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November 2009
Dayton Speedway lives on
The Baum Opera House in Miamisburg has seen its share of history since its opening in 1884. On Sunday, Nov. 1, the visitors to the building preferred a different sound: A symphony of roaring engines, squealing tires and cheering grandstands.
DaytonSpeedwayLives.com, a grass-roots effort to keep the reverent speedway’s memory alive, honored 18 individuals who played key roles at the half-mile, high-banked oval. They were the first class inducted into the Dayton Speedway Hall of Fame.
The inaugural class includes:
•Clarence ‘Mutt’ Anderson (driver, car owner)
•Earl Baltes (track owner, promoter)
•Leal Beattie (media)
•Milton ‘Buster’ Blackford (driver, car owner)
•Elbert ‘Pappy’ Booker (driver)
•Dick Dunlevy Jr. (driver)
•Charlie Engle (car owner)
•Dick Freeman (driver)
•Frank Funk (track owner, promoter)
•Russ George (driver, crew member)
•William ‘Chick’ Hale (driver)
•Bob Korn (driver, mechanic)
•John ‘Shorty’ Miller (starter)
•Lee Raymond (driver)
•Neal Sceva (driver)
•Harvey Shapiro (media)
•Harold Smith (driver)
•Don Thompson (track owner, promoter)
Among the event’s highlights:
Eight of the inductees — Anderson, James Booker (Elbert’s son), Korn, Hale, Baltes, Dunlevy, Raymond and Shapiro — autographed specially designed hero cards. Said Baltes after inking his name and handing it to the autograph seeker, “Put it in your closet to scare the mice away.”
Inductees were provided a plaque, Dayton Speedway jacket and a print from local artist Ron Titus.
Former Dayton sportscaster Tom Hamlin, who announced races on TV along with Omar Williams, addressed the crowd of about 250.
IRL commentator Bob Jenkins drove over from Indiana to help MC. Jenkins said of Blackford, “Milton was the Intimidator before Dale Earnhardt had a driver’s license.”
Said Booker of his father, who was from Detroit: “If my dad were here to receive this plaque it would be the greatest honor he could receive.”
Dayton Daily News columnist Dale Huffman accepted the plaque for Engle, who died in 1974. Huffman read A Racer’s Prayer, which was read at Engle’s funeral.
Jerry Wahl, who accepted in honor of Thompson, was the last track announcer at Dayton Speedway. “The day we had to make the announcement the racing was over and we sent everybody home was a sad day.“
And finally, Mike Thompson, who created the website DaytonSpeedwayLives.com, summed up the afternoon: “It was an honor a privilege to spend the afternoon honoring the guys who were my heroes. It’s amazing when you look at these guys and realize what their accomplishments were, these are the absolute best of the best in short-track racing.”
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