Nearly a quarter of a century after it hosted its final race, Warsaw Speedway is in the news again – or rather some of the people who made it a popular place to go on Saturday nights are. The last race at Warsaw Speedway was in August of 1990, and after a lot of work, the track finally has a hall of fame to honor those who raced and worked at the popular dirt racing venue. Saturday night at Plymouth Speedway, a long-time popluar asphalt track that now hosts dirt races, the first class from Warsaw Speedway will be inducted and presented plaques. Racing starts at 7 p.m., and the induction ceremony is scheduled to take place during the intermission before the feature races. “We appreciate what Plymouth Speedway is allowing us to do,” said Ron Prater, who served as the tech inspector at Warsaw Speedway, and who is also heading up this year’s induction. “Going to the races at Warsaw Speedway was the thing to do. It was a very popular place, and there are lot of great drivers who raced there. “When Plymouth switched to dirt, Irish Saunders (of Hoosier Tire and Plymouth Speedway) came to me about this, and I came up with a list of about 40,” added Prater. “I called a lot of the former Warsaw drivers, and we narrowed that list down, but there are a lot of guys who are deserving.” Plymouth Speedway is hosting the Bob Newton Classic Saturday night, featuring the Sprints On Dirt series. Appropriately, the first of two Warsaw Racing Hall of Fame Nights will honor five people from the sprint car division. Among those being inducted are drivers John Davis, Sam Davis, Jim Elliott and Tony Elliott, and former driver and current car owner Paul Hazan. A group from Warsaw Speedway’s late model and stock car classes will be inducted on Aug. 23 at Plymouth Speedway. Included in that induction group are Jerry Baker, Tom Beezley, Jim Bucher, Bruce Hogue, Art Leiter, Dick Leiter, Alan Marsh, Ron McKenzie, Don Prater, Art Smith, Loralee Sherman and John White. Ron Prater said one of the things he will always remember about Warsaw Speedway is the family atmosphere the track had. He also spoke highly of the talent level of the drivers. “Warsaw Speedway was a very family friendly track,” said Prater. “It was also a track that had a lot of very good drivers. If you won at Warsaw, you could win anywhere you went. The drivers at Warsaw were just that good.” And now they’re finally being honored for it.
