DUANE HOWARD TO RECIEVE MAJOR HONOR!

Duane Howard often prefers to duck the publicity that accompanies his auto racing accomplishments.


Tonight, however, he will be thrust into the national spotlight.

The low-key Oley driver's outstanding 2010 season at Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville resulted in a third-place overall finish in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series standings of NASCAR-sanctioned short tracks in the United States and Canada.

Howard receives $5,000 for his efforts and will spend time on stage at the ceremony at the new NASCAR Hall of Fame in North Carolina tonight. The entire banquet will be broadcast live on the web at www.nascarhometracks.com.

Howard, 47, who will also be honored as the Pennsylvania state champion of NASCAR, was a top-three finisher despite having only one NASCAR-sanctioned track to compete at on a weekly basis.

Howard had the fewest starts (21) of any driver ranked in the top 10. Overall national champion Keith Rocco of Connecticut made 53 starts at three sanctioned ovals in his home state.

Howard, driving for Chad Sinon with crew chief Alan Finch, won eight of his 21 starts with 19 top-5 finishes. He was a top-10 finisher in every event. In the middle of summer, Howard assembled a string of eight wins and five second-place finishes in 13 starts to climb the national ranks.

Howard, incidentally, was Grandview's NASCAR Whelen All-American Series 358-modified champion for the fourth time in his career, earning $10,000 from the Rogers family, and topped the inaugural American Racer East Coast Modified Cup, worth $10,000.

By Brett Deyo Reading Eagle correspondent/Brent Smith photo