Hall of Fame Announces Notable Lineup of Speakers
Pre- and Post-Event Parties Planned
The stars will be out! Former and future Hall of Famers, media members, promoters, track officials, personal friends and family members will be introducing the Class of 2022 during the upcoming induction ceremonies at the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame.
The 30th annual induction program will take place Wednesday, July 20 at 7 pm in the Hall of Fame Museum, on the Weedsport Speedway campus in New York. The event is free and open to the public, with both pre- and post-program celebrations planned.
Each one of this year’s guest speakers has a special connection to an honoree.
A Hall of Famer himself, honored with the Mechanic/Engineering Award in 1999, car chief Scott Jeffery was fresh out of college when he hooked up with driver inductee Billy Decker in 1992.
“We’d been friends before,” Jeffery described the beginning of their relationship. “I was at a race at Canandaigua. Billy had no help, so I pitched in.” At the end of the night, “Billy wanted to know if I’d go out on the road with him for a couple of days.
“And here we are, 30 years later.”
Jeffery has been full-time in the sport ever since, initially working out of Decker’s home shop until car owner Randy Ross hired Billy as his driver in 1994. Scott was part of the package deal: he moved to Albany to oversee and manage Ross’ operation.
Together, Decker and Jeffery formed one of the most successful and long-lived driver/crew chief alliances in the business. With Scott turning the wrenches and Billy at the controls, they connected for four big Super DIRT Series big-block wins on the Syracuse mile and six Modified pole credits. They were even better in the 358 ranks, taking SDW honors six times at Syracuse and once at Oswego. The duo claimed the Mr. DIRT/SDS championship in 1998, 2008 and 2014.
Those last two series titles were for car owner John Wight. Wight’s Gypsum Express team wanted the savvy Jeffery on their payroll and they got him in 2004, with one stipulation: that Decker was part of the deal.
They had always been great together—especially in the high-profile, extra-distance grinds that counted the most.
How they did it will be the focal topic when Jeffery takes the mic during the July 20 induction ceremonies to talk about his decades with Decker and just what made them click.
“Billy has a reputation for being one of the cleanest drivers out there. That always made for a lot less controversy we had to deal with at the tracks,” Scott said, pointing to the reasons for Decker’s Hall of Fame honors. “But mostly, it was our results. We had some pretty good years there.”
Promoter Bob Miller—behind the 33-year success of the popular Thunder on the Hill series at Grandview Speedway—will be introducing that Pennsy track’s winningest driver, Craig Von Dohren, as he is inducted into the Hall of Fame. Von Dohren, with 355 career victories currently to his credit, resides in rarefied air: since 1980, CVD has won at least one Modified feature every single season for the past 43 years—a statistic that places him second only to Hall of Fame driver Alan Johnson in dirt Modified racing history.
The Borello family goes way back with our pioneer driver, the late Don June. From the mid 1960s to the early ’70s, car owner Patsy Borello partnered with June to show ’em how it’s done in the North Country, at tracks on both sides of the border—Watertown, Capital City in Ottawa, Kingston and Evans Mills among them. Borello’s son, Patrick, will take the stage to share some of his childhood memories of June’s glory years.
The winningest driver in DIRTcar Modified history, Hall of Famer Brett Hearn, will welcome his car owner, Guy Madsen, to the fold. Hearn has a motherlode of memories to pull from: since 1995, Madsen and Hearn have accrued an astounding 281 wins, including five of Brett’s 12 Eastern States 200s; Brett’s last Syracuse Modified victory in 2012; Super DIRT Week small-block scores in 2013 and ’14; the Mr. DIRT 358 title in 2006 and the Modified series title in 2013; and a slew of track championships.
NASCAR Truck pro Stewart Friesen was a kid just starting to make a name in the game when he hooked up with our Hall of Fame mechanic Eric Mack. Mack became “the toolbox,” traveling with Friesen, wrenching on all of his random Modified rides as Stewart’s star rose—and the wins and the accolades stacked up. Future Hall of Famer Friesen will reflect on Mack’s past role as car chief and comrade on the road, in the years they conquered every crown jewel event on the circuit.
Longtime track official Marty Beberwyk will tell stories from his stint as a flagger at Devil’s Bowl Speedway and pit steward at Albany-Saratoga, working for visionary and often controversial promoter C.J. Richards from 1969 until the ’80s. Jo Anne Richards will be accepting the prestigious Leonard J. Sammons Jr. Award for Outstanding Contributions to Auto Racing, on behalf of her late husband.
Bob Marlow and Ace Lane Jr. became friends as youngsters, accompanying their famous fathers to the races—Bob, the son of Pine Brook Speedway founder and announcer Dick Marlow; and Ace, son of renowned photographer Ace Lane Sr. Both followed the path pioneered by their elders: Marlow became the voice of ARDC and a respected racing journalist; Lane added to his dad’s groundbreaking legacy in motorsports photography. Bob will reinforce the impact the Lane family has made in documenting the sport, as Ace Jr. receives the Andrew S. Fusco Award for Media Excellence.
Videographer, photographer and co-owner of DirtTrackDigest.com, George Smith was always a friend to Mimi Lazzaro, giving her a shot at her dream when DirtTrackDigest.TV began streaming live racing action during the pandemic. Our Woman in Racing Award winner was up to the challenge—delighting housebound audiences with her contagious enthusiasm as victory lane interviewer and pit reporter. As a 50-year Fonda Speedway fan, Smith will share past thoughts about track champion and one of his favorites, Lou Lazzaro, and now his daughter Mimi.
The 7 pm induction ceremonies will be preceded by a “Happy Hour” reception hosted by Weedsport Speedway from 5:30-6:45 pm, under a tent just outside the Museum. A complimentary array of finger foods will be served, along with iced tea, water and lemonade, courtesy of the track. Beer and wine will be available for purchase.
At the conclusion of the ceremonies, the party will move to the beautiful Weedsport Speedway pavilion—specifically, the Portside Pub—where honorees and attendees can continue to socialize, have snacks and drinks, and enjoy video presentations.
On Sunday night, July 24, Weedsport Speedway will present its Super DIRTcar Series Hall of Fame 100 for the big-block Modifieds, sponsored by Coca-Cola of Northern New England.
For the sixth year, a special Hall of Fame commemorative program has been produced, featuring the history of the Museum and Hall of Fame, a complete list of all HoF drivers and award winners in the past 30 years, a rundown of past HoF race winners, as well as stories and photos of all 2022 honorees. All profits from sale of the $5.00 program book benefit the Museum.
|
