While growing up on a farm Alvada, Ohio, John Boes helped his family with whatever they needed help with.

Happily surrounded by various pets, including dogs, cats and even raccoons, he planted and harvested soybeans, wheat, oats and more, and when he was old enough, he used the family’s tractor to do that.

It was on that tractor that he learned how to burn rubber and leave black marks on the pavement — probably to his family’s dismay — and he hasn’t stopped burning rubber and leaving black marks since.

John went on to have a 1969 Firebird that he drove on the street and at the strip, and then a 1974 Camaro which he considers to be his first real race car.

Wondrous behind the wheel, he was winning in no time, whether he was in that car or the cars that followed. He earned championships and was embraced as a Sportsman of the Year.

While he always intends to do even better, he was especially inspired in 2019, after his parents and nephew had recently passed away, and he wanted to earn a championship in their honor and in their memory.

With angel wing graphics on his car to symbolize how they always supported him and will continue to support him in different ways, John went on to claim the Edelbrock Super Pro championship.

And for the paint maintenance superintendent at Continental Structural Plastics in Ohio who races alongside his wife, Lisa, and has three stepchildren and eleven grandchildren, it was the most meaningful and momentous championship yet.

John was recognized alongside his fellow champions at the 46th Annual Edelbrock Banquet of Champions presented by Lincoln Electric, Jan. 18, 2020, at Kalahari Resorts and Conventions in Sandusky, Ohio. - Mary Lendzion