From Bob Baker
Knoxville, IA — (June 1, 2013) — Champion drivers Jeff Bloom of Michigan and Brad Noffsinger of North Carolina, champion car owner Richard Hoffman of Ohio, and veteran official/promoter Jean Lynch of Pennsylvania took center stage Saturday afternoon, June 1, as they were officially inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (NSCHoF) in Knoxville. Emcees Dave Argabright and Pat Sullivan, and a crowd of 275 guests, enjoyed the three-hour ceremony, which honored the exceptional careers of twelve inductees.
The families of deceased inductees C.W. Van Ranst (granddaughter Lisa Berridge), Art Bisch, Sr., (son Art Bisch, Jr.), Edd Sheppard (grandson Billy Sheppard), Harold “Red” Lempelius (son Steve “Spike” Lempelius), Lou Blaney (wife Katie Blaney), Charles “Dutch” Baumann (son Charles Baumann & granddaughter Kim McAdams) and Andy Linden (great-niece Cindy Maxwell) were on-hand to accept their relatives’ honors. In addition, historian Larry Ball, Jr., accepted on behalf of the E.A. “Ernie” Moross family.
National Sprint Car Hall of Famers who were present were Allan Brown, Ralph Capitani, Shane Carson, Jack Elam, Ray Lee Goodwin, Lynn Paxton, Bob Trostle, Bobby Ward and Gordon Woolley. Also in attendance in the Dyer-Hudson Hall on the Marion County Fairgrounds were family members of the following NSCHoF inductees: Bud Carson (son Shane Carson), John Gerber (son Jim Gerber) and Gus Hoffman (son Richard Hoffman). The program was dedicated to the memory of past National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee Clarence “Hooker” Hood.
National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum Foundation board president Jeff Savage presented the 2013 President’s Award to museum administrative assistant Lori DeMoss, who started work at the museum in September of 1988. This year’s twenty-fourth NSCHoF induction banquet again featured dual large-screen televisions showing photos organized by videographer Kris Krohn. Next year’s twenty-fifth NSCHoF induction weekend is tentatively scheduled for May 30-31, 2014.