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Maine NASCAR Champion Rodgers Visits Governor LePage
March 2, 2012
For Immediate Release: Friday, March 02, 2012
Contact: Adrienne Bennett (207) 287-2531
NASCAR Contact: Jason Christley, Integrated Marketing Communications, (386) 310-6094 or jchristley@nascar.com
AUGUSTA ? Beech Ridge Motor Speedway champion Bill Rogers topped off his career-best racing season in Maine?s state capital recently.
Governor Paul LePage personally congratulated Rogers on winning the 2011 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series state championship. The two were joined by Rogers? wife Kim in the Governor?s Cabinet Room of the Maine State House in Augusta on February 21.
Rogers also won the NASCAR Pro Series division track championship at the .333-mile paved oval in Scarborough. Both titles were career firsts for Rogers, 47, of Old Orchard Beach.
?Our visit with Governor LePage went very well,? Rogers said. ?He asked how the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series relates to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and we talked about the different steps in NASCAR racing. One of his staff members is a big Kevin Harvick fan.?
Rogers won the Beech Ridge track title by a single point over Aaron Ricker and the state championship by three points over Trevor Sanborn.
?Mr. Rogers has an impressive racing career and he?s made a lot of Mainers very proud. I wish him a safe and successful future behind the wheel,? said Governor LePage.
Rogers is a 15-year veteran of the NASCAR Pro Series division at Beech Ridge. His 2011 racing record was two wins, nine top-fives and 12 top-10s in 12 starts.
?Everything this championship has brought me is more than I ever expected,? Rogers said. ?It?s quite a thrill to win your state championship and get to meet your state?s governor. I told Governor LePage I hope I have a chance to meet him again next year.?
After he returned home from his morning visit with Governor LePage, Rodgers made a quick change of attire back into work clothes. He operates Bill?s Automotive, an auto repair business in Old Orchard Beach.
?Today was the last part of our championship celebration,? Rodgers said. ?We?ve been back to work on our race cars getting ready for the Beech Ridge season opener May 5.?
The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series is NASCAR?s national championship program for weekly short track auto racing. The series encompasses nearly 60 speedways across the United States and Canada.