TRI-CITY STAR CHRIS HAINES WINS WESTERN PA ROOKIE AWARD
by Walt Wimer

March 23, 2008

  BUTLER, PA … Chris Haines, 37, from Sandy Lake, Pa., has been voted the 2007 “Western PA Rookie of the Year” award winner.  The 40th annual award, sponsored by Western Pennsylvania writer/announcer Walt Wimer, was voted on by nearly 70 members of the media and track officials in the Western Pennsylvania area. 

   At an age when many race drivers begin thinking of hanging up the helmet, Haines bought a race car near the end of the 2006 season and decided to go racing after many years of helping others on their cars.  The car was the purple #30 driven by Bob Egley at Lernerville Speedway during the 2006 season. After several weeks of work by Haines and some friends, the new driver got to see his first action late in the season. He ran a handful of races before the tracks shut down, but not enough to detract from his rookie status for 2007.

   Running in the Pro Stock class at Tri-City Speedway and the Stock Car class at Mercer Raceway Park, Haines finished the season in the top ten in points at both tracks against many veteran drivers.   He earned a seventh at Mercer and eighth at Tri-City in final points.  The two main highlights of Haines’ first season were a career first feature win at Mercer on August 11 and a fifth place finish in the Little Guy Nationals at Mercer.  The Mercer race is one of the biggest races for the class in the entire Western PA area, and just to make the field is an accomplishment.  He also finished second in a feature race at Tri-City on July 1.

   Aaron “Shorty” Weaver served as the crew chief of Haines’ white #35H while other crewmembers included Bill Egger, Darren Egger, and Terry, Leigh and “Granddad” Wheeler. For many years, Haines helped the Wheeler family on their orange #2W cars. Sponsors included Lakeview Fertilizer, Jerry Lucas Auto, MD Racing Engines, Pap’s Place, Sandy Lake Auto Parts, Dekalb, Syrgenta Seeds and General Welding Supply.

   On the personal side, Chris is married to Christina and has one daughter, Payden, age 14. Haines is employed as a manager with Lakeview Fertilizer in Sandy Lake. For the coming 2008 season, the rookie honoree plans to have two cars, his ProStock, which will see action at Tri-City, and a new FASTRAK Late Model, which will be run at both Mercer and Tri-City. 

   The “Western PA Rookie of the Year” award was started by Wimer in 1968, his first year of writing for the old CAVALCADE OF AUTO RACING magazine. The first winner was Kenny Hemphill, whose son Ryan was a contender for the award in 1997 and then ran the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series for a while. Over the years, some of the better known drivers to have won the award include NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Dave Blaney and his brother Dale, a top Sprint Car driver with the All Star Circuit of Champions. Other well-known winners include Ed Lynch, Jr. Bob Felmlee, Kevin Bolland, Dave Murdick and Jimmy Weller III. 

   For the 2007 award, 20 drivers were nominated with 14 receiving votes from the panel members. Brandon Spithaler of Evans City, a Limited Sprint driver at the Sharon Speedway, was a close runner-up. Mike Anderson Jr. (Mini Stocks at Mercer), Steve Beatty (Limited Late Models at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway) and Bill Jones Jr. (305 Sprint Cars at Hesston Speedway) earned an “honorable mention” in the voting.  The winner was announced at the recent Lernerville Speedway banquet and the award will be made to Haines at Tri-City Speedway early in the 2008 racing season.