Gundaker, Coffey, Stott among the '11 Hall class
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt.com chief writerROSSBURG, Ohio (Sept. 11) — IMCA's second-winningest all-time driver, a seven-time Illinois State champion and a South Carolina driver with nearly 700 victories and counting are among six drivers set to be inducted into the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame next summer.
Iowa's Ramo Stott, Illinois's Don Bohlander and South Carolina's Bill Morgan will be joined by Kentucky's Fats Coffey, Missouri's Kevin Gundaker and Georgia's Rance Phillips as the drivers heading the Class of 2011 announced Saturday at Eldora Speedway before the 40th annual World 100. | Complete World 100 coverage
Joining the six drivers as inductees are late promoters Joe Lee and Jean Johnson of Cleveland (Tenn.) Speedway and former driver and Georgia chassis builder Roscoe Smith, who will be inducted as Contributors to the Sport. Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., the 2005 World 100 winner and 1999 Hav-A-Tampa Dirt Racing Series champion, will receive the Hall of Fame's Sportsman award and Ohio promoter Dean Miracle will receive a Lifetime Achievement award.
Induction ceremonies are scheduled for next August at the site of the Hall of Fame, Florence Speedway in Union, Ky., during the track's $50,000-to-win Sunoco North-South 100. A closer look at the inductees:
Don Bohlander: Racing for more than 45 years, the retired Illinois driver racked up more than 350 career victories at 25 tracks, collecting nine championships at five different ovals. He was dominant in Peoria, piling up seven Illinois State Dirt Championship victories. Other major victories include the 1968 Speedbowl 100 in Sterling, Ill., and the 1977 Pabst 100 at Quad City (Ill.) Speedway. His career began in 1954 and he's already a Mississippi Valley and Greater Peoria Sports hall of famer. He also competed in ARCA competition on tracks including Daytona and Talladega.
William "Fats" Coffey: The popular central Kentucky racer collected hundreds of career victories and multiple track titles during a career that stretched in the late 1980s. The retired Greensburg, Ky., driver's biggest victories came in the '70s with major victories at Ponderosa Speedway in Junction City, Ky., a 1976 Bluegrass 100 victory at Barren County Speedway in Glasgow, Ky., the 1976 Richmond (Ky.) Raceway Invitational and the 1978 Taylor County 100 in Campbellsville, Ky. He also won the 1979 Middle Tennessee 50 at Buffalo Valley (Tenn.) Speedway.
Kevin Gundaker: The popular St. Louis, Mo.-area driver won more than 300 career feature events and now co-promotes two tracks along with his wife Tammy. He was the 1980 champion on the National Speedway Contest Association and the three-year tour's winningest driver with seven victories. Other major victories include the 1979 Missouri State Fair 100 in Sedalia; the 1980 Tombstone Rally at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill.; the 1980 Hawkeye 100 at Iowa State Fairgrounds Speedway in Des Moines; and the All-Star Circuit of Champions-sanctioned East Bay Nationals near Tampa in 1987. Gundaker co-promotes Tri-City and Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo.
Joe Lee and Jean Johnson: The late couple, long-time promoters of Cleveland (Tenn.) join their son in the Hall of Fame, two-time Dirt Track World Champion Ronnie Johnson. Joe Lee Johnson, who died in 2005, was a pioneering NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup) driver who captured the inaugural World 600 in 1960. In dirt racing circles, Johnson was known as the no-nonsense owner and promoter at Cleveland, which developed into a host for dozens of Southern All Star and other special events under his direction. Jean served as public relations director for Cleveland Speedway starting in 1978 and was also a correspondent and free-lance writer for Stock Car Racing magazine and other publications.
Bill Morgan: The South Carolina driver with nearly 700 feature victories began racing in 1967 and still regularly competes in Crate Late Model competition in Upstate South Carolina. He owns 14 track championships and had his winningest seasons in 1979, when he took 33 checkered flags, and in 1981, when he captured a career-high 34 feature victories. He's a three-time Alabama State Champion as well as a two-time champion in South Carolina and North Carolina. Among his biggest victories are the Vacation 50 at Laurens County Speedway in Laurens, S.C., and the Scotty Suttles Memorial at Golden Strip Speedway in Fountain Inn, S.C.
Rance Phillips: The retired Georgia racer accumulated more than 700 career victories along with more than 10 track championships at tracks in Georgia and Florida. He once had a 12-race winning streak at Jacksonville, Fla., where he was also the winner of the 1989 Jacksonville 100. Among his other major victories: the 1967 Waycross 75 at Waycross (Ga.) Speedway; the 1979 Nimnight Chevrolet 100 at Golden Isles Speedway near Brunswick, Ga.; the 1980 Easter 100 at Columbia County Speedway in Lake City, Fla.; and the 1980 Georgia-Florida 100 at Lake City.
Roscoe Smith: The former Georgia racer became a famed chassis builder and developed a national reputation in Late Model racing. Smith's car were known for his famous No. 44 and the checkered-flag pattern on his roof, which has been carried one by his son Clint Smith, a current World of Outlaws Late Model Series racer. Roscoe Smith started building cars with help from fellow Georgian Billy Clanton and worked with Ernie Elliott in building engines for dirt and asphalt cars. The younger Smith, a three-time Southern All Star champion, grew up tinkering in his father's race shop and built his own cars as a teenager.
Ramo Stott: The Keokuk, Iowa, driver who earned fame as a two-time ARCA champion and the polesitter for the 1976 Daytona 500 was one of Iowa's winningest dirt racers, too. His 300 career feature victories includes 96 in IMCA competition, second on the all-time list. Among his biggest victories: 1969 National Short Track Championships 200 at Rockford (Ill.) Speedway; the 1972 Davenport 100 at Davenport (Iowa) Speedway; the 1972 Memorial Late Model Open at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway; and the 1974 Grand National Championships at Boone (Iowa) Speedway. He also captured the 1975 USAC stock car championship, breaking Butch Hartman's streak of four consecutive titles on the tour competing on asphalt and dirt.
Correction: Fixes spelling of Scotty Shuttles.
