As Warsaw Speedway nears the 25th anniversary of its controversial closing, the once-popular dirt track will celebrate another hall of fame class Saturday night. The class consists of eight and includes sprint car drivers, owners and an engine builder. The ceremony, the second one this year and the fourth overall, will take place at Plymouth Speedway. Racing begins at 7 p.m. and will include 410 non-wing sprint cars, UMP modifieds, super streets, thunder cars and cyber stocks. The Warsaw Speedway Hall of Fame inductees will be presented a plaque sponsored by Sparkman Auto Sales and Biddle Auction Service. The class includes drivers Bimbo Atkins, DeWayne Barker, Denny England, Paul Grimm and Terry Shepherd; owners Clarence Atkins and Danny Gregory; and famed engine builder Earl Gaerte. “There was a lot of racing talent at Warsaw Speedway ... drivers, owners, engine builders,” said Ron Prater, who started the Warsaw Hall of Fame and who has been outspoken about his wish to re-open the track. “These guys deserved to be in the hall of fame last year, but we started with some of the older guys. These guys were the hot shoes when the track closed. There’s no doubt every one of these guys deserves to be in the hall of fame.” Bimbo Atkins, Clarence Atkins, Barker and Gaerte will be inducted posthumously. Grimm is expected to make the trip all the way from Florida to receive his plaque. The Atkinses are the second father-and-son combo to enter the Warsaw Speedway Hall of Fame, joining Jimmy and Tony Elliott. Sandy Atkins, who started the Facebook page “We Want Another Warsaw Speedway”, will be on hand in honor of her father and brother. Last week, Sandy Atkins was at Warsaw Speedway, watching 600 cc mini sprints, the first time there have been races at the track since Aug. 11, 1990. Given the recent races, and now her father and brother going into the hall of fame, there have certainly been emotions for her. “I had mixed emotions, some of excitement, some of sadness,” Sandy Atkins said of the races during fair week, and Saturday's ceremony. “I remember standing out there on the track, looking up toward heaven and telling them ‘I wish you were both here with me.’ “It brought back so many memories for me. I looked at how different things were there and it saddened me. I just remember thinking ‘I miss the big track.’ And I missed our Warsaw Speedway family. “Dad and Bimbo never liked people to make a big fuss over them, but I believe they would both smile their big famous smiles they were known for and humbly be honored. “Losing them both so close was extremely hard, but I’ve heard from so many people the different memories they have with them and what great guys they were. I’m honored to call them my dad and my brother. I’m so honored to be receiving the plaques for them Saturday.”
