Dr. Gary “AJ” George was a dedicated historian from the Southern Tier region of New York State.  A car letterer in his earlier days, Gary was a valuable asset to the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame…performing research on drivers and tracks.  Amidst the writing of a book detailing the history of the Shangri-La Speedway, Gary fell ill with C o v i d 19 and succumbed to the illness on December 13, 2020 before his book could be completed.  The ARRA Research group benefitted by Gary’s knowledge over the years and he often would assist in the research efforts of a handful of our historians.  To honor Gary’s dedication to and his love for the sport of auto racing…we have put up a page in his honor on our ARRA website featuring many pictures from the Shangri-La Speedway that may or may not have made it into his much anticipated book, along with others representing some of the aspects of Gary’s life within the sport.  You can find it on the Bill Hanna Special Reports page.  Or click here: https://sites.google.com/view/the-bill-hanna-wing/gary-aj-george-tribute>

AJ was a great guy, and also a very talented sign artist.  Sooooo many cars at Shangri-La bore "Signs by AJ" on their quarter panels.  Hopefully someone will pick up his book on Shangri-La and finish it.