Dec
18
2011

9th Annual EXPO just around the corner!

9th Annual MIDWEST SPEED EXPO Jan. 7 and 8, 2012… LOOK HERE for money saving opportunity!

MIDWEST SPEED Expo SHOW SPECIAL…. If you purchase a 2012 U.M.P. License at the show, you will have your name entered into drawings for $125.00 CASH to the winner, two drawings will be held each day of the show!…. Plan on getting your license while you are at the Expo! You could end up one of the lucky cash prize winners and get your license paid for!

The show is just around the corner and promises to be the best Expo yet to hit the Midwest area. Don’t miss out on your opportunity to look over both new and used parts for all types of racing as well as catching the show specials from many of the vendors including Arizona Sport Shirts, Aggressive Graphics, B&S Race Car Fabrication, Bassett Racing Wheel, C&D Racing Supply, Christian County Quarter Midget Association, Chizmark-Larson Insurance, AMSOIL Products Tim Crumpler, Davenport Performance, Dirt Works Race Cars, Dominator Chassis, DYERS Top Rods, E&E Motorsports, Tom’s Manufacturing, Henderson Advertising, KBC Graphix, Landrum Performance Spring, Mackay Engines, Mitchell Motorsports, MOONMAN Racing, New Vision Graphics, John Osman, Radical Race Gear, Roelandt Systems, Ethan Schnapp Motorsports, Speed Custom and Performance, Rick Thomas Racing, UB Machine, Donny Walden Signs and Designs, WEHRS Machine Racing Supplies, Bill West Enterprises, AFCO Shocks, Allen Automotive, Bandit Race Cars, Larry Bantz, R.A. Benson, Bland Bros. Racing, BOYD-BUILT Metal Brakes, Marvin Burton Racer’s Edge, S&R Creations, Checkered Flag Graphics, Gary Cook, Jr. Racing, Diamond Race Cars, DK Graphics, Brake & Clutch Exchange, FUSION Graphics, Dean Garland Used Parts, Joe Gibson Racing, Dan Griffin Performance, Doug Haack Vintage Photos, Impressive Race cars, JFR Graphics, K2 Motorsports, 2Kuhel Motorsports, Steve Lance, Sr. Tim Lance, MAG’S Performance, Micro-Armor Lubricants, R2C, Hal Russell, Jeff Schmitt Motorsports, Brian Shirley Racing, Steve Sheppard Racing, SHEPP’S Speedway, Steve Thomas Safety Equipment, Kenny VanDorn Racing, Lincoln Speedway, Macon Speedway, Central Illinois Dragway, EMSEE Matt Carver, G.M. Performance Parts Bill Martens, P.C.R.A., Midwest Open Wheel Association, Quincy Raceways, Spoon River Speedway, Farmer City Raceway, GOTTA RACE and Speed Chicks!

Also, Steven Brooks will display his modified with a special wrap in tribute to Josh Kerns who was severely injured defending his country in Afghanistan. Kerns lost both legs from the knee down and his right arm from the elbow down, as well as a broken left arm and shrapnel wounds to the groin. Stop by and join Midwest Speed in offering support for this war hero who unselfishly served for his country!

Show hours for the MIDWEST SPEED EXPO are 9:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. on both Saturday and Sunday.

What better way to spend a wintery Saturday or Sunday just before the start of the new season? The MIDWEST SPEED EXPO is your opportunity to look over and purchase both new and used parts for your racing program as well as to talk with representatives from area tracks to catch up on any rule changes. Also on hand will be representatives from chassis manufacturers as well as shock, wheel, fuel, tires and safety equipment to answer any questions you may have.

On Sunday the 5th Annual Midwest Speed “DRIVER of the YEAR” will be named and awarded in memory of my mother Cindy Young. The award, sponsored by Dave Poske Performance Parts , WEEBLE’S Bar and Grill and WICK Oil will include $500.00 cash for the winning driver! The winner will join last years award winner Jeff Herzog, 2010 honoree Jason Feger and 2009 co-winners Jeff Leka of Buffalo, Illinois and Justin Allgaier of Riverton, Illinois and Dennis Erb of Carpentersville, IL., winner of the inaugural award.

Make this a family event and bring the kids out for a day of action packed fun! Make your plans now and mark your calendar and don’t miss this event! Admission is just $7.00 for adults, Children under 10 are admitted free!

Additional information can be obtained by visiting www.midwestspeed.net or calling Show Coordinator Terry Young at (217) 553-1963.

Dec
17
2011

SPEED EXPO Booth will aid injured Marine Josh Kerns

Steven Brooks of New Lenox, IL. has designed a wrap for his modified to honor a friend of his, injured U.S. Marine Josh Kerns who was injured earlier in 2011 while serving his country in Afghanistan.

Brooks will display the car at the 9th Annual Midwest Speed Expo and will have t-shirts available to help raise funds for this injured and fallen hero….. please support the cause at the show or by sending a donation to aid this young man who gave unselfishly of himself so that you and I can enjoy the freedoms that we many times take for granted.

Blast injures Patrick County Marine

  
Click to Enlarge
Joshua B. Kerns, known as “J.B.” to his friends, is seen in a photo provided by his family. Kerns, of Ararat, was severely injured Thursday when an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in Afghanistan. He is being treated in Bethesda, Md.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

By DEBBIE HALL – Bulletin Staff Writer

A Marine from Patrick County has been wounded in Afghanistan and is fighting for his life in Bethesda, Md.

Joshua Benjamin Kerns, 21, of Ararat, was injured Thursday by an improvised explosive device (IED), according to his aunt, Jennifer Hall of Ararat. 

Kerns, known as “J.B.,” was a combat engineer on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan, according to Hall and Kerns’ profile on Facebook. 

He and other members of his unit, which worked to deactivate IEDs, stopped their Hummer to conduct a mine sweep in a safety zone, Hall said. 

Kerns got out of the vehicle and “they said they believed he was beginning to kneel” down to work on a device when the blast occurred, Hall said. 

Kerns lost both his legs from the knees down, Hall said. He also lost his right arm from the elbow down, she said. 

Kerns’ left arm was broken in at least two places, Hall said. He also suffered shrapnel wounds to his groin and chest areas, she said. 

He was sent to Germany for treatment and had several surgeries there, Hall said. 

Medical personnel there were able to stabilize Kerns, and he later was transported to Bethesda, arriving there Sunday night, she said. 

Kerns’ parents, Alex and Debra Bowman, and other relatives were summoned to Maryland on Sunday night when his condition deteriorated, she said. 

“He was pretty unstable,” Hall said. “It was a pretty big scare.” 

Kerns spent most of Monday in surgery to flush sand from his wounds, she said. 

By Monday afternoon, “he is stable. That’s about the best we get” at this point, Hall said. 

Kerns has been conscious enough to realize his parents are with him, but Hall said she does not know if he has been able to communicate. 

But Kerns was living his dream with the military, she said. 

“All this boy ever wanted to do was to be a Marine,” Hall said. “He wanted to fly an airplane” in the military. 

After concluding his first tour of duty, the 2008 graduate of Patrick County High School re-enlisted and left for a second tour after his 21st birthday Feb. 19, Hall said. 

“He loves America. Josh has always fought for what he thought was right,” Hall said. 

The Joshua B. Kerns Benefit Fund was created to help the family with travel and related expenses while they are out of work and in Maryland with their son, Hall said. 

Contributions may be made at any branch of Carter Bank and Trust, she said.