By Richard Golardi
The Little 500 Hall of Fame is proud to announce the 2025 recipient of the annual legacy award that honors the memory of Jack Nowling, a legendary Little 500 competitor from Florida. The Jack Nowling Award is named for the 1996 Little 500-winning car owner who loved competing in the Little 500 and dreamed of the day when his car would win it. Those eligible for the award are sprint car owners (individuals or teams), engine/car builders, chief mechanics, those individuals, corporations, or race teams that have designed a system or device that has contributed to sprint car racing competition or safety, or a representative of an organization with a significant contribution to the Unified Group Services Little 500 Presented by UAW.
The 2025 recipient of the Jack Nowling Award is Danny Ernstes, who is the United Auto Workers Region 2B Coordinator and is based in Indianapolis. Danny qualifies as the ultimate “behind-the-scenes worker and coordinator” at the Little 500 for over a decade. He’s also the person responsible for the UAW being named as the Little 500’s presenting sponsor. When you read the Little 500 Presented by UAW Facebook page, that was started by and is still managed by Danny. Ever wonder how the Sam Pierce Chevrolet pace truck shows up at the Little 500 each year, bedazzled with race logos, Sam Pierce Chevrolet logos, not to mention the logo of a new charitable organization each year? Well, there is one person doing the work of coordinating with all these different corporations and charities. It’s Danny Ernstes.
When the Sam Pierce Chevrolet pace truck rolls off the GM Fort Wayne Assembly line after the members of UAW Local 2209 are finished assembling it, and before the truck’s wrap is applied, it needs to go to the dealer who has been the supplier of the Official Pace Truck of the Little 500 for many years, Sam Pierce Chevrolet in Daleville, Indiana. Each year, the tradition has been to select a new charitable organization as the one that will be featured on the pace truck, such as Driven 2 Save Lives. That’s where Danny Ernstes comes in, he coordinates with the UAW, the dealer, and the featured charity. This year’s pace truck is the tenth that Local 2209 in Fort Wayne can be proud of, as they have built the last ten. From Fort Wayne, the pace truck goes to Sam Pierce Chevrolet before getting sent over to get wrapped by Dan Nava of Travel Wraps Graphics/ International Brotherhood of Wrappers (IBOW) Training in Indianapolis. Once again, Danny is coordinating with Anderson Speedway, Sam Pierce, Dan Nava, and the featured charity to make sure the process is running smoothly, the design of the wrap is perfect, or if there’s any problems, they know who to contact – Danny, again.
Danny Ernstes’ expertise, determination, and friendly, selfless demeanor along with his ability to get diverse groups working together toward a goal that benefits the track owner, car owners, sponsors, drivers, and fans at the Little 500 is reminiscent of the qualities that earned Jack Nowling a place in the hearts of competitors and fans in Indiana and nationwide.
Sadly, this year’s Little 500 is the last that Danny will be serving in his position as the UAW’s coordinator and ultimate selfless, super-volunteer, as he will be retiring from the UAW on June 30, 2025. Danny has been a friend of well-known drivers such as Bryan Clauson and John Andretti, and I’m fortunate that he is also my friend, and he has told me that we’ll likely still see him at the track and elsewhere. So, on behalf of the Little 500 Hall of Fame, we would like to offer our congratulations and our wish for a happy and healthy retirement to Danny Ernstes.
The Little 500 Hall of Fame wishes to thank Wayne and Shirlene Hammond for their continuing sponsorship of the Jack Nowling Award again in 2025. The Award Plaque features a photo of Jack Nowling in the winner’s circle at Anderson Speedway in 1996. The Hall of Fame also expresses its thanks to Richard Golardi, columnist with Hoseheads.com, for originating the idea for the award; and Dorothy Nowling for her assistance with the logo design. The Little 500 Hall of Fame has invited the Little 500 community of participants and fans to this year’s induction ceremony (which includes the Jack Nowling Award presentation), which will take place at Anderson Speedway, Indiana, on Wednesday, May 21 at 5 p.m. For tickets, contact Anderson Speedway at (765) 642-0206, or see the post on Pavement Pounders on Facebook.