 |
||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||
 |
||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||
| Jim Sumner Bio | Dash For Cash | 2010 Donors | Jim Dash Hall Of Fame | Jim Dash Winners |
Jim Sumner was born on April 23, 1970, the youngest of four children born to a life-long AMA Pro Novice and a school teacher. He began competing in amateur dirt track and ice racing in 1979, racing alongside his older brother and sister. From 1979 through 1985, he raced in the amateur ranks, scoring countless wins and earning one District 16 amateur title. In 1986, he obtained his professional racing license from the AMA and was assigned Pro-Am #84S. In May 1987, he advanced to the Junior division, sporting #84K. In 1988, he advanced to the Expert division.
In 1990, he earned his first National Championship points by finishing fifth on the mile oval at the DuQuoin, Illinois round of the AMA 600cc National Series. For the 1991 season, he was awarded AMA National Number 45, a number he proudly wore until his death while preparing for the AMA National Championship event on the mile oval at Springfield, Illinois on May 26, 2002.
Two hundred and sixty-eight riders held National Numbers during the period from 1991 through 2002. Only nine riders earned a National Number every year over that span: Chris Carr (#1/#4/#20), Jay Springsteen (#9), Terry Poovey (#18), Will Davis (#21), Kevin Atherton (#23), Willie McCoy (#59), George Roeder II (#66), Rich King (#80/#100), and Jim Sumner (#45).
The Jim Sumner Memorial Dash For Cash is our effort to showcase one aspect of professional motorcycle racing that Jim truly loved – the inverted, staggered start. Back in the 1970s, heat race line-ups were lined up in reverse order, with the fastest qualifier at the rear, and slowest at the front, to make the races more exciting. They certainly were, as the fastest qualifiers only had 4-6 laps to charge through the field in the hopes of securing a transfer spot into the semi qualifiers. The inverted, staggered start was retired after the 1986 season, so Jim was never able to participate in one at his beloved Santa Fe Speedway near Chicago, where he had watched some of the greats of the era – Terry Poovey, Randy Goss, Steve Elo, Garth Brow, Scott Pearson – hold class every Wednesday night during the 1970s.
Jim passed away two weeks before the 2002 Dairyland Classic, but for 2003 his family decided to honor him by introducing the Jim Sumner Memorial Dash For Cash that would utilize Jim's favorite inverted/staggered start. Jim's former racing teammate, JR Schnabel, passed three riders in four laps to claim a narrow win over Kyle Ragsdale and Kenny Coolbeth. In 2004, Jeremy DeRuyter, another local rider who had advanced through the ranks watching Jim compete weekly, claimed the win. Schnabel won again in 2005, stating in an emotional winner's circle interview that "it's important that we keep this win among the Wisconsin riders who grew up racing with Jim every week".
The 2006 dash was stopped by rain, so we sent the $3,000 we'd collected to assist our good friend, National #18 Terry Poovey, who suffered life-threatening injuries at a National Championship event in Springfield, Illinois the week earlier. The 2007 edition ran on Friday, June 1. A record seven entries in the dash, yet Jammin Jared Mees charged past five riders in six laps to claim the win. After the race we sent another check to our pal Terry Poovey.
The 2008 version had the closest finish yet. JR Schnabel grabbed the holeshot from the 3rd starting spot and led the field down the back stretch. Fast qualifier Jared Mees made a steller move going into turn 3, passing 3 riders at once to move into the runner-up spot. By this time, Schnabel had a sizable lead, but Mees kept chipping away. On the final lap, Mees made another charge into turn three, closing the gap to a bike length, then getting a great drive towards the flag. Schnabel held on to claim his third Jim Dash win by less than a wheel length over Mees.
The 2009 edition saw history as Jared Mees charged all the way from the #1 starting position (at the rear of the field) to claim the win.
| $1,000 | In Memory of Sandy Dricken | Kewaskum, WI |
| $500 | Al Muth Harley-Davidson | Black River Falls, WI |
| $150 | Illinois Harley-Davidson | Berwyn, IL |
| $100 | Craig Grismore | Pandora, OH |
| $60 | Mike Vrana | West Bend, WI |
| $50 | Dino | Milwaukee, WI |
| $25 | Rollie Gleisner | Fort Atkinson, WI |
| $25 | David Lange | Fort Atkinson, WI |
| Jim & Sandy Dricken/West Bend Harley-Davidson, West Bend, WI |
| Al Muth Harley-Davidson, Black River Falls, WI |
| Illinois Harley-Davidson, Berwyn, IL |
| Craig Grismore, Pandora, OH |
The Dash For Cash Hall Of Fame Is Dedicated To Those Who Have Financially supported Each and Every Jim Sumner Memorial Dash For Cash
| YEAR | # | NAME | HOMETOWN | MOTORCYCLE |
| 2003 | 33 | JR Schnabel | West Bend, WI |  |
| 2004 | 81K | Jeremy DeRuyter | West Bend, WI |  |
| 2005 | 33 | JR Schnabel | West Bend, WI | |
| 2006 | 18 | Terry Poovey | Euless, TX |  |
| 2007 | 21 | Jared Mees | Clio, MI | |
| 2008 | 33 | JR Schnabel | West Bend, WI |  |
| 2009 | 21 | Jared Mees | Clio, MI | |
| 2010 | 3 | Joe Kopp | Mica, WA | |