Zach Gibson Wins 2008 Buckeye Super Sprints Championship

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For Immediate Release:



Zach Gibson Wins 2008 Buckeye Super Sprints Championship



Marysville, OH……...2008 was a year of tragedy and triumph for third generation open wheel racer Zach Gibson. He started out the season in the newly formed Buckeye Super Sprint Series with a car he built himself, and his first year as an owner and driver. The 19 year old Gibson was successful right out of the box with a win at Toledo Speedway on May 16th and another win on May 31st at Sandusky Speedway for the Ohio based pavement series. Zach was on an early points lead, and everything was going great for him.



On July 18th while Zach was racing at Kilkare Speedway, his Uncle Terry Gibson was in a fatal accident while driving a supermodified race car at Toledo Speedway. Zach got the news from his dad Larry, and was asked if he wanted to race or go home. Zach was very close to his Uncle Terry, and the two have raced together for the past three years- he considered Terry his mentor. Zach chose to race that night. He was on a mission to honor his Uncle Terry with a win, and that he did. Holding back his grief- he won at Kilkare that night and was barely able to speak in victory lane as he dedicated the win to his Uncle Terry.



Zach comes from one of the most well known families in open wheel racing, with his grandfather Todd Gibson, a former supermodified racing legend and his dad, Larry is a former ARCA midget champ, along with his uncles, Gene Lee, Terry and Jeff all being successful open wheel racers from the Midwest. The outpouring from the racing community after Terry’s loss to the Gibson family was tremendous; but Zach felt that there was one way he could continue to honor his uncle’s memory in the sport they loved the most -- win the championship and keep winning.



Zach went on to win again at Columbus Motor Speedway on August 2nd, and clinched the Buckeye Super Sprint Series Championship by August 23rd at Sandusky Speedway, in the series inaugural season. Zack earned a total of 5 wins and set two fast times, with a season ending lead of 70 points over 2nd place in the overall standings.



This championship will also mark the 40th anniversary since the last championship his grandfather Todd Gibson won in his famed #00 “Flintstone Flyer”. Zach continued that tradition carrying the same #00 and “Flintstone Flyer III” on his race car.



“This championship is all for my Uncle Terry,” says Zach. “I could go to him for anything.. Terry was with me for my first win ever at Toledo in 2006. He was with me racing almost every Saturday night. He was the best to race with, and the most fun. He was more than my uncle, he was my friend. We finished 1-2 in the WSoA championship two years ago, I won it, but it was so much better being up there with him. It will keep me going if I continue to race in his memory.”



Zach will receive the Buckeye Super Sprint Championship honors at the 2008 Buckeye Super Sprint Series Banquet on Saturday, January 17, 2009 at the Holiday Inn in Westlake, Ohio.



This marks the 2nd pavement sprint car series championship for Zach Gibson in the last three years. Zach also ran his sprint car this past season at the Oswego (NY) Classic, and also ran some non-wing sprint shows with much success.



Zach would like to thank his sponsors; Walston Motors of Marion, Ohio and WG Lawn Service of Richwood, Ohio.. Special thanks to Larry Gibson, and Dick Meyers; as well as Todd Ridgeway of Ridgeway Photos and Kevin Jaycox of Buckeye Super Sprints.



To learn more about Zach Gibson please visit his website at: www.zachgibsonracing.com