National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame

2006 National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame inductee Pete Parker's #10 WISSOTA Dirt Late Model car

The National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame is a non-profit hall of fame for American drivers of dirt late model racecars. It is located on the grounds of Florence Speedway,[1] in Walton, Kentucky.[2]

History

During 2001 while conversing with a group of people involved in the sport, longtime motorsports journalist Bill Holder poised the question once again and soon found himself with a new mission: the all-new National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame. It is now a reality and the first induction ceremony took place later in August at Florence Speedway during their annual NORTH-SOUTH 100.

"It came about by just a lot of people saying, 'how come the Sprints and Midgets have a Hall of Fame and the dirt Late Models, which obviously have ten times more cars, doesn't have one?'" explained Bill Holder. "I got to talking with CJ (Rayburn) and them and everyone was standing there and looked at me and said, 'why don't you do it?' (laughs)."

"I'm retired now and not doing anything except racing so I got together with a voting board which consists of media, sanctioning body heads, promoters, engine builders and car builders. We initially decided there would be five active drivers with at least 15 years experience, five retired drivers who have been retired at least five years, and then five major contributors to the sport. The ballots and voting was completed a couple weeks ago." Note: Hall of Fame nominating criteria have since been changed.

"The inaugural induction ceremonies are emceed by Bret Emrick and Ozzie Altman", offered Holder. "Jerry King (Florence promoter) has been very cooperative with us on this. We think it will be an ideal time and place since everyone will be there. We're looking forward to having a really good deal."

Induction process

Within the NDLMHOF, there are three types of inductees, each of which contributes to the sport in a different manner. The types are Drivers, Contributors, and the Sportsman Award.

All of the inductees are elected by the vote of a Hall of Fame Voting Board on candidates that have been submitted. The voting board consists of voters from all aspects of the Dirt Late Model scene.

The general requirements for the drivers are that they must have at least 30 years in the sport or are retired. Although it was initially required for all drivers to be retired, that no longer is a constraint because experience has shown that many of them never retire. Normally, six (unless a tie) are taken from this category.

The Contributor category includes individuals from all aspects of the sport including promoters, series directors, car builders, engine builders, crew chiefs, car owners, media types, etc. This category provides two inductees.

Finally, there is the Sportsman Award category which inducts one active driver. This inductee, who is also voted on by the Voting Board is an individual who supports the Dirt Late Model sport by working closely with promoters, track owners, sanctioning body heads, helps young and inexperienced drivers, and maybe most importantly, interfaces with the fans. This category is done completely by the Voting Board who both nominates the candidates and then selects the winner.

List of inductees

2001–2005

2006–2010

2011–present

Footnotes

  1. See: List of auto racing tracks in the United States.
  2. 2010 NDLMHoF Class Inducted/Hommel Honored With Hall's Spirit Award (August 26, 2010). Go to the right-hand column and click on the link to "Visit the NDLMHOF". National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame website. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
  3. 2010 NDLMHoF Class Inducted/Hommel Honored With Hall's Spirit Award (August 26, 2010). Go to the right-hand column and click on the link to "Current Inductees". National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame website. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
  4. "Current Inductees". National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
  5. "2010 NDLMHoF Class Inducted/Hommel Honored With Hall's Spirit Award". National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame. Retrieved 9 September 2010.

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