Coleby Frye Celebrates After Winning 2008 AlturnaMATS® MACS Rookie of the Year Title 11/23/08 - Indiana, PA (November 23, 2008) Coleby Frye, Dover, PA, entered the MACS 2008 season as a virtual unknown in the Dirt Late Model ranks in northeast or nationally; but quickly let people know he was going to be a serious contender for the MACS title. Throughout the campaign this rising star turned many heads with his performances and met his objective by claiming the 2008 AlturnaMATS® Mid-Atlantic Championship Series Rookie of the Year crown. During 2008, Frye’s exploits went beyond racing as he is a Welding Technology Senior at Pennsylvania College of Technology, Williamsport , PA where his is very active outside of the classroom. Coleby is a student-athlete. He is a member of the Penn College soccer team where he was honored as a United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), as an All American – Honorable Mention. His racing resume included winning the coveted AlturnaMATS® MACS Rookie award, finishing the season tied for third in series points with 2002 MACS Champion Jack Pencil. Coleby also garnered one AlturnaMATS ‘Shock the Clock’ Fast Time award throughout the season with a rash of top finishes. The quiet and very likable Frye offered congratulations to the 2008 series champion Jason Covert, “I wanted to congratulate Covert and the Klinedinst team on their third consecutive MACS title, Jason is at the top of the region right now.” Frye continued about second place finisher Doug Horton, “(he) is a hell of a driver; we raced with both Jason and Doug competitively. Those guys are definitely good competitors and we are not ashamed to have finished behind them.” Frye’s Rookie campaign got off to a rocky start in April at Rick and Ernie Jones’, Oval Track Promotions, ‘The Rock’ Allegany County Speedway, Cumberland , MD during the ‘Western Maryland Open 50’. Coleby transferred to the main event by finishing third in his ‘B-Main’ but dropped out in the early stages of the 50-lap event and was scored with a 24th place finish. The Fryeco Motorsports team, which consists of Coleby’s parents Ron and Sandy Frye, Ken ‘Butch’ Metzel, Tyler Pancione, and Jon Malehorn, quickly turned their fortunes around at the next series stop at the Keifer Motorsports promoted Bedford Speedway, Bedford , PA. Frye would set the second quickest time in the AlturnaMATS ‘Shock the Clock’ time trials before finishing second in his heat race. Coleby drew the eighth starting spot for the 50-lap ‘TC Warehouse Late Model Spring Championship’ and raced his way to his first top-ten finish of the season as he finished eighth. This strong performance moved him up to tenth in the championship point standings and second in the AlturnaMATS Rookie of the Year standings behind fellow rookie contender Greg Fetters. The wet month of June thwarted the team’s efforts to climb the Series ladders. After two consecutive rainouts during the programs at Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway, Jamaica, VA, for the 50-lap, “Summer Sizzler II” and Sharon Speedway, Hartford , OH , “Triton 50” the month of July awaited. Up next for Coleby and the MACS Series was a weekend at the Coleman Family’s Portsmouth Raceway Park , Portsmouth , OH , where Promoters Donna Rayburn and Chuck Greenslate eagerly welcomed the tour. The Fourth of July weekend at ‘PRP’ featured two separate, one day shows where Frye would overtake Fetters in the battle for the rookie title. Coleby captured his second straight MACS top-ten with another eighth in the ‘Stars and Stripes Pepsi 75’. That finish moved him past Fetters in the ROY hunt, as well as up to fourth in the championship standings. The following night, during the ‘Weaver Gas & Oil Independence Day 50’ Frye finished sixteenth in the final rundown and was then tied with Jack Pencil for fourth in championship points. Coleby enjoyed his time in southern Ohio and took a lot away from his trip, “ Portsmouth was a pretty neat place. I like getting out there in Ohio and places where the tracks are different and the competition is different. It’s a whole different crowd out there. It’s so much more fun going out and racing against new people every week,” Frye continued, “I got to meet up with Doug Drown a little bit, he’s a cool guy and a couple of other fellows out on the road, it was good for me, making contacts out on the road.” Ernie Shelton’s 29th Annual Topless ‘ USA 100’ presented by the United States Army at Bill Sawyer’s Virginia Motor Speedway, was next on the docket for the team. Frye timed 17th quickest and finished eighth in his 25-lap qualifying race putting him in 15th on the starting grid for the 50-lap finale, paying $10,000 to-win. Coleby had a disappointing run as he dropped out of the event early relegating him to a 25th place finish as well as dropping to fifth in the point standings. The silver lining to that dark cloud was he still held a 60 point edge on Fetters in the Rookie standings. August ended at Lernerville Speedway, Sarver , PA , for the $7,000 to-win, Cleveland Brothers Caterpillar ‘Jim Shank Memorial’ presented by Potoka Trucking and Repair. Coleby’s Rocket GTO powered by Clements had his loyal boosters Fryeco Inc.; PA College of Technology; A&A Auto Salvage and Recycling; Keystone Trailer Services; TC Race Cars; Krenn Trucking cheering as he logged the fast time earning $500 from #1 Cochran Automotive, a $200 Gift Certificate from AlturnaMATS®, as well as a $200 gift certificate from Genesis Shocks. With the inversion, Coleby started fourth in his heat and finished third which would put him in the A-Main redraw. Frye drew the second starting position for the main event, flanking 2004 MACS Champion Robbie Blair. Frye blazed a hot trial leading the first 22 laps of the event until eventual race winner Doug Drown was able to make his way around the rookie. Three time and current MACS Champion Jason Covert was also able to get by Coleby for the second as Frye’s mount developed handling issues. The ill-handling race car forced Coleby back to sixth at one point, before he took that bucking bull by the horns riding it to the extreme high side of the speedway returning to third before fading at the end back to sixth. “Lernerville was pretty cool, setting fast time, putting on a show,” Frye commented, “running up front was nice, (but) I wish I could have finished there; but that is part of the learning curve.” Coleby went into the series’ final event, the 8th Annual ‘Big Kahuna’, at Rick and Ernie Jones’, Oval Track Promotions, ‘The Rock’ Allegany County Speedway, Cumberland , MD , holding a slim five point margin over Jack Pencil for third in championship points and a 115 point lead over Fetters for the Rookie crown. Frye had to run a B-Main to secure a spot in the $12,000 to-win feature event but ran into some mechanical problems during the consolation event forcing him to use a provisional which also relegated him to a back-up car to start the 50-lap season finale. Coleby passed nine cars from 24th to finish fifteenth securing the 2008 AlturnaMATS Rookie of the Year title. Frye also finished one spot behind Pencil which tied the pair for third in the Championship points. Frye spoke about his rookie title and his first year on the road, “We really felt like we could do it, (win the AlturnaMATS Rookie of the Year title) if we stuck to it and kept our heads. I need to thank my parents and my crew for everything, as well as my sponsors…Fryeco Inc., A&A Auto Salvage and Recycling, Pennsylvania College of Technology, TC Race Cars, Keystone Trailer Services, Krenn Trucking, Integra Shocks, Speedwrapz, and Clements Racing Engines, in addition to all of our product sponsors.” Coleby continued about his program, “I know I can compete with these guys and it’s up to me not to make mistakes where they don’t and I do. That’s what gets me fifth instead of winning. That is why we’re out here racing, to try to get better and learn.” Coleby also has high expectations for himself and his race team in the future, “Of course I would like to get out on the road with a national circuit but that takes a lot of money and good backing and we don’t have that yet. Right now though we are looking at the MACS deal again unless something else bigger is put on a platter for us. If we don’t move up to the next level, we will be back here next year gunning for the championship.” FINAL 2008 Mid-Atlantic Championship Series Point Standings: 1. #43A Jason Covert 2085 pts. 2. #46 Doug Horton 1900 pts. 3. #F1 Coleby Frye ® 1735 pts 3. #14P Jack Pencil 1735 pts. 5. #39 Greg Fetters ® 1565 pts. 6. #5W Waylon Wagner 1517 pts. 6. #21 Matt Lux 1517 pts 8. #24M Jeremy Miller 1500 pts. 9. #56 Russ King ® 1423 pts. 10. #5 Chuck Clise 1380 pts. FINAL 2008 AlturnaMATS® MACS Rookie of the Year Standings 1. #F1 Coleby Frye - 1735 pts. 2. #39 Greg Fetters - 1565 pts. 3. #56 Russ King - 1423 pts. 4. #0 Ron Delano Jr. - 1254 pts. 5. #02 Tony Lombardi - 768 pts. 6. #79 Mike Altobelli Jr. - 705 pts. 8. #3 Thomas Baker - 597 pts. 7. #22A Donald Lingo Jr. - 558 pts. Additional information on the Mid-Atlantic Championship Series can be found on www.macsracing.com.