AIS NEWS

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Kobyluck helps out family on 'Extreme Makeover' - Camping World East champ joins show to rebuild home - By Raygan Swan, NASCAR.COM

Building a 2,300-square-foot home in freezing temperatures in just six days is not what the average NASCAR driver plans to do during his offseason. But Matt Kobyluck isn't most drivers nor is the 2008 Camping World Series East champion most people.

Kobyluck has spent several 12-hour days in 10-degree, wet weather preparing a building site for Carol Girard's new home in Voluntown, Conn.

Girard and her four children are the most recent beneficiaries of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, ABCs reality show that builds homes for families devastated by tragedy.

The Girard family lost their home to a kitchen fire in 2007 in the midst of trying to refinance the mortgage. Forced to file bankruptcy, the family moved into tents behind the burned out two-story home with a foreclosure sign out front.

A friend loaned the family a travel trailer to park in their back yard, but before the Girards could recover financially, they were hit with yet a greater devastation a year later.

Carol's husband, Thomas, drowned in Connecticut's Green Falls Pond near their home and their son Marc died while trying to save him.

"I'm a father and this hits close to home," said Kobyluck, a native of Connecticut and father of three. "This family needs a second chance. When you hear their story you feel compelled to help."

Kobyluck donated resources and manpower through his family owned trucking and construction business. As president, Kobyluck provided a week's worth of manpower and supplies used to demolish the old Girard house.

The demolition took place Dec. 6, and was followed by a complete 30-hour effort to complete the concrete and backfill work in temperatures nearing the zero-degree mark.

"I feel privileged to be in a position to be able to help out." MATT KOBYLUCK

The project was a family affair that included Kobyluck's brothers Mark, Chris and Joshua, as well as his parents, Dan and Maureen, who also helped out at the construction site.

"Everyone at the company, not just my family, contributed in some way to this," Kobyluck said. "We had employees that didn't sleep for days. It was just incredible what they were willing to do to help this family. It was cold and on top of the cold came monsoon rain." But giving back when you're able is important, Kobyluck said.

"There were many circumstances I would have liked a second chance at something and never got it or the opportunity," he added. "Helping this family is just the right thing to do."

This weekend Kobyluck will be honored as the 2008 Camping World Series East champion in his hometown of Uncasville. The 38-year-old driver locked up the title with a series-leading four wins, nine top-five and 12 top-10 finishes.

But the pageantry of the banquet seems secondary to the honor Kobyluck felt working at the construction site. Every day the site was crawling with volunteers from Voluntown and nearby areas. From larger businesses to mom-and-pop pizza shops, vendors of all sizes pitched in for the cause.

"The feeling of community outreach was overwhelming," Kobyluck said. "It was all pretty special."

The Girard family, with the help of Extreme Makeover host Ty Pennington, will "move that bus" and see their newly constructed home Dec. 11, just before Kobyluck heads to Mohegan Sun Resort to received his championship award.

The reality show airs Feb. 8. Those who helped turn a shell of a house into a new home will tell a story of renewed sense of hope for the Girard family.

"This family has been through so much tragedy, and I'm happy, as a member of this community, to help out," Kobyluck said. "I feel privileged to be in a position to be able to help out."

AIS Crowns East Divisional Champion for Joe Gibbs Driven Racing Oil by Joanna Moore

With outstanding driving talent at Adirondack International Speedway, the Lyndaker Excavating and Trucking sponsored American Speed Association (ASA) Late Models had an outstanding showing in the ASA Member Track National Championship sponsored by Joe Gibbs Driven Racing Oil. ASA created East and West divisions, with an ASA Short Track Divisional Champion crowned in each. The Adirondack International Speedway was a part of the East division. The scoring system used to calculate the winners had taken into consideration racetracks which invert their field. Competitors must be their track champion at the conclusion of the season, race in a minimum of 14 events, and only races run at the driver’s “home track” were credited toward the new

ASA Short Track National Championship. Joe Gibbs Racing is one of the premier organizations in NASCAR, currently fielding three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams, two NASCAR Nationwide Series teams and a driver development program. Its driver lineup consists of Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch in the Sprint Cup Series; Stewart, Hamlin, and Busch in the Nationwide Series; and Joey Logano (2007 winner of the NASCAR Camping World Series Race at Adirondack) and Marc Davis in the NASCAR Camping World Series East.  Based in Huntersville, N.C., and owned by Joe Gibbs – a three-time Super Bowl winner as head coach of the Washington Redskins and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame - JGR has competed in NASCAR since 1992, winning three Cup Series championships and more than 80 NASCAR races, including three Brickyard 400s and the 1993 Daytona 500. “It’s always a tremendous accomplishment for a driver to claim a track championship, and we don’t intend to overlook or diminish that in any way,” said Dennis Huth, president of Racing Speed Associates, owner and operator of the American Speed Association. “But with the thousands of ASA members racing each weekend, they wanted a way to find out how they measured up against other drivers at all the ASA Member Tracks across the country without having to spend the money and time involved in traveling from event to event. The goal of the ASA Short Track National Championship was to activate a measuring system which took into account many variables, such as field size and number of races in a season, and create a level playing field to determine who is the ‘best-of-the-best’ of the ASA Member Track champions.”

Adirondack Speedway proved that they have the talent to be nationally recogonized with Tommy Cloce, driver of the 3 Toyota Camry, out of Canton, NY winning the honors in the East division. Although finishing second in overall points, Cloce was crowned the East Region Champion, as the requirement of being a track champion was not met by the first place finisher. There were 337 participants in the East Region with the other local drivers finishing as follows: Andre Roggie, fourth; Bryant Trim, 11th; Shane Monnat, 15th; Carl Guilefuss, 20th; Dylan Bancroft, (a rookie in this division) 36th; Jerry Dineen, 42nd; Erik Cupernall, 53rd; Lee Gill, 62nd; Sierra Lister, 65th; Chris Ross, 81st, Chuck Meyer, 89th; Mark Scoville, 98th; Matt Meyer, 109th; Jim Southard, 110th; Bobby Newman, 112th; John Papin, 117th; Zach Arthur, 127th; Brendt Matzel, 137th; Chola Shay, 144th, Josh Pieniazek, 146th; Brandon Kidd, 155th; Nate Plantz, 186th; Chris Gabehart, 237th; Bobby Weber, 253rd; Ben Reynolds, 256th; Al Johns, 274th; Jason Herrington, 277th; and Josh Lloyd, 292nd.

While being the winner of the East title, Cloce had a finish of third overall in the nation behind Champion Cary Stapp fom Thunderhill Raceway in TX and Linny White from Orange Show Speedway in CA. With the news of Adirondack Speedway being the home track of the East Region champion, owner Paul Lyndaker stated “We are very honored and delighted with the winner coming from upstate New York and with us being the only ASA member track in New York State. It is great for Adirondack but more importantly for Tommy. We look forward to a great season in 2009 and the possibility of winning the national title next year. With 600 plus competitors nationaly it says a lot for our facility.”