Dutch Hoag - Ken Dippel Photo
Weedsport, NY — May 23, 2010 – By Tom Skibinski, DIRTcar Racing Northeast PR Director
Coming to a climax with the headline ‘Hall of Fame Classic 100’ on May 30, the Memorial Day Weekend Super DIRTcar Series showdown on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds is just 7 days away. The historic Weedsport, New York speedway comes to life for the traditional holiday special with the 100-lap Big-Block Modified winner on Sunday waiting to take home a cool $6,000 top prize.
Helping commemorate the past two decades of Hall of Fame happenings at the home of DIRTcar Northeast, highlights from many of the past induction days will be recalled in anticipation of the first big holiday racing event of the season.
When the doors of the Hall of Fame & Classic Car Museum first swung home to greet 13 charter members in 1992, one of the first to cross the threshold that historic April afternoon was arguably the most accomplished driver of his day — Donald Carl ‘Dutch’ Hoag. Next week Hoag returns to Weedsport to join fellow Class of ‘92 Hall of Famers Billy Rafter & Billy Wimble in this year’s trackside tribute that also features special appearances by ‘Irish’ Jack Murphy (2000) and Dave Lape (2004), as they greet fans and sign autographs in the Cayuga County clubhouse during intermission.
The biggest event on the Northeast calendar was the Race of Champions for Modified Sportsman at the just as legendary Langhorne (Pa.) Speedway starting in 1951. The Dutchman not only mastered the one-mile circle an all-time record five times, those victories were scored on both dirt and asphalt surfaces. Debuting close to home at Naples Speedway in 1949, Hoag exposed his talents early enough to capture back-to-back New York State NASCAR titles in 1953-54 driving the dirt at the Monroe County Fairgrounds near Rochester in the now infamous red and white no. 96 “Penn Yan Express.” 1956 marked his first RoC victory, repeating in 1960 before taking his final Langhorne win on dirt in 1963 — which was the 13th Race of Champions run on October 13 and Dutch’s car was numbered 13. In 1964 he started driving the Turner Bros. orange number 18, which carried him to another win on the recently paved Langhorne track in 1967. He formed his own team the next season and without missing a beat his sleek blue & gold no. 7 machine carried him to a fifth and final RoC triumph.
Northeast Modified Hall of Fame Classic Big-Block Modified Winners
2009 – Billy Decker on May 24; 2008 – Dale Planck on May 25; 2007 – Danny Johnson and Tim Fuller on Aug. 19; 2006 – Danny Johnson on May 28; 2005 – Tim Fuller on May 29; 2004 – Gary Tomkins on May 30; 2003 – Alan Johnson on May 25; 2002 – Tim McCreadie on May 26; 2001 – Tim McCreadie on July 5; 2000 – Danny Johnson on May 28; 1999 – Billy Decker on May 30; 1998 – Gary Tomkins on May 24; 1997 – Danny Johnson on May 25; 1996 – Alan Johnson on May 26; 1995 – Rain; 1994 – Bob McCreadie on May 29; 1993 – Dave Lape on April 4; 1992 – Steve Paine on April 12.
The 19th Hall of Fame Classic at Cayuga County Fair Speedway on Sunday, May 30 is round three of the 2010 Super DIRTcar Series. Log into the homepage at www.superdirtcarseries.com to find out more about the nation’s premier Big-Block Modified tour and be sure to sign up as a Super DIRTcar Series follower on Twitter by visiting http://www.twitter.com/SuperDIRTcar. For further track information, access http://www.CayugaCountyFairSpeedway.com or phone 315/834-6606 during the day.
DIRTcar Racing Northeast main office is located in Weedsport, New York on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds, home of DIRTcar All-Star Weekend in July. DIRTcar Northeast’s crown jewel event —Super DIRT Week at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse runs annually in October featuring Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Mr. DIRTcar Championship Series events for Big-Block Modified, 358-Modified, Sportsman and Pro Stock divisions. Ticket and schedule information is available by contacting the Weedsport office (315/834-6606) during the day or logging into www.allstar100weekend.com and www.superdirtweekonline.com anytime.
The Big-Block Super DIRTcar Series is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Hoosier Racing Tire www.hoosiertire.com and VP Racing Fuels www.vpracingfuels.com. Promotional partners include the University of Northwestern Ohio www.unoh.com and Chizmark & Larson Insurance www.chizmarklarson.com, and contingency sponsors are Bicknell Racing Products www.bicknellracingproducts.com, Bilstein Shocks www.bilstein.com, KSE Racing Products www.kse-racing.com, Motorsports Safety Systems www.motorsportssafetysystems.com, MSD Ignition www.msdignition.com, Penske Shocks, www.penskeshocks.com, Racing Electronics www.racingelectronics.com, Vicci Racing Apparel www.vicci.com and Wrisco Industries www.wrisco.com.
