: Chris Meyers
- 2009 Dion Parish Memorial Champion-Rander Speedway: John Davidson
- 2010 Dion Parish Memorial Champion-Rander Speedway: Keith Powell
- 2011 Dion Parish Memorial Champion-Rander Speedway: Steve Callahan
- 2012 Dion Parish Memorial Champion-Rander Speedway: Carl Becker
- 2013 Dion Parish Memorial Champion-Rander Speedway: Ray Sand, Jr.
- 2014 Dion Parish Memorial Champion-Rander Speedway: Chris Meyers
- 2015 Dion Parish Memorial Champion-Rander Speedway: Rob Warren
- 2016 Dion Parish Memorial Champion-Kalamazoo Speedway: Domenic Gioia
- 2017 Dion Parish Memorial Champion-Kalamazoo Speedway: Rob Warren
