So it really caught me by surprise. Since then, he has always helped this sport grow. In the early 2000s, she moved into the Pro Mod series, where she continued to be competitive. To improve pitstop speed and efficiency, he employed former athletes as crew members with specialized roles and clockwork choreography. Gosh, its hard enough to find funding to go racing, let alone in the middle of a pandemic. Staff Report March 10, 2023. Later the longtime Salt Lake City mayor set 21 more records in office, including ones for Pontiac just before his death. Most recently, Enriquez has competed in the NHRA Heritage series at the wheel of Bob McKrays C/Fuel dragster which has been a multi-season champion in the Jr. Fuel Eliminator for over two decades. Pat Garlits Award Linda Jones Founders Award Bob Frey Luckily for us, his zest for the world of reining is infectious, she said. Thinking the 1981 AQHA World Championship Show would be his last, he didnt even bother to change out of his work shirt when he showed Karen Sullivans 3-year-old mare, Miss Docs Melody, in the first go of junior western pleasure. In 2020 he was named the No. Pat Garlits Memorial Award: Linda Jones. From 1974 to 81, he captured a record eight straight AMA National Enduro Championships. Jose has been a member of our affiliate since the 1990s and earned his first major paycheck in Gordyville in 1999. It took some time for the track to find its groove, but it did with the help of the muscle car guys from across New Jersey who came to race. On top of all he has done for Drag Racing, Sonny is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Messner, born in Los Angeles on, Aug. 1, 1941, as Herman R. Messner, would soon go by the nickname, Sonny. At the age of 15, he began his career in automobiles, working for Jr. Thompson, building racecars. He also bred and raised Tinseltown Lil Step, who went on to produce both Smart Tinseltown and Smart Lil Step. The people we have now Robert Hight, Jimmy Prock, David Grubnic, Chris Cunningham, Joe Barlam, my son-in-law Danny Hood, Tim Fabrisi and then my kids. God protects me because of her.. Aside from his on-track racing legacy, Meyer will be best known and built the then cutting-edge Texas Motorplex in 1986 in the Dallas-area suburb of Ennis, Texas. We also will celebrate 20 years of the Reining Horse Foundation. NRHA Official Commentators to Call the Action for the All American Quarter Horse Congress Reining Futurity Open Finals, Gunnatrashya Reaches $9 Million Dollar Sire Milestone, NRHA Celebrates CINCH & Classic Equine Silver Anniversary Partnerships, 2023 NRHyA Art & Photo Contest Deadline Approaching, Taylor Sheridan Named NCEA 2023 Ring of Honor Recipient. He has won three championships yet suddenly found himself empty-handed and forced to learn the most basic step to winning titles: finding funding to operate the race car. It is as though we had a full-time representative on the West Coast. She went on to win her first NHRA world championship in that car. . At 24, Attebury had his first paying customer, Frank Bradley. Cousin Luke Horning is this weeks featured driver on SPEED SPORTs Fight For The Flag, brought to you by Curb Records. The '23 Toyota Corolla Hatch Is Normcore on Wheels, What We Learned in Red Bulls Domination In Baku, Prock, Hight Add Wins to John Force Racing Legacy, NHRA Pro Stock Stars Promote 64-Car Bracket Event, 10 Wildest Plot Points of a Rocky NHRA Season. My wife Laurie, shes stood by my side, and I really do love her and appreciate her. SPEED SPORTs Alan Cavanna catches you up on that and more in this weeks edition of Sealed Under Pressure Spotlight presented by Cometic Gasket. He brings his seemingly tireless enthusiasm for reining and life to each of our events. 2021 NRHA Level 4 Open Futurity Champion will win an unprecedented $350,000. Ted and Linda sold their four drag strips and move to Bristol, Tenn., to work with Larry Carrier and the newly formed IHRA. . Raceway Park had no problem booking a 32 Funny Car field, including hometown hero Jungle Jim Liberman. All logos and images are reserved. Freys decades of involvement with the sport has also made him one of the most respected authorities on the history of drag racing. The former New Jersey modified driver innovated ways to manage teams and became one of the sports most prolific winners. The 35th Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Induction Celebration will honor the next class of racing royalty at the Motorsports Hall of Fame's home in Daytona Beach, Florida. The teams that I got to compete on, it takes an awful lot to compete at the level for a championship. It is an honor to be among these famous drivers and officials. He would accompany Jr. to all the Southern California drag strips, including famed Lions at Long Beach, and of course the Half Mile Drag Strip in Riverside, Calif. . The 1941 East Coast Midget champs best season was 1950 when he became AAA Big Car National Champion and finished second in National Midget points. In 2013, he created the Outlaw Nitro Funny Car Series, which became a huge success, bringing racers from across Australia and New Zealand together. He was inducted into the Australian National Drag Racing Association Hall of Fame in 2013 and into the Australian Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2018. The Napp family began looking for land to build a drag strip along the Golden State Parkway but it was outside their price range. Hill was one of the stalwarts of the Mountain Motor Pro Stock class during its heyday on the IHRA circuit from the early 1970s into the 1990s. He also bought or sold other top performers including Jac Be Quick, Roosters Wrangler, Hes Dun his Time, and Bueno Chexinic. Its lack of opportunities. Etta was a fixture at the starting line and in the pits as the Glidden family raced their Ford Pintos, Fairlanes, Mustangs, and Thunderbirds (as well as one year with a Plymouth Arrow) against some of the very toughest competitors in Pro Stock class history. The banquet is Monday evening. Vazquez, Carpenter, Vaughan, Brown, Kimmel and Carrier will be honored at Sliders Night Out presented by Toyon Ranch on December 1 at State Fair Park in Oklahoma City during the NRHA Futurity. During her years at IHRA, before the invention of the Compulink computer system, Linda supervised a crew of five women and invented a system to accurately keep track of qualifying, and eliminations in the timing tower at all IHRA national events. As it was in those days, that is how a two-man team got help, from fans and mechanics walking around in the pits. I believe hes one of the oldest if not the oldest to win a bronze trophy, which he did so at the age of 90.. I didnt race to make money, I raced because I loved it, Force said. Although Burkett had tons of success, she also had her misfortunes. The contributions he made to this association and its members may never truly be seen. Including the Class of 2022, 278 "Heroes of Horsepower" are in the MSHFA. The young couple had no money or assets, only the desire to be more involved in the sport they loved. His biggest win to date came in 2009 at the National Reining Breeders Classic, when he rode Wound By Juice to win the Level 4 Championship, worth $37,783. Force was the first drag racer to earn Driver of the Year recognition for all American Motor Racing (1996); being voted No. There were three SR-IIIs, and the one that won Riverside was the second. I dont have a lot of words for it yet.". Itd be strange to not have drag racing. Eight years later, as a newly selected member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, he would say the same thing. Tales of Carpenters love for horses abound. News of his selection shouldnt have been all that startling to Dixon. Charles Vaughan NRHA Dale Wilkinson Lifetime Achievement Award 2021. Throughout the decade of the 80s and 90s, not only did Minors drag racing operations attract top-level driving talent. the New Hampshire Hockey Hall of Fame was born and the inaugural class of twelve inductees was . The pair terrorized the class in Southern California, and later across the country. After several terrible accidents involving both himself and fellow drivers, Force worked with a team to develop safety improvements that earned him the 2008 MSEC Motorsports Achievement Award by the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) for his work in improving race car safety. Many were saved from amputation. I might be a soon-to-be Hall of Famer, but Im still a dad, so we were scouting colleges. Daughter Alanna is planning to be an oncologist, and the family most recently visited Notre Dame and the University of Michigan. Ive got it good.". Doug made incredible contributions to NRHA in numerous ways. I was told there are only 30-some drag racers in the Hall, and I could probably think of 30 that would be on my hero list that arent in the hall. He was a mentor to so many people in the industry, and a true ambassador for the sport.. From 1987-2006, he won 125 national events and 14 world championships. Dixon earned back-to-back championships in 2002 and 2003 and again in 2010. In 1993, driving a Top Fuel dragster, Cowin was the first in Australia to run under five seconds with a pass of 4.895. Roy Hill, Billy Meyer, and Larry Minor will be inducted into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in March in Gainesville, Fla. NHRA's Division 4 is the historic South Central Division home of "The Good Guys.". However, he said, Im really proud of the class Im with.. Over the years, Prietos skills at extemporaneous speaking and the ability to present his thoughts on paper led him to public relations positions with the automotive trade associations. In 1973 he won the Bakersfield WCS, the WCS finals at Sears Point, and was named the Most Improved Pro Driver in Division 7. His enthusiasm and zeal for life, love, and horses has been incredible, and to this day serves as inspiration for me. He was a truck driver before making the switch to drag racing in 1971, driving the ex-Jack Chrisman rear-engine Mustang Funny Car. Aboard Goon, Chester won the prestigious Greve Trophy at the 1939 National Air Races. Half of the voters are inductees themselves. During their tenure in open-wheel racing, the only deaths were from non-survivable injuries. When he was just 13 years old, he hitchhiked to Columbus, Ohio, to attend the All American Quarter Horse Congress. Over 85,000 fans jammed Raceway Park for that first NHRA Summernationals. 2023 International Drag Racing Hall Fame Ceremony Thursday March 9, 2023 Hilton UF Conference Center 1714 SW 34th Street Gainesville, Florida 2023 Inductees Shelly Anderson-Payne, Ron Atterbury, Carol ''Bunny'' Burkett, Grameme Cowin, John Force, Sonny Messner, Vinny & Richard Napp. The man who popularized the Bonneville Salt Flats for racing set more speed records than anyone. The Division 4 Hall of Fame honors . He also won eight straight gold medals in the International Six Days Enduro, sometimes referred to as the Olympics of Motorcycling. After the record 3-time AMA Amateur Athlete of the Year retired from riding, he developed and marketed off-road riding apparel and accessories. He built a long line of hot rods that were featured in magazines and on several magazine covers. There is such excitement at being able to finally recognize all of these honorees, said Leslie Baker, Executive Director of the RHF. Sonny is a wonderful ambassador for the Sport and the Drag Racing Museum. Hed give us a bunch of cash, and tell us that when it ran out to let him know and hed give us more, the couple wrote. It will be a special night to reflect on reining history and look to the future!. While contributing as a Gold level donor to the Reining Horse Foundation, Doug created revenue and recognition for the Foundation through the Celebrity Slide with the Professional Bull Riders and the Make a Wish Foundation in Oklahoma City, recalled friend, NRHA Hall of Fame member, and former NRHA President Frank Costantini. Dottie Smith, president of the Midwest Reining Horse Association, has watched his progress in the show pen. Do you have a favorite Larry Dixon moment? He is constantly observing, analyzing, studying, and discussing the sport of reining both domestically and internationally, Bradley shared. Jose has also invested a tremendous amount of money into our affiliate programs via donations and sponsorships of shows.. We may earn money from the links on this page. As vice president of USAC Properties, he oversaw land-speed-record runs. The Patricia Garlits Memorial Award is given out annually to a woman who has contributed to the sport of drag racing through their professional activities- at the track-and/or their personal activities-off the track-which promotes the sport in a positive manner or to the success of the sport. Glidden stood beside her legendary husband, Pro Stock superstar and Hall of Fame driver Bob Glidden, throughout his checkered career of 85 NHRA class wins and 10 NHRA World Championships. Raceway Park launched the careers of several drag racers and was home to some of drag racings most memorable moments, including the famed Don Garlits SR30 blow over in 1986. Unofficial Camping World points standings, Gerber Collision joins Scrappers Racing for next two NHRA national events, Steve Johnson Racing announces Be A Technician scholarship, More than racing: Stage shows, bands, four-wide skydive on tap for Charlotte event, Toddler Tricycle Nationals will be an epic battle for the (early) ages in Charlotte, Pete Berner added to Elite Motorsports Mountain Motor Pro Stock program, NASCAR vs. NHRA grudge matches to kick off Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, Bandimere Speedway to host final NHRA national event in 2023 as family looks for new location to continue legacy, New National Dragster profiles influential players; Phoenix, Pomona coverage, Versatran ready to hit the dragstrip with Paul Richards Racing in Charlotte, Nostalgia Pro Stock cars to be featured at Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, Victory in Vegas: Tony Stewart collects his first NHRA national event win, Alex Laughlin looks to add to four-wide resum in Dunn/KGC Funny Car, Electric Mustang Super Cobra Jet 1800 prototype targets new NHRA records, NHRA welcomes Qlisp Raceway Park to NHRA Member Track Network, Caruso to introduce Big Jeff Audio to NHRA beginning in Charlotte, Fineline Graphics named Preferred Signage and Graphics Company of NHRA, Team Kalitta front-halves chassis damaged in Pomona accident for Las Vegas, Drag racings ultimate thrill ride: NHRA Four-Wide Nationals set for Las Vegas, Craig Breedlove, America's first 600-mph racecar driver, passes at 86 years of age, Gerber Collision & Glass named title sponsor of Route 66 NHRA Nationals, Funny Car champ Ron Capps will run SRX Series event at Eldora Speedway, John Force, J.R. Todd get tangled up in top-end crash in Winternationals qualifying, GETTRX joins Matt Hartford Racing for Pomona and beyond, New National Dragster issue packed with race coverage, racer features, and more, John Force Racing meets WWE Superstars during special crossover event, Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge returns this weekend in Pomona, Toyota launches Supra Showdown program for select NHRA events, Jasmine Salinas takes first Top Fuel passes in anticipation of 2024 debut, International Drag Racing Hall of Fame announces 2020 Inducteesand Honorees. In 1966 while at Atco, Bob learned they were looking for a track announcer. Already racing in Old Bridge, the brothers began looking for land in the area, as the town was receptive to a drag strip and had existing ordinances for building and operating race tracks. Biloxi Dragway (1957-1967) King Richard was Americas most successful enduro racer. 29Two former athletes are joining the ranks of McAlester history. The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) announced its 2023 Induction Class Saturday during the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend. Olvey and Trammell. Cowin was a trucker with a need for speed who began his racing career in 1973 when he and his wife invested everything they had and purchased the famed Psycho nitro-fueled drag car. In the mid-1980s, a landmark case in Indiana resulted in laws that, to this day, prevent discrimination in the workplace against people with AIDS. Im thankful for all the opportunities I have.. Renowned chassis builder Attebury began his car building at the age of 5, when his mother found him taking body panels off the family tractor. The National Reining Horse Association has a history steeped with great and dedicated horsemen and women. The two-seat program, surprisingly, has brought him new clients in the past few months.

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