plus 3, Automobiles : MOTORCYCLES,ATVs,MOPEDS - Frederick News-Post

Automobiles : MOTORCYCLES,ATVs,MOPEDS - Frederick News-Post
Obituary: Sacramento auto dealer Tim Creedon dies at 53 - Sacramento Bee
Teen faces charges related to thefts of dirt bikes in December - Star-Banner
TRACK TALK: Christopher drives Brady Bunch entry to title - Enterprise

Automobiles : MOTORCYCLES,ATVs,MOPEDS - Frederick News-Post

Posted: 20 Feb 2010 01:49 AM PST

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Obituary: Sacramento auto dealer Tim Creedon dies at 53 - Sacramento Bee

Posted: 20 Feb 2010 12:09 AM PST

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Tim Creedon, a well-known figure in the Sacramento auto industry who was a former manager and fleet salesman at his family's dealership, Senator Ford, has died at age 53.

He died Feb. 8 from pneumonia related to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, said his wife, Pamela.

Mr. Creedon spent more than 25 years at Senator Ford on Florin Road. He joined at the invitation of his father, Bob, who founded the business in 1980 and also sold Mazda, Hyundai and Subaru vehicles at dealerships belonging to Senator Auto Group.

Tim Creedon spent most of his career as fleet manager, selling mostly to state and local governments. He worked long hours and weekends to close deals, and he had a boyish smile and easygoing manner that put customers at ease.

"He was the first to be there at work and the last to leave," former co-worker Ron Schmidt said. "If nobody was watching people coming on the lot, he'd snag the sale."

Mr. Creedon also oversaw customer service programs and led Senator to three consecutive Ford MVP Superstar Awards as the top dealership in the Sacramento area. In 1988, he graduated from an apprenticeship program for future dealership owners sponsored by the National Automobile Dealers Association.

Timothy Sean Creedon was born in 1956 in Chicago and grew up in Orange County. He was an avid surfer and a free spirit who "ran away from home" for several months as a teenager to live on the beach and ride the waves in Hawaii, said his sister, Keli Creedon.

He turned his life around and applied himself to work after marrying his first wife, Kathy, and having two children. He worked in the auto service department at Sears and was a service manager at Capital Yamaha motorcycle dealership before joining Senator Ford.

"He was so devoted to family," his sister said. "Nothing was more important to him than providing for them."

Mr. Creedon's first marriage ended in divorce. He married his second wife, Pamela, in 2003. He was predeceased by his son, Ryan.

He was an active man who loved being outdoors. A lifelong surfer, he also enjoyed boating, skiing and snowboarding with his family.

He loved selling cars and refused to give up after Senator Ford closed in 2008. He worked at other local dealerships, mostly recently at Maita Chevrolet in Elk Grove.

"He always cared about his clients and made sure he put them in cars they could afford," his wife said. "It wasn't just about the bottom line for the company, but what was best for the customer."

Call The Bee's Robert D. Dávila, (916) 321-1077.

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Teen faces charges related to thefts of dirt bikes in December - Star-Banner

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 11:04 PM PST

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By Austin L. Miller
Staff writer

OCALA - Ocala police and sheriff's deputies recovered five dirt bikes stolen in December and arrested a teenager in possession of one bike on Thursday.

On Dec. 20, deputies responded to Hard Rock Motorcycle Park, where two men said while they were sleeping, someone stole five dirt bikes from under a canopy.

Ten days later, Cpl. Dan Clark of OPD found two of the dirt bikes in the 700 block of Northwest Seventh Avenue. On Feb. 13, Cpl. Christina Follett recovered another one in the 10000 block of Northwest 23rd Avenue.

On Thursday, Sgt. Corey Taylor saw someone riding a dirt bike on Northwest Seventh Street and called Cpl. Sean Young and Lt. Greg Stewart of OPD, who noticed a partially covered dirt bike leaning against a home in the 700 block of Northwest Seventh Street and another in back. Both had been reported stolen.

A 17-year-old boy at the residence was transported to the Juvenile Assessment Center, where he faces charges including grand theft auto, dealing in stolen property and a criminal citation for no motorcycle endorsement.

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TRACK TALK: Christopher drives Brady Bunch entry to title - Enterprise

Posted: 19 Feb 2010 08:20 PM PST

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Ted Christopher, driving the Brady Bunch entry out of Brockton, with two wins and consistent finishes in all of the World Series events at the New Smyrna Speedway in Florida, took the championship again for the Tour Type Modifieds.

"It's nice to win another championship,'' said Christopher. "In addition to the two wins, we had a second, a 14th in the Richie Evans Memorial because of rear-end gear problems and one DNF.

"Even with bad luck in that race, right after we had the car pitted for repairs, the yellow and red light came on and we were able to make the repairs and not lose any more positions.

"On the negative side, there were three rainouts, which also hurt us on the purse money.''

All together, the Brady Bunch entry has taken 11 New Smyrna championships, seven of which were with Christopher and three others with Steve Park.

It was Christopher's eighth championship as he won another one with a different car owner.

Matt Hirshman won the final Tour Modified race at the New Smyrna Speedway last Saturday night.

James Civalli and Ron Silk, both of Connecticut, were next. Rowan Pennik took fourth and Kyle Ebersol rounded out the top five.

On other things at New Smyrna, the car counts for all of the divisions held up in spite of the economy. The field that turned out included all strong entries.

The crowd at New Smyrna was way down due to cold and rainy weather.

Our other contacts revealed that the recession hit the Daytona Beach area hard with several businesses closed up, and there were lots of half-priced tickets for the big events at Daytona International Speedway.

Another source told us that there were a lot of vacancies, even though the room rates at the major hotels had dropped prices, some as much as two-thirds.

Between the weather and the ailing economy, things were way off from a few years ago in the Daytona Beach area.

Brunnhoelzl to compete:For George Brunnhoelzl III, the 2010 racing season will see a lifelong dream of competing on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour become a reality.

Coming off of his first career NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour championship in 2009, Brunnhoelzl will team up with local car owner Bob Katon Jr. and get behind the wheel of the Berkley Auto Racing No. 46 entry.

The North Carolina driver will replace Eric Beers of Pennsylvania, who drove the Berkley Racing entry for the past two seasons. Beers and Katon parted friendly at the end of last season.

Previous to that, Bridgewater's Dick Houlihan was the pilot, but he decided to retire in 2007 and only returns behind the wheel for special events.

Katon, who was the 2009 recipient of the prestigious Len Boehler Car Owner Award (the late race team owner Len Boehler was from Freetown), adds, "The team and I are really excited to start the 2010 racing season. To have a driver with the talent, knowledge, and attitude that George brings is awesome.

"After spending some time with him and his father I knew that he would be a perfect fit with the team."

This will be Katon's seventh year as a car owner on the tour after 20-plus seasons as a successful mini-modified and pro stock owner in the New England region.

The team will once again utilize Troyer chassis' with engines supplied by Jim Mikkel's Performance Technology. Longtime corporate partners Cape Cod Aggregates Corporation, J & R Pre-Cast and Viveiros Insurance will once again support the Berkley Auto Racing entry.

Additional support will come from New England Racing Fuel, which will supply Sunoco Racing fuel, Shell Oil Company providing 'Q' Brand Racing Oil, Pro Shocks, Pro System Brakes, The Joie of Seating, and Oval Speed Unlimited.

Brunnhoelzl will make his debut behind the wheel of the yellow No. 46 at the Thompson Speedway in Connecticut the weekend of April 10-11, with the season opening Icebreaker 150.

World of Wheels: More than 300 dazzling custom vehicles and celebrity appearances highlight the 36th annual Town Fair Tire World of Wheels (www.worldofwheels.com) show March 12-14 at Boston's Bayside Expo Center, where the show has been since 1983.

The show attracts local creators of custom vehicles of all types, representing millions of dollars worth of one-of-a-kind hot rods, customs, street rods, collectibles, race cars, antiques, restorations, tuners and more.

It offers spectators the chance to meet and get free autographs from celebrities, see specialty vehicles and cover cars from enthusiast magazines and be entertained by many other attractions for the whole family.

This year's show, among other attractions, will feature:

Drag City USA with Kalitta's '67 Bounty Hunter, Prudhomme's '70 Wynns Winder, Garlits' '60 Swamp Rat III, '62 Swamp Rat IV and '66 Swamp Rat VIII and Motorama with traditional rods, customs and bobbers not seen at other Boston-area car shows;

Guest appearances at particular times during the weekend by Henry "The Fonz" Winkler from TV's "Happy Days," and WWE superstar Melina; and

Action Arena with East Coast championship wrestling and Boston Derby Dames roller derby demonstrations.

More information can be found at www.worldofwheels.com.

Racers Expo: The Racers Expo will be in Marlboro next Friday and Saturday.

"It is kind of a last-minute deal for a few vendors to get their new products out in front of the New England racer,'' said organizer NEMA Midget owner/driver Bobby Seymour, who also runs a speed shop in Marlboro. "This all started when we got word three weeks ago there would be no Speedway Expo at the Big E in Springfield. The few vendors turned into 28 and now nine tracks and organizations are coming. It will all be squeezed into the courtyard and conference rooms of the Royal Plaza Hotel."

Next weekend, the Best Western Plaza Hotel in Marlborough transforms into the site of one of the years most-anticipated auto racing events, as the 2010 Racers Expo gets the green flag on Friday at 4 p.m.

Friday's show runs until 9 p.m. and the action continues from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday. Admission is free.

Vanada at Seekonk: We got the word from Berkley's Chuck Vanada, a race car owner, about his winter efforts.

Vanada and his crew have been working hard on the Late Model that he'll campaign again at Seekonk Speedway and maybe some ACT Tour races with his son, Jake, at the wheel.

"The car is coming along the guys are doing a good job. If all goes well, we should have a fantastic 2010 season," he said.

Motorcycle event: Southern New England riders took part in the recent mid-winter motorcycle event at the Wachusetts Valley Riders Club in Winchendon.

Jeff and Eric Wood, formerly of Mansfield, came in first and second in the 30+ Class while Carver's Joe Kessler was third.

Jack Halpa of Winchendon took a second in the Men's Class with Zach Toth of Winstead, Conn., next. Allen Soucy of Stafford Springs, Conn., won the 125-250 divisions.

Ray Bourgeois of Westminster won the 251 division while Jackie Halpa of Winchendon took the Girls Division. Kristian Carpenter of Millbury won the Novice race while Jon Correra of West Bridgewater was runnerup and Robert Briggs of Millbury was next.

Jeff Wood took the Pro race while Joe Kessler of Canton was second. Jason Doukuoil of Winchendon won the Expert race.

Also Aldo Margenilli of Easton won the Armature race with Dave Fitch of Middleboro earning a second.

The schedule: Here's what's happening in southern New England this weekend:

The DCU Center in Worcester offers the USHRA Monster Truck Jam today and tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Also today, the American Legion Post in Orange, Conn., will host the East Gas Bash starting at 9 a.m. Boch Lux Ferrari/Masarati on the Auto Mile in Norwood has an open house starting at 9 a.m. today.

At the same time, the Charles River Museum of Industry in Waltham features a Model Engine Show.

The Redline Diner in Framingham has another year-round cruise night at 5 p.m.

Correspondent Lou Modestino's Track talk appears Saturday in The Enterprise.

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