Greetings from Peoria, Illinois
Peoria Oldtimers Racing Club
Hall of Fame
Twas the Night before Christmas Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!
”Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.
His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
”Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!” In 1981 the Peoria Oldtimers Racing Club was begun. It was started by Scott Shults former driver and announcer at the Peoria Speedway. The club was designed to remember the drivers, owners, mechanics, track officials, media and fans that made the Peoria Speedway such a fantastic place to be on a Saturday night. The track first opened as the “Peoria Midget Speedway” on May 14, 1948. It was built and owned by I.G. Lane. The open-wheeled midgets were all the rage in 1948. However, by June of 1949 the midgets had already lost their popularity. In 1950 stock cars took over and have been the headline division to this day. The track is a high-banked quarter-mile dirt oval. On July 11, 1965 the track relocated to it’s current location in Peoria on Farmington Road. The 1950 Peoria track champion, Les Snow, won the first ever feature at the new location. If you ever get the chance, go see racing at the Peoria Speedway. In 1997, some fifty years after the Peoria Speedway opened, Scott Shults had the vision and initiative to begin the Peoria Oldtimers Racing Club HALL OF FAME. During that first year 50 members was inducted into the Hall of Fame, one for every year the speedway had operated. The stars of the early years including names like Lloyd Caldwell, Rocky Nohl, Herb Shannon, Jerry Roedell and Les Snow were among the first inductees. Since that time the Hall of Fame has grown to nearly 150 members. A complete list of the inductees is shown below. On December 3, 2011 I was fortunate to be selected and inducted into the Peoria Oldtimers Racing Club Hall of Fame. During the induction Scott Shults was at least kind enough to say that I was one of the “early oldtimers”! I have received many gifts, awards and a good deal of media recognition with my hobby of trackchasing. However, my induction into the Peoria Oldtimers Racing Club Hall of Fame tops the list of honors I have received. My real life “Night before Christmas”. It was surprising to me how the ‘Night before Christmas’ poem mirrored what was happening with the Lewis family this Christmas season. It truly was the ‘weeks before Christmas’ for us in San Clemente. Carol does not travel during the weeks before Christmas. She had explained in no uncertain terms there would be no trips (trackchasing or otherwise) from November 1 until after Christmas. She uses this time for the myriad of activities, plans and preparation that supports her version of the holidays. Therefore, ‘not a creature was stirring and the stockings WERE hung by the chimney with care’. For the month of December we ‘had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap’ (winter in San Clemente features a bad day topping out at about 55 degrees and cloudy!). ‘When out on the lawn (O.K., we can’t really afford a lawn and with my trackchasing travel grass cutting is not a good option anyway) there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed (O.K., with a sore back my springing from the bed is a distant memory) to see what was the matter. The ‘moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow (O.K., the moon was reflecting off our view of the Pacific Ocean) gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below. When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, no not a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer, but an email from Scott Shults! This year’s Peoria Oldtimers Racing Club Hall of Fame Inductees. Scott, ‘whistled and shouted and called us by name! Now Clyde Dagit! Now Jim Tobin! Now Larry Bonz! Now Opal Voight! And even Randy Lewis! ‘A bundle of toys (O.K. several checkered flag bags) he had flung over his back, and he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack. His eyes how they twinkled, his dimples how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! He was (wasn’t) chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf (master of ceremonies), and I laughed (not really) when I saw him in spite of myself. ‘A wink of his eye and a twist of his head, soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread. He spoke not a word (O.K., he spoke several great words about so many folks) but went straight to work, and filled all the stockings (again those checkered flag bags), then turned with a jerk. And laying his finger aside of his nose, and giving a nod, up the chimney he rose! He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, Now Herbie! Now, Boh! Now, Rocky! Now, Lloyd and Jerry! On Jim and Jack and Fred Strube too. To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall! Now dash away! Dash away! Dash Away all! And away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight, happy induction old-timers, and to all a good-night!’ We had not planned for this trip. I can’t think of much that would get Carol to travel during December. A new figure 8 track? Nope! A visit to a new trackchasing country? No way! But a simple email from Scott Shults………..yes! We had just completed our purchase of UCLA basketball tickets for the season. When Scott contacted me I checked to see if we had any date conflicts. Of course we did! However, the UCLA-Texas game would have to wait for another year. I quickly sold our tickets on Ebay. This was when I realized how little interest there is in UCLA basketball this year! Back to the old stomping grounds. Soon we were planning a December visit back to my old stomping grounds Peoria, Illinois. I grew up across the river in East Peoria. I graduated from high school there and worked at the Caterpillar Tractor Company (Peoria is their world headquarters) while going to college. Following college and my active duty time in the Marine Corps, Carol and I were married in East Peoria. We spent our first year of married life and my business career in Peoria. After that we were transferred to Cincinnati, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Connecticut, Chicago and then back to Southern California. During all that time I got back to the Peoria area many times to visit my parents and sisters and brother. Whenever I could I visited my all-time favorite track, the Peoria Speedway. I’ve seen racing at 1,725 different racetracks in 56 countries. I’ve seen more races at the Peoria Speedway than any other track. Yes, it’s my favorite track for many reasons. A ‘surgical strike’. Carol called this trip a “surgical strike”. That was an apt description. We would be gone from San Clemente for just 48 hours. However, we would cram a lot into those few hours. Fortunately, nobody flies during the week after Thanksgiving. The flights were WIDE open. I can thank my airline sponsors for making this trip possible. Then Priceline put us in a Marriott hotel for an unheard of low price. Upon check-in they surprised us with a King Suite room and a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. Yes, this was going to be a great weekend. My sister Becky and her husband Bob drove six hours round-trip to join us for this special occasion. We spent the day touring East Peoria. Yes, a tour of East Peoria is different than what one experience touring our current hometown of San Clemente, California. Earlier in the day I drove past (as I always do on one of these trips) our 672-square foot house where I lived until I was fifteen. We spent some time at the brand new Bass Pro Shop. There I stocked up on hand warmers for the coming ice racing season. We also ate at the hotel recommended Firehouse Pizza and Pub. I knew it was a mistake not eating at Davis Bros. but you have to try new ideas, or after awhile all you will have is old ideas. East Peoria has changed a lot (for the better) over the years. We capped off the early evening with a tour of East Peoria’s famous “Festival of Lights”. People come from all over to see these Christmas lights. It’s the best city Christmas lights display I’ve ever seen. Folks drive for miles and miles to see it. My rental car carried a Montana license plate. When we drove through the admission gate ($10 U.S.) the ticket taker said, “You’re the first car from Montana. Welcome!” However, we didn’t come to the Peoria area to see the new Bass Pro Shop. We didn’t come here to eat pizza and see the Festival of Lights. We came her for a much more important reason. On this evening the Peoria Oldtimers Racing Club (P.O.R.C.) was holding their annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony. I’ll tell you more about that below. Following the ceremony………. We were gone from San Clemente for just 48 hours. About 10 of those hours were spent on an airplane. This trip brought my total trackchasing travel totals for 2011 to 221,608 miles. Carol tripped the odometer at about half that. It was another great year and this trip was the best of them all. The Peoria Midget Speedway. The Peoria Midget Speedway began operation out by the old Mt. Hawley airport on May 14, 1948. I was conceived on April 28, 1948 just sixteen days before the track opened. However, adding some nine months to hatch and another 5-6 years to convince my mother to take me to the track gives me a start date at the Peoria Speedway of about 1955. My mother normally took my sister and me there. Sometimes my granddad would take me to the season ending fall races although he wasn’t a big fan of the noise. The ‘new’ Peoria Speedway. By the time I started going to the races the midgets were gone to be replaced by “stock cars”. When I started going to the races in Peoria they were racing the old 1930’s coupes of Chevy, Ford and MoPar origin. My first ever favorite driver was Rocky Nohl. As time passed “late models” took over. In 1965, the track was relocated to its present location on Farmington Road in Peoria. At the “new” Peoria Speedway the “late models” were 1955-57 Chevrolets primarily. There were a few Fords, Plymouths and Dodges and even a Studebaker or two. The Peoria Speedway has always been a high-banked quarter-mile dirt oval. That configuration is still my favorite track layout after seeing racing in 74 countries at more than 2,300 tracks. The Peoria Speedway had so many unique elements to it that I came to love. They started their races three abreast from a standing start. As I recall they started their races on time! The pit area was in the middle of the infield. Only men (no women) wearing long white pants were allowed in the pit area. There you could see everything that was going on including the occasional fight. The last race of the night was always the “Team Race” a combo of demo derby and oval racing. At intermission, every week, fans brought brightly decorated and custom-made cakes for their favorite driver. Carol even made a cake for one of her favorites, Ronnie Weedon. At intermission beginning in 1961, they played the same song every Saturday night, “Wheels” (Hear the song) by the String-A-Longs from Plainview, Texas. I loved that tune and I loved the Peoria Speedway. What did I love most? The drivers! What I really loved were the drivers. One of the drawbacks to my trackchasing hobby is that I rarely know any of the drivers who are racing. If I stop off in Montana or Michigan or Maine I will enjoy seeing a new track for the very first time. However, I will rarely have heard of any of their drivers. My “era” at the Peoria Speedway would run from about 1955-1972. During that time my favorite drivers and track personnel included: Les Adams, Larry Armentrout, Jim Baker, Johnny Beauchamp, Dan Bennett, Don Bitner, Don Bohlander, Veral Boken, Ed Bolen, Art Brady, Lloyd Caldwell, John Connolly, Clyde Dagit, Carl Dane, Don Dane, Al Dew, Lloyd Ewing, Jim Gerber, Ray Guss Sr., Scotti Harris, Joe Hart, Jack Henson, Benny Hofer, Dale Hougham, Coy Holt, Dick Hutton, Bud Knaeble, Steve Lance, Don Lewis, Allen May, Fibber McGee, Dean Montgomery, Bob Mooney, Bill Munson, Rocky Nohl, Les Peterson, Jack Pfeiffer, Gene Pfeiffer, Jerry Reeder, Jerry Roedell, Jack Rebholz, Bobby Rutledge, Ernie Schaefer, Herb Shannon, Kenny Sparks, Duane Steffe, Chuck Strube, Floyd Strube, Fred Strube, Hank Strube, Howard Strube, Jim Strube, Al Terrell, Jim Tobin, Freddie Voight and Ronnie Weedon. I realize that most people reading this have never heard of these people. However, there names are as important to sport and me as Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial or Bob Petit. Of course, most of my international readers don’t know those guys either! Someone had to save the track’s history. Fortunately, Scott Shults came along to preserve the history of the Peoria Speedway. He authored the book, “The First 25 Years”….Stock Car Racing from the Past at Peoria Speedway”. His chronology of photos and past results roughly matches the time I spent at the Peoria Speedway. It’s a fantastic self-published book. You can buy it from the website of the Peoria Oldtimers Racing Club (P.O.R.C.) Scott was a founder of the Peoria Oldtimers Racing Club back in 1981. This year is the club’s 30th anniversary. In 1997, Scott also started the Peoria Oldtimers Racing Club Hall of Fame. It was befitting that since the Peoria Speedway had completed 50 years of racing in 1997 that fifty people were admitted in that very first Hall of Fame class. During the past 15 years another 75 people or so have joined the hall. This year five people were being added to the P.O.R.C. Hall of Fame. Here’s the complete list of the inductees through 2011. MOONEY’S PUB – PEORIA, ILLINOIS The highlight of 2011. This evening’s program was being held at the Mooney’s Pub. Mooney’s is just up the road from the Peoria Speedway. It’s a sports bar that features a room dedicated to photos and memorabilia from the long time history of the Peoria Speedway. I went to the bar a few years ago for the express purpose of seeing this room! It made my trip. My photos from this trip will include several of the old time racecars from that shrine. Tonight dinner began at 5 p.m., awards were presented at 8 p.m. and the music started at 10 p.m. Often affairs like this are short on time allotted for fellowship and long on the awards. This evening there was plenty of time to spend with my friends and racing heroes. Remember during my “era” of 1955-72 I ranged in age from 6-23. That meant that the drivers I was watching were often 20-30 years older than me. Several of the people I listed as favorites above have passed. Many of the living Hall of Fame members have reached age 80, plus or minus. Meeting my friends and heroes was the absolute best. Let me give you a list of the people I met and spent time with. Herb (Herbie) Shannon – I was not a major fan of Herb Shannon when he raced. However, I’ve met him a few times over the years and now I’m a huge fan. Herb is a real ambassador of the sport of stock car racing. He was a multi-time track champion at Peoria. He also raced in the inaugural NASCAR race when the Atlanta Motor Speedway opened in 1960. Herb, could be the answer to a major Daytona International Speedway trivia question. The question would be, “Who started the Daytona 500 (1965) without ever running a practice lap or full racing lap at the speedway before the Daytona 500?” That would be one Mr. Herb Shannon! Herb came over toward the end of the evening to talk to us for several minutes. He was certainly one of the very best to ever take a lap around the Peoria Speedway. I asked him who the best driver was to ever race at the speedway. Without batting an eye he said, “Don Bohlander”. “Boh” won six driving championships from 1962-1972 and is considered by most to be Peoria’s best ever driver. We very much enjoyed the opportunity to talk with Herb (Herbie) Shannon. The little Irishman charmed “Trackchasing’s First Mother” and me too. Jack Rebholz – Jack was another driver I didn’t follow that closely when he was racing. However, when my tribute to Darrell Dake appeared in the Hawkeye Racing News, Jack wrote me a hand-written letter. He told me about his friendship with Darrell and how he kept his racecar in Cedar Rapids at Darrell’s garage. It was fun talking to Jack tonight. Jack is a member of the Hall of Fame. Clyde Dagit – Clyde was being inducted into the HoF tonight. He was a star in Peoria’s amateur division early in his career. Later he raced at both Michigan and Rockingham in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup division with a best finish of 15th at Rockingham. Kyle Ealy – Kyle, a fellow Darrell Dake devotee, runs the Midwest Auto Racing Archives and is the former editor of the Hawkeye Racing News. If you like photos and stories on Midwestern racing from days gone by don’t miss this website. Kyle and I first ran across each other when he published the aforementioned tribute to Darrell Dake. Kyle and I met in person for the first time this summer at a race in West Union, Iowa. I gave Kyle some advance notice about tonight’s Hall of Fame ceremony and he was all over that idea. Kyle drove nearly 400 miles round-trip for the event. Like me, his highlight was meeting and talking with the real old-timers of our sport. He never stopped smiling all night. Larry Bonz – Larry’s originally from Peoria and was one of tonight’s inductees. I met him at the Farley Speedway last winter for the first time. Larry writes a column for the Hawkeye Racing News. Les Peterson – Les drove for my neighborhood friends, the Allen’s of Allen Automotive. He won the Peoria track championship in 1964. Tonight’s Master of Ceremonies. Of course, the star of the show was Scott Shults. Scott drove stock cars at Peoria, but I think most of his driving was while I was away from the Peoria Speedway. Some 6-8 years ago, I met Scott while he was Peoria Speedway’s track announcer. He held that gig for 21 years until the track’s ownership changed in 2011. On that night, several years ago, we had a fantastic interview. I do lots of interviews with newspapers and track announcers as well as with radio and TV regarding my unusual hobby. However, I have only one “home” track and that’s the Peoria Speedway. Being able to do an interview at home with an outstanding announcer was a dream come true. In looking back on our interview, which was really more like a talk between two friends, I’m guessing it lasted more than 15 minutes. The driving force behind the Hall of Fame. From what I can tell Scott is totally responsible for the inception and ongoing support of the Peoria Oldtimers Racing Club Hall of Fame. He classifies himself as an “early old timer” which is exactly what the club needs to recognize and memorialize the “late old timers”. My sister Becky and her husband Bob, joined Carol and me for the evening. I owe a major thanks to Bob for videotaping much of the presentation. Please don’t miss this YouTube video, I think you’ll like it. Scott handed out a beautiful Hall of Fame plaque to each inductee. Mine is now the centerpiece of my “trophy room” of Champaign bottles, trophies, plaques and other mementos I’ve received as gifts during my trackchasing travels all over the world. This is the first ever event that I’ve ever attended with the Peoria Oldtimers Racing Club. I had to travel nearly 4,000 miles in the winter to do it. I hope there will be many more times I can visit with these folks. This is a fantastic group. Thanks! I’ll close by thanking Scott Shults for the recognition of being a superfan of the Peoria Speedway and it’s #1 worldwide ambassador. Of course, I’ll thank the old-time drivers, officials, promoters and media members for being part of some outstanding entertainment for so many years. I was lucky to grow up where I did with such a remarkable group of racers. Peoria Oldtimers Racing Club “INDUCTEES” Remembering the Great Stock Car Drivers From the Past.
Listed in Alphabetical Order
Drivers Jim Baker Johnny Beauchamp (#55 above – Beauchamp finished 2nd in the first ever Daytona 500!) Shorty Bennett
Don Bitner
Don Bohlander (#65 above – possibly the best driver to take laps around the Peoria Speedway and one of my top 10 all-time favorite drivers)
Veral Boken (#16 above – I grew up just three houses from the Allen Automotive stock car was garaged. I was best friends as a grade schooler with Bobby Allen and watched this car burn to the ground in a house fire one summer afternoon.) Glen Bradley
Lloyd Caldwell (#72 above)
Don Dane Don Dunfee
Jim Gerber (#88 above)
Ray Guss Sr. Jack Hensen Rudy Hoerr Steve Lance Sr. Jim Landers Johnny Langford Allen May Behril “Fibber” McGee Don McMahil Sr. Dick Manuell Bobby Merritt George Messer
Rocky Nohl (#4 above – Rocky Nohl was my first ever favorite driver)
Les Peterson
Jerry Roedell (#3 above)
Ernie Schaefer
Herb Shannon – Peoria Illinois Peoria’s Greatest Stock Car Driver Ever ….. PEORIA – Herb Shannon Sr., 81, of Peoria passed away at 6:16 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012, at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. He was born Sept. 1, 1931, in Hopedale, Ill., to William E. Wood and Mildred Frances Shannon. He married Donna K. Scharp in Peoria on March 28, 1992. She survives. Also surviving are six children, Herb Jr. (Cyndi) Shannon, Dan (Sharon) Shannon, Jennifer Shannon, John Shannon, Mike (Kirsten) Largent and Todd (Ava) Largent; 18 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; two brothers, Ron (Jean) and Jerry; and one sister, Sherry (Dave) Urbanc. He was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers and eight sisters. He worked as a painter for the city of Peoria before retiring. Herb was a racing legend, racing from 1947 to 2011. He was the first racing inductee into the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame. He was the pioneer of Herb Shannon Racing, which has included over 14 family members that have all won races at the Peoria Speedway. He was a member of Illinois Vintage Racing and the Illinois Stock Car Hall of Fame. Herb was involved in leadership and support roles with MDA and Easter Seals. He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Pekin Ward). Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012, at Davison-Fulton Woodland Chapel in Peoria. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the chapel. Burial will be in Swan Lake Memory Gardens in Peoria. Memorial donations may be made in Herb’s honor to the Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Foundation at 302 W. Main St., No. 100, Avon, CT 06001. Les “Tiger” Snow Fred Strube
Jim Strube (#10 above)
Al Terrell Ronnie Weedon
Floyd “Pappy” Allen Al Baker Everett Chasteen Don Cook Russ Ewalt George Haley Dick Murphy Ray Neltner Jay O’Brien Harold Render Wally Satterfield Roy Shields Promoter/Official Britt Briggs Port Defraties Frank Dixon Dale Hougham I.G. Lane Don Lewis Sam Rogers
Drivers Dan Bennett Ed Bolen Art Brady Bumps Chance Al Dew John Feger Scotty & Penny Harris Bill & Betty Hogge Coy Holt Bud Knaeble Jack Rebholz Gerry Reeder Bobby Rutledge
Kenny Sparks Chuck Strube Darlene Strube Floyd Strube Hank Strube
Howard Strube Bob Wagner Loren “Kookie” Wetzel
Al Archdale Sr. Dick Coon Lloyd Ewing Hank Hamilton Promoter/Official Bob Mooney Media/Fan Joe Hart Paul King
No inductees
Drivers Harold Cofel Louie Crooks Berley Dodson Don Gray
Bennie Hofer Bob Kelly Bob Kendall Jim Kimball Bill Miller Sr. Steve Rebholz Rosey Roseman Earl Setzer John Smith
Bill Van Allen Freddie Voight Jerry Wolland Mechanic/Owner Homer Poston Larry Reeder Sr. Promoter/Official Harry Brown Billy Neal
No inductees
2002
Drivers Todd Bennett Mike Chasteen Mike Cothron Steve Fraise
Ray Guss Jr. Jonathon Hamilton Rick O’Brien Tom Rients Frank Shickel Jr. Frank Shickel Sr. Rick Standridge Dick Taylor Gary Webb Jake Willard Promoter/Official Chuck Hamilton Sherry Hamilton
No inductees
Drivers Billy Barnewolt Ron Cusack Tim Lance Toby Scharp Billy Tuckwell Media/Fan “Big” John Nunh Lem Vanlaningham
Driver Sean Gray
Driver Doug Nigh
Driver Steve Lance Jr.
Promoter/Official Duke Binegar Judy Binegar Cyndi Shannon
Drivers Bobby Cowell Duane Gray Wally Zanders Promoter/Official Roger Sollenberger
No inductees
Drivers Clyde Dagit
Jim Tobin (center above)
Opal Voight
Larry Bonz Randy Lewis
2012 Drivers Denny Gray Donna (D.K.) Shannon Herb Shannon Jr. Mechanics Danny Parlier Late Model Car of the Century The “Michelle & Ray Neltner Jr.” Owned #75 Performance Race Team Late Model Stock Car of Peoria Illinois 2013 No inductees
2014 No inductees
2015 The Shannon Family – Jerry Shannon – 2015 / Ron Shannon – 2015 / Ted Shannon – 2015 / Stevie Shannon – 2015 / Matt Shannon – 2015 / Dave Smith – 2015 / Dan Shannon – 2015 2011 INDUCTION CEREMONY Getting to talk to Herb Shannon, one of Peoria Speedway’s all-time greats, was a highlight of the evening. Click on the link below: Peoria Oldtimers Racing Club HoF Induction
To this day, despite seeing more than 2.300 different tracks in well over 70 countries, the Peoria Speedway remains my favorite racetrack of all time.
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