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Congratulations to the new Hall of Fame
Members
Tulsa Inductions Draw Large Crowd for
National Midget Hall of Fame Ceremony
by Dick Jordan
TULSA, Ok. -- Friday’s 24th Annual National
Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame Induction
Ceremony in Tulsa, Okla. drew a large
audience for the first presentation held in
conjunction with the annual Chili Bowl
Midget Nationals.
Posed at the January 11 National Midget Auto
Racing Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies are
recipients and acceptors, along with emcees
Pat Sullivan (l) and Dave Argabright ® as
well as NMARHoF President Bill Engelhart
(5th from left). Pictured (l-r) are
Sullivan, Jack Housby, Ken Brenn, Ron
Canterbury, Engelhart, Judy Fuss, Ken Brenn
Sr., Lloyd Ruby, Duane Gerhardt and
Argabright. Housby accepted for inductee
Dick Ritchie, while Brenn accepted for
Curley Mills, Canterbury accepted for Danny
Klaids, Fuss accepted for Pappy Hough and
Gerhardt for his grandfather Fred. Bill
Marvel (not pictured) accepted for Walt
Faulkner and Ed Watson, and Ralph WIlke
(also not pictured) accepted for Carl
Marchese. (Jim Haines Photo)
“We were extremely pleased with the turnout
and the results of today’s event,” said Hall
of Fame President Bill Engelhart. “The Chili
Bowl organizers were very supportive of our
efforts and we look forward to returning
next year and for the foreseeable future.”
Held in the Livestock Complex of the Ford
Truck Arena on the Tulsa Fairgrounds, the
event honored 10 individuals for their
contributions to the sport of Midget Auto
Racing and they will be enshrined in the
National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame at
Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisc.
The 10 honored included the four
“traditional” inductees as well as six
additional from the 1934-1955 era. Six
drivers, two car owners, a promoter and an
official comprised the “Class of 2007.” They
are Jack “Curley” Mills, Roscoe “Pappy”
Hough, Danny Kladis, Lloyd Ruby, Walt
Faulkner, Dick Ritchie, Ken Brenn Sr., Fred
Gerhardt, Ed Watson and Carl Marchese.
Brenn and Ruby were present for their
inductions, while acceptors on behalf of the
others were: Ralph WIlke (for Marchese),
Judy Fuss (for Hough), Ken Clapp (for
Mills), Duane Gerhardt (for his grandfather
Fred), Ron Canterbury (for Kladis), Jack
Housby (for Ritchie) and Bill Marvel (for
Faulkner and Watson). Johnny Rutherford
assisted in the presentation to his longtime
racing friend and fellow Texan Ruby.
Emcees Pat Sullivan and Dave Argabright
meticulously detailed each inductee’s career
and orchestrated the presentations. A screen
also displayed images of the inductees and
other memorable Hall of Fame members and
vintage Midgets were on display on both
sides of the stage.
Distinctive shadow box plaques were
distributed to the acceptors who spoke
briefly and posed for photos following the
event.
Attendees included 2007 USAC National Midget
Champion Jerry Coons Jr., USAC National
Sprint Car Champion Levi Jones, former USAC
champion Gary Bettenhausen, Hall of Fame
member Jason Leffler, Badger Midget Champion
Brad Kuhn, and other Chili Bowl participants
and Hall of Fame members.
Luncheon was served to the attendees who
participated in “bench racing” both before
and after the affair.
Billy Wood Badger Midget's most
prolific driving Champion dead at 79
Kenosha, Wis.,
Nov. 11---Billy
Wood, the only driver to win Badger
Midget Auto Racing Association (BMARA)
Driver Championship eight times,
died Sunday morning at his home,
after battling throat cancer. Born
on January 26, 1928 in Marrietta,
Mississippi, he was the son of the
late General and Alice (Thornton)
Wood. He attended schools in
Mississippi before moving to Kenosha
looking for work. He was employed at
American Motors Company for over 38
years – retiring on July 29, 1987.
Wood began his career racing in the
Badger Midget Series in 1953,
finishing third in series points.
The next season Wood outdistanced
defending series champion Billy
Johnson for his first Badger crown.
His 1955 title was aided by eight
feature wins at Angell Park Speedway
(Sun Prairie,Wis.). His third and
fourth titles in 1957, and '58 were
won by narrow margins of twenty-five
and six points.
His finest season came in 1959 when
he won 18 Badger features and set
fast time 17 times in the 24-race
series. His fourth consecutive title
came the next season, after which
Wood ran only a few Badger events
over the next six years, instead
spending time on his career at AMC,
with his family and running various
other events. He finished tenth in
the 1962 USAC National Midget Car
Series point standings.
Car owner Paul Krueger convinced
Wood to run his car for the 1966
Badger campaign. Wood edged his
teammate Keith Thomas for his
seventh championship. Wood's final
Badger title came in 1968 in a
season plagued by rainouts, Wood
edged second-year driver Bill
Engelhart for the title by eight
points. Wood ran a handful of races
the next two years before retiring.
His eight Badger titles came driving
for four different car owners: Herb
King ('54, '55), Frank Farchione
('57, '58, '60), Irv Paulsen ('59),
and Krueger ('66, '68). Wood's 52
career Angell Park Speedway feature
wins rank him second all-time
trailing only Dan Boorse. Wood also
scored feature wins in USAC
National, UARA, Midwest, and open
competition sanctioned events.
Wood remained a spectator attending
most Badger events over the next
35-plus seasons, including the 2007
season finale on Sept.1 at Angell
Park. Wood was inducted in the
National Midget Auto Racing Hall of
Fame in August 2002.
He is survived by his wife, Beverly;
three sons: Dr. Thomas (Rae) Wood of
Franksville, Jerald (Jodie) Wood,
and B.G. Wood – both of Kenosha; two
brothers, Travis Wood of
Wrightsville, GA, and Wayne
(Maureen) Wood of Fulton, MS; and a
sister, Carolyn (Ray) Underwood of
Iuka, MS. Billy is also survived by
six loving grandchildren: Abbigail
(Paul) Hampton, Jennifer, Lauren,
Mackenzie, Jarrett and Jordan. Along
with his parents, he was preceded in
death by two brothers, Tramel and
Cratis Wood.
A visitation for Billy will be
hosted on Tuesday from 4:00 until
8:00 PM at the funeral home. In lieu
of flowers, the family asks that you
consider memorial remembrances to
the National Midget Auto Racing Hall
of Fame, C/O Bill Engelhart,
Treasurer, 13930 W. Northridge Dr.,
Evansville, WI 53536; or Hospice
Alliance. 10220 Prairie Ridge Blvd.,
Pleasant Prairie, WI 53158.
Piasecki-Althaus Funeral Home, 3720
39th Avenue, Kenosha, Wisconsin
53144, 262-658-4101.
Funeral Services will be held on
Wednesday, November 14, 2007. A Mass
of Christian Burial will be
celebrated at 10:00 AM at St. Mary
Catholic Church, 7400 – 39th Avenue.
Interment will follow in St. James
Cemetery.
Les
Kimbrell age 82 passed away on Tuesday 9-11-07
in Lafayette, Indiana.
He served in
the Army during WWII and was in Japan when the
war ended.
Les
graduated from Purdue University with a degree
in Mechanical Engineering in 1953 and operated
Kimball's Garage in Lafayette, Indiana for 36
years until he retired.
Les began
his long association with motor-sports when he
began scoring for the racing division of AAA in
1950. He was a Charter Member of the United
States Auto Club that was formed in 1956 and
scored their historical first event at Ft.
Wayne, Indiana. He continued a long relationship
with USAC that included scoring the Indianapolis
500 for many years until his retirement. He was
also a long-time member of the Indianapolis 500
Old-timers Association.
Les was one
of the original officers of the National Midget
Auto Racing Hall of Fame where he served as the
Director of Finance. He also served for many
years as a Board of Director until recent years
when his health began to fail. The Board then
honored his long and valuable service by
appointing him "Director Emeritus".
Les is
survived by his wife Kay, a son Bud and three
daughters Susie, Sarah and Debra.
The family
has asked that in lieu of flowers donations be
made to the Indianapolis 500 Old-timers, Inc.
P.O. Box 24404 Speedway, Indiana 46224 or to the
American Diabetes Association P.O. Box 11454
Alexandria, VA 22312.
Funeral
Services will be held at the Soller-Baker
Funeral Home 400 Twyckenham Blvd. Lafayette,
Indiana 47909 (800 292-0673) with visitation at
3 pm until 7 pm on Friday and a memorial service
beginning at 7 pm.
The
Hall of Fame Classic Weekend
Sunday August 26th
Michael Pickens wins
the second night of the Hall of Fame Classic
Fifty cars, representing the best of Badger
and USAC crammed the makeshift outfield pit
area for the second night of racing in the
Hall of Fame Classic. Brad Loyet started the
night by circling the track the fastest in
qualifying with a time of 14.99, almost a
half a second slower than the quick time the
previous night.
Chris Windom started the night out by
winning the last chance race. Heat victories
went to Ryan Durst, Joe Wipperfurth, Bubba
Altig and Mike Hess. For the second night in
a row Danny Stratton found himself in the
semi. This time he came away with the win by
about three lengths over Levi Jones.
The track was very different for night two,
as the cushion was almost to the wall and
there was actually a bit of dust flying by
the end of the night. But if the track was
slower, the action from it did not let on.
Handicappers had to be concerned as picking
a winner would not be easy. Last night’s
winner, Jerry Coons Jr. was slated to start
in the ninth position with previous Angell
Park winners Michael Pickens, Danny
Stratton, Brad Kuhn and Scott Hatton all
ahead of him.
Pickens, in the black Hans Lien car, took
the early lead running the high groove as
were most of the racers. Chasing him were
fellow Kiwi Brad Mosen, Stratton and Doug
Schenck. Coons was on the prowl as he was in
sixth by lap three, running the low line.
Meanwhile Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who was the
hard charger of the race the night before,
was wallowing in twelfth spot, having
started thirteenth. "They just wouldn’t let
me do what I wanted," he noted of his fellow
competitors.
By lap ten of the 30 lapper, Pickens had a
comfortable lead of about a half
straightaway over Monsen. At lap 15 Pickens
found the back of the field and worked the
lappers easily. Two circuits later the field
was bunched for a yellow and two laps after
that, it was stopped for a large crash in
turn three. The restart saw Pickens ahead of
Mosen, Startton, Coons and Kuhn. From hear
Pickens sailed to his first USAC win
followed by Mosen, Coons, Kuhn and Loyet.
Coons won the overall points championship
for the weekend. For their efforts, Pickens
and Coons were awarded special plaques by
the Hall of Fame complete with the hall’s
logo and a vintage midget pictured on it.
Saturday August 25th
Jerry Coons Jr Wins the
first night of the Hall of Fame Classic
It was like
days of old at Angell Park Speedway last
weekend as 50 midgets graced the makeshift
pit area for the Hall of Fame weekend
doubleheader. The Badger/USAC co-sanctioned
event drew most of the best midget pilots in
the world.
Dane county
suffered record rainfall for the month of
August with the bulk of that precipitation
starting the previous weekend. That
basically washed out the famed Sun Prairie
Sweet Corn Festival including the races and
the rain didn’t completely stop until the
eve of the Hall of Fame race. In between
that time, there was little sun to help dry
the facility and large puddles nearing pond
status were observed on the grounds. While
the track, to many fans’ surprise was fairly
dry, the infield was saturated and pitting
would have to occur outside the track. While
this offers some logistical issues and
disrupts the flow of a normal race program
at the speedway, staff, drivers, crew
members and officials alike adapted and
helped to make both nights smooth running
and entertaining shows.
Saturday
night started with Kevin Swindell besting 49
other takers in qualifying, in his Kasey
Kahne Mopar.
Brad Moson
won the qualifying race. The top eight from
this go were tacked onto the back of a heat.
Those not making the cut were done for the
night.
The 8 lap
heats were won by Dan Mecum, Brian Ramstack,
Brad Kuhn and AJ Fike. Of note, each winner
started on the outside pole and lead wire to
wire. In the first heat, Badger rookies
Mecum and second place Tim Noble beat a
field that included open wheel ace Dave
Darland who was running a midget owned by
Hall of Famer Steve Lewis. Brian Ramstack
set the track record for an 8 lap event.
The semi saw
Swindell on the pole, after failing to
transfer out of his heat. At the start, Matt
Sherrill charged into turn one from the
outside pole and bicycled, fought hard to
save it, but lost in the end flipping his
mount. Swindell went on to win the race.
Darland on
the inside with Danny Stratton (in the Terry
Klatt car) on the outside, lead the field to
the green for the start of the 30 lap
feature. Darland got the jump on the field,
while Chuck Gurney Jr. subbing for Levi
Jones in one of Hall of Fame inductee Tony
Stewart’s cars, snuck by Stratton for
second. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., in the other
Stewart car, brought out a lap two caution
and was sent to the back of the pack after
enjoying a starting spot of seventh.
On the
restart Darland took command. Running the
high groove, (which for Angell Park was not
all that high) he smoothly sailed around the
oval. By the fourteenth circuit Darland met
lapped traffic and lost the five car lead he
had over fifth place starter Jerry Coons Jr.
The half-way point saw Coons overtake
Darland at the line. As they charged into
turn one and through the entire lap the two
traded slide jobs where Darland got the
lead, but gave it up again at the line. He
tried again for slider in turn one but it
didn’t work and Coons, in the Wilke Pak car
maintained the lead.
The action
stopped for a red flag flew due to a flip in
turn four. In assessing the field, of major
note was Stenhouse’s charge from the back of
the pack to eighth place. The restart saw a
running order of Coons, Darland, Gruney,
Stratton, Mike Hess and Fike.
From here
Coons survived another restart and never
looked back as he took the win over Darland.
Stenhouse thrilled the crowd with a third
place finish that included a bicycle ride in
turn one where he never seemed to miss a
beat as he kept his foot on the gas and
maintained his position. Stratton was fourth
and Gurney rounded out the top five. Both of
those drivers transferred to this race from
the semi.
Hall of Fame
member Bob Higman was on hand to present the
winning trophy to Coons.
Indianapolis,
IN (May
19, 2007)
– The latest inductees into the National Midget
Auto Racing Hall of Fame have been announced and
include a driver, two car owners and an
official.
Jack “Curley” Mills, Roscoe “Pappy”
Hough, Kenny Brenn and Ed Watson will be honored
as the new inductees, although the date and site
of the inductions are still being finalized.
These four individuals received the
most votes cast by a panel of Midget racing
experts from across the country who comprise the
induction committee. Ten additional 2006
candidates received sufficient votes to be
listed as “carry-overs” on the 2007 ballot.
Jack "Curley" Mills was one of the
true pioneers of midget auto racing. His career
was brief and started in 1934. He won the
inaugural event at the famed Gilmore Stadium and
later won four events in a row there when it was
one of the most highly competitive racing venues
in the nation. He would win many events in
California
with the Offenhauser powered car dominating
competition at Gilmore Stadium and the L.A.
County Fairgrounds in
Pomona,
California.
His early success caused him to be "lured" out
East for some "big money" races where he won at
Long Island,
NY
and
Philadelphia,
PA.
On
August 18, 1936
he was badly injured in a midget race at
Madison
Square
Garden
in
New York.
As a result of those injuries, one of the true
stars of early midget auto racing, "Curley"
Mills, passed away on
December 24, 1936.
Roscoe "Pappy" Hough started driving
"big cars" in the late1920's. He switched to the
midget cars in the middle 1930's racing
primarily in the
Midwest
before moving out East where he raced at places
like the dreaded "Nutley Velodrome". As a
driver, who was also his own mechanic, he became
one of the most successful pre-war drivers
winning 44 events in 1941 and with career total
victory estimates running as high as 1,000
races. His career as a car owner would be
equally successful but his unparalleled
innovations were even more impressive. He built
dozens of cars over a 30 year period and built
some of the first tube frame midget race cars
even before the Kurtis-Kraft design was
conceived. As a team owner, he employed over 40
drivers and some of the best in the business
including the likes of Bill Schindler and Art
Cross. Over the years he reportedly raced at
over 560 tracks. It was not unusual for him to
transport his multi-car team and drivers by air
cargo to enable them to race twice in the same
day, a task hard to duplicate even by today's
standards.
Ken Brenn Sr. remains one of the
most respected car owners in midget auto racing.
His incredible victory as the winning car owner
at Lime Rock, Connecticut on July 25, 1959 with
Indy 500 winner Rodger Ward driving, remains one
of midget auto racing’s greatest stories. With
his Offy midget they raced against and beat some
of the top cars and drivers from the Formula 1
and
Le Mans
series on a road course. Over the years his
impeccably prepared cars, nearly always carrying
#24, were much sought after and attracted some
of midget racing's top drivers including Ward,
Len Duncan, Bobby Unser, Larry Dickson, Don
Branson, Johnny Coy Sr., Jimmy Caruthers and a
host of other top drivers from the east coast.
The five-time ARDC Championship car owner, who
served in nearly every official capacity for
that club, was also the mayor of
Warren,
New Jersey.
He provided a great deal of business acumen and
professionalism to the sport which clearly
elevated the image of midget auto racing over
the years.
One of midget auto racing's greatest
fans, promoters and workers, Ed Watson spent
five decades immersed in the sport. Born not far
from legendary
Jungle
Park
in
Marshall,
Ind.,
Watson did everything from serving as a mascot
to scoring midget races to writing and
publishing books about the cars that used to be
a stepping stone to the
Indianapolis
500. During his final 15 years, his company,
Witness Productions, had also published books on
Jim Hurtubise, Jan Opperman, Lloyd Ruby and Bill
Vukovich as well as the history of midget racing
in the
United States,
the Dirt Road to a Silver Crown and Full Tilt, a
pictorial history filled with breathtaking shots
by photographer John Mahoney. But Watson's
proudest accomplishment was being instrumental
in the founding of the National Midget Hall of
Fame in Sun Prairie,
Wis.
Would you like to nominate someone for the National Midget Auto Racing
Hall of Fame?
INCLUDE
PRESENTATION OF RICH VOGLER’S “GOLDEN DRILLER”
Five new members of the National
Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame were formally
inducted into the shrine during Sunday
afternoon’s ceremonies in Sun Prairie, Wis. The
proceedings also included a special presentation
to the Hall by inductees Lanny Edwards and
Emmett Hahn.
Edwards, Hahn, Foster Campbell, Jack
Fox and Ron Hoettels joined the list of
inductees which now number 119 as the inductions
were held in the upstairs pavilion outside turn
one at Angell Park Speedway. The track hosted
the annual “Hall of Fame Midget Classic”
weekend, featuring Saturday night’s USAC race
won by Ryan Durst and Sunday night’s Badger race
won by Jerry Coons Jr. Scott Hatton won the
overall “Hall of Fame” Midget title for the
second straight year.
Following their inductions, Edwards
and Hahn, who traveled from
Oklahoma for the
ceremonies, presented Hall of Fame President Les
McBurney a distinctive “Golden Driller” trophy,
emblematic of Rich Vogler’s victory in the
inaugural Chili Bowl Midget race, a race
conducted annually in Tulsa,
Okla. by the two
inductees. The trophy, which was not instituted
at the event until several years after Vogler’s
1987 victory, will reside permanently in the
Hall of Fame.
Orchestrated by emcee Dick Jordan
and co-emcee Bill Hill of Little Rock, Ar., the
inductions followed a luncheon and display of
vintage race cars, plus a productive morning
Hall of Fame Board Meeting.
Hoettels, Campbell, Edwards and Hahn
were all present for their inductions, while
longtime photographer Jim Chini of
Palm Springs, Calif.
accepted for the late Jack Fox.
AngellPark
announcer Dave Shannon introduced several
dignitaries, including former drivers, while
former Hall of Fame inductees Mel Kenyon, Billy
Wood, Frank Burany, Crocky Wright, HoF Treasurer
Bill Engelhart and past Presidents Bob Higman
and Bill Hill were all present.
Hill conducted a special
long-distance telephone interview with Hall of
Famer and Wisconsin’s
own Tom Bigelow.
Hall of Fame President Les McBurney
unveiled a brand-new Founders Plaque bearing the
likenesses of John Stiles, Donald Davidson, Ed
Watson and Larry Wright, whose immense
contributions were responsible for laying the
foundation for the Hall of Fame. Davidson, the
Historian for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,
accepted the honors on behalf of the four
founders and explained to the audience the early
organization of the Hall of Fame.
- NMARHoF -
Congratulations to
Ron Hoettels
(Left to Right ) Dick
Jordan, Bill Engelhart, Ron Hoettels, Les McBurney
Congratulations to
Emmett Hahn and Lanny
Edwards
(Left to Right ) Bill
Hill, Bill Engelhart, Emmett Hahn, Lanny Edwards, Dick
Jordan, Les Mcburney
Congratulations to Jack Fox
(Left to Right ) Dick
Jordan, Bill Hill, Jim Chini (accepting for Jack Fox)
Les McBurney
Congratulations to Foster Campbell
(Left to Right )
Foster's Grandson, Foster Campbell, Foster's Son, Bill
Hill,
Les McBurney, Dick Jordan
Crocky Wright was in
attendance. Wearing a shirt with a picture of Tony
Stewart inducting him into the Hall of Fame.