ALLSTAR: Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

KNOXVILLE, IOWA (JANUARY 15, 2000) - The ballots have been counted and the induction committee of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame is pleased to announce the names of its 'class of 2000'. Leading the list of those individuals to be inducted on June 3 in Knoxville are Al "Cotton" Farmer of Texas, Earl Halaquist of New York, Harold Leep of Oklahoma, Jimmy Oskie of California, Joe Saldana of Indiana, Steve Smith of Pennsylvania, August "Gus" Hoffman of Ohio, D. William "Speedy Bill" Smith of Nebraska, Bert Emick of Florida and Beryl Ward and her late husband L.A. "Les" Ward of Kansas. In addition, the families and friends of Allen Heath, Chet Wilson, Bob Russo, Chet Gardner, Paul Fromm and Tom Marchese will be invited to the eleventh annual affair for the posthumous inductions of those great achievers in the sport of sprint car racing. According to National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum director Thomas J. Schmeh, "We are thrilled to be honoring some of the greats of sprint car racing this year, including those from the All Star Circuit of Champions (ASCoC), California Racing Association (CRA), International Motor Contest Association (IMCA), United Racing Club (URC) and the United States Auto Club (USAC). And we are extremely proud to be inducting the first woman into the hall, Beryl Ward, who along with her late husband made a significant contribution to the sport through their work in National Speed Sport News." The schedule for this year's June 2-3 induction weekend includes the Goodyear Masters Classic sprint car race and USAC Coors Light Silver Buller Series qualifying on Friday night at the Knoxville Raceway. The banquet will take place on Saturday afternoon, followed by a full program for Knoxville's winged 410- cubic-inch sprints and the 100-lap USAC "Hawkeye Hundred" dirt championship car feature. Tom Savage, Bill Hill and Dave Argabright will again co-host the banquet.