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Weedsport, NY - May 16, 2006 - By Tom Skibinski, DIRT NorthEast PR Director
In conjunction with the Memorial Day holiday, the DIRT MotorSports NorthEast's Hall
of Fame & Classic Car Museum on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds will officially
re-open for business Saturday, May 27. Among the newest items of interest on display
in the museum will be the big-block Modified car formerly driven by the late, great
open-wheel racer Johnny Botz.
"Every year we try to present at least one new significant exhibit that will bring
back even more racing memories and give fans another reason to visit us," said DIRT
NE Hall of Fame Curator Jack Speno. "The addition of the Botz car is ideal as
there's so much history behind it. >From its past success on the track to its
current inclusion in the DIRT Hall of Fame, a lot of stories can be told for years
to come."
The timing could not be any better as one of the 2006 DIRT HoF inductees is
legendary Keystone State driver Kenny Brightbill, once a weekly contender alongside
Botz. Brightbill will accompany fellow pilot Bob McCreadie on Induction Day, May 28,
as well as special award winners Joan and Harvey Fink (Sammons Award for Outstanding
Contributions to Auto Racing) and Barb Anderson, Nancy Bicknell and Kim Jennejohn
(Gater Racing Photo News Woman In Racing Award). Pioneer pilot Glenn Reiners, car
builder Sonny Dornberger (Mechanic Award) and car owner Joe Pitkavish (Gene DeWitt
Award), each honored posthumously, join Brightbill and McCreadie in the DIRT HoF
Class of '06.
"That was awhile back but I remember John being a good runner, he was a tough
competitor and used to run the bottom on the rail," recalled Brightbill, 58, who
battled Botz every Friday in the early 1970s at the now defunct Reading (Pa.)
Fairgrounds. Brightbill is the all-time feature winner (135) while Botz ended his
short-track career with 17 victories at Lindy Vicari's fabled 'Home of Champions.'
Botz operated a salvage yard near his home in Lebanon, Pa. and one February
afternoon in 1976 there was an explosion in the workshop. Along with Botz, who lost
his life at the age of 32, one other employee died and four others were severely
burned as a result.
In his memory, the famous no. 2 A&G Automotive Special that Botz steered to a 30-lap
Memorial Day feature on the New York State Fairgrounds Mile on May 27, 1974 will now
be on display at the DIRT Hall of Fame. Joined by his son Tim Fox and Tory
Shellhammer, Harry Fox spear-headed the restoration of the 'Straight Arrow Deuce"
which includes the original Pinto body built by Bill Kolovani. Red Boyer provided
the same lettering that he did more than 30 years ago when Botz reached victory lane
at Reading 13 times in 1974. Bobby Gerhart posted his 41st and final Reading win in
1977 aboard the former Botz car that was purchased by Bob Weikert and re-numbered
29.
"When my husband first found the car it was all in pieces," said Botz' daughter
Michelle Zimmerman, whose son (Logan Yiengst) ironically had Kenny Brightbill's
daughter, Kimberly Sassman, as his sixth grade elementary school teacher last year.
"It took Harry and the crew a year to put it back together again. One day I opened
the garage and it was all there, just like it used to be. It was certainly a
memorable wedding gift from Clair (husband)."
In the same condition as three decades earlier, some even cleaner, Michelle also
donated the last driver's suit her father wore along with his helmet, the checkered
flag from his lone Syracuse triumph and the Syracuse Qualifier trophy he earned from
his runner-up finish in the NYS Fairgrounds Labor Day Championship on Sept. 2, 1974.
Once the doors are unlocked, the DIRT NorthEast Hall of Fame will remain open on
weekends only from May 27 through Super DIRT Week. Hours are Saturday, 12noon-4 pm
and Sunday, 11am-4pm, with additional mid-week times available by appointment.
While inside the DIRT Hall of Fame be sure to take a cruise through the many
exhibits of years gone by. A dozen classic cars are on display while racing
enthusiasts will enjoy numerous stock cars that once carried many area drivers to
fame and fortune during DIRT MotorSports' formidable years.
The DIRT Hall of Fame is located on the west side of DIRT NE Headquarters, located
on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds just one mile off Exit 40 of the New York State
Thruway. For more information please contact the main office at 315/834-6606 between
9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays.
The DIRT MotorSportsT Advance Auto Parts Modified Series is brought to fans across
the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Advance
Auto Parts, Hoosier Racing Tire and Sunoco Race Fuels. Promotional partners include
AMB i.t. and the University of Northwestern Ohio and the contingency sponsors are
Bert Transmission, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix Cylinder Heads,
DART Machinery, Holley HP Carburetors, Integra Shocks, MSD Ignitions, Miller
Electric Manufacturing Company, Penske Shocks and Wrisco Industries.