LAKEVILLE, CONN. (September 4, 2023) – The Piston Foundation today presented the Piston Technician Award to Chris Kvaka of Vintage Racing Services of Stratord, Connecticut, at the Lime Rock Park Historic Festival 41.

The presentation was made by racing driver Joe Colasacco, alongside Dicky Riegel, president and CEO of Lime Rock Park, and Jeff Mason, president and COO of The Piston Foundation.

Kvaka, of Monroe, Connecticut, has worked with VRS for five years, and supports the No. 18 1963 Triumph Spitfire driven by Tom Brown, the current points leader in SVRA’s Group 3 National Championship.

“Receiving the Piston Technician Award means a lot,” said Kvaka. “All of us mechanics work really hard. It really goes out to all the crew guys, all the mechanics and drivers that keep us in this business. I really appreciate all of that and I appreciate The Piston Foundation for its efforts to keep this car culture alive.”

This is the second year the award has been presented at the Lime Rock Park historic races, which recognizes the essential contribution auto technicians make to the collector car community through their trade skills and technical automotive expertise.

The inaugural winner in 2022 was Mike Marra of Automobile Associates of Canton, Connecticut. Marra received the award for his expert race prep and maintenance of the No. 310 1972 Porsche 911 RSR driven by Dave Hutchings.

“These technicians at the historic races at Lime Rock Park on Labor Day weekend are the unsung heroes,” said Robert Minnick, The Piston Foundation founder. “The Piston Technician Award acknowledges the hard work and commitment of technicians to keep a car running at peak performance.”

Race teams, drivers, and car owners during the VSCCA-sanctioned races at the Historic Festival 41 nominated technicians for the award, which is a hand-crafted trophy created by noted auto restorer Kent Bain.

The theme of this year’s trophy is the car-craft skills employed in the wide range of fabrication skill sets that go into race and road vehicle creation, restoration and repair. It displays materials, tools and techniques in a sculptural format standing about three feet tall.

Piston Technician Award Honorable mentions for 2023:

Payton Teddick of Automobile Associate
Bob Gett of KTR Racing
Eric Langbein of Eric Langbein Racing
Tom McCarthy of DAS Sport
Dean Hutchinson of GMT Racing
Breck Halladay of Squire Moors
Nathan Thompson of Regogo Racing
Edward Rich of Fratelli Auriana Inc.
Payton Teddick of Automobile Associate
Bob Gett of KTR Racing
Eric Langbein of Eric Langbein Racing
Tom McCarthy of DAS Sport
Dean Hutchinson of GMT Racing
Breck Halladay of Squire Moors
Nathan Thompson of Regogo Racing
Edward Rich of Fratelli Auriana
John Brundage, race tech inspector
J.R. Mitchell of GMT Racing
Scott Buriak
Alex Thompson
Eral Tucker
Ken Nixon of Zapata Racing
Jim Spurgeon
Peter Borman of Quality Coaches
Mark Lefferts of Vintage Racing Services

Last year’s award blog post:

https://pistonfoundation.org/blog/piston-technicians-award-2022/

About The Piston Foundation:

The Piston Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) public charity helping young people acquire the education and hands-on training to build a career in the collector car industry. The Foundation provides trade school scholarships, supports shops and aspiring technicians with apprenticeships, and advocates for skilled trade careers in automotive restoration. www.pistonfoundation.org, Piston Scholar 2022 Yearbook