From Bob Baker
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (December 22, 2023) — The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame is pleased to announce the names of its eight inductees for 2024. Those that will be inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame on Saturday, June 1, during the 34th induction ceremonies in Knoxville, Iowa, are:
Drivers
Tracy Hines – A native of New Castle, Indiana, Tracy holds 91 (47 in sprint cars is fourth all-time) career wins in USAC and is one of just seven drivers in series’ history to win the Triple Crown (sprint, midget and Silver Crown titles). He won at least one USAC national feature in 19 consecutive seasons. Among his many big wins, were the 2001 Tony Hulman Classic at Terre Haute, and the Eldora Four-Crown in a sprint car (three times).
Paul McMahan – Paul was one of the first to turn local success in his native California to great success on a national basis. After winning the 1995 track championship at Calistoga Speedway as a youngster, he hit the road soon thereafter. He was the 1999 All Stars Rookie of the Year and finished in the top five in the standings four times, and captured the 2018 Ohio Speedweek championship. He was second place in the 2000 World of Outlaws Gumout Series standings, and posted 21 World of Outlaws feature wins in his career. He won the Short Track Nationals in both 2002 and 2012.
Jon Stanbrough – Jon was a true “outlaw” racer for most of his days, preferring the big money events to following any one series. In sprint cars alone, he amassed 191 victories in eleven states at 25 different tracks, for 17 different car owners. He posted 35 wins with USAC, two Indiana Sprint Week crowns, and two titles with the Midwest Sprint Car Series. He won two Tony Hulman classics at Terre Haute, where he is tied with Rich Vogler for the lead in all-time feature wins at the historic facility. He also won the 2009 Pacific Coast Nationals.
Owners-Mechanics-Builders-Manufacturers-Car Builders
Gary “Deuce” Turrill – A native Ohioan, Deuce’s career ramped up with his friendship with Rick Ungar. After working on Rick’s cars in the early 1970’s, he moved to Nebraska, working with Butch Barr and Shane Carson and the Speedway Motors #4x in 1979. In 1980, he relocated to Memphis, and worked with Ungar, Brad Doty (who he won his first All Star feature with) and Sammy Swindell. In Raymond Beadle’s sprinter, the pair took the Knoxville Nationals in 1983. After a brief stint with Challenge Chassis in Des Moines, he returned to Memphis to form a team with Danny Peace in 1989. With driver Doug Wolfgang, they won 43 of 86 races including the Knoxville Nationals. With Wolfgang again in 1990, they won the King’s Royal and finished second in WoO points. He went on to success with Kenny Jacobs, Terry Shephard and Brooke Tatnell. He started his own technical and driving school, and continues to be a consultant for many current teams.
Ricky Warner – After a few years in central PA as a youngster, Ricky found work with Jac Haudenschild on Jack Eldon’s team and then got his first crew chief gig for Tyler Walker. The team came into the sport like a storm, and others noticed. Ricky got the attention of Ray Evernham and was his NASCAR car chief for a year and a half. The pull back to sprint cars was too great, and Ricky found himself back in the game with Donny Schatz. The pair was a dominating factor, going on to win the WoO championship in 2006. In 2007, he worked with Joey Saldana and Kasey Kahne Racing. Despite success, he was let go and Tony Stewart Racing called. Schatz joined the team in 2008, and over the next eleven years, the pair won the Knoxville Nationals ten times, ten WoO championships, three consecutive King’s Royal wins, and more than 200 WoO wins. In 2019, Ricky took over TSR’s Ford Motor development program, and by the end of the year, they were in victory lane. His success with Rico Abreu the past two seasons just adds to his resume.
Promoters-Officials-Media Members-Event/Series Sponsors
Mark “Bones” Bourcier – Mark began writing for Gater Racing News at the age of 16 and never looked back. He became managing editor of Speedway Scene at age 19 in 1979. In 1988, he began penning for Open Wheel Magazine, and then in Stock Car Racing and Speedway Illustrated. He has authored biographies for Bill Simpson, Tony Stewart, Dave Darland, Ed Pink, Bentley Warren, Ray Kurtz, most recently Sammy Swindell and many others in motorsports.
Bill Holder – Bill is no stranger to sprint car fans who cherish the written word. He authored over 400 articles for Open Wheel Magazine, Sprint Car & Midget, Vintage Oval Racing, Victory Lane, Autoweek, Vintage Motorsports, Sprint Car and Circle Track. Bill also wrote books on Eldora Speedway, Winchester Speedway, Dayton High Banks, Richmond, Indiana Racing, the All Stars and on sprint car racing itself. A retired aerospace engineer, Bill has written works on many other genres in addition to racing.
Pre-1970
Roy Robbins – Roy traveled far and wide in the 1950’s and 1960’s, and was a threat to win anywhere. He won in eleven different states. He stayed near home long enough to win Lawrenceburg (IN) track championships in 1959 and 1962. A humble man, he was not concerned with his number of wins, which were plentiful. Best known for winning the first Knoxville Nationals in 1961, he also won the 50-lap National Short Track Supermodified Nationals at Olympic Stadium in Kansas City, as well as big races from Florida through the upper Midwest, with many landing in Indiana. Some of his track records were set at Knoxville, Jacksonville, Tampa, Heidelberg, Lawrenceburg and Brownstown to name just a few.
According to National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum Foundation executive director Bob Baker, “This year’s inductee group is another testament to the hard work put in by our National Induction Committee! We are really looking forward to our 34th induction banquet at the Dyer-Hudson building on the Marion County Fairgrounds in Knoxville, Iowa on Saturday, June 1!”