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Franklin, PA - May 21, 2006 - By Brian Spaid, Tri-City PR Director
The late Joe Pitkavish will receive the DIRT MotorSports NorthEast Hall of Fame
'Gene DeWitt Outstanding Car Owner' Award in 2006. The 15th annual induction
ceremonies are scheduled for Sunday, May 28 on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds.
Born in 1913, Joe Pitkavish became one of the best known car owners in Western
Pennsylvania. During the 1950s, Pitkavish contructed his first race car, which was a
flathead Ford. Drivers such as Bucky Walters, Paul Walters, Bob Schaefnocker and
Dick Hecker were well-known racers that drove Pitkavish's cars during this era. The
auto repair shop owner from Brackenridge, Pa., became one of the top car owners of
the Penn-Western Racing Association at tracks such as Jennerstown Speedway and
Latrobe Speedway.
Then, in the late 1960s, Pitkavish joined forces with New Alexandria, Pa., driver
William "Blackie" Watt. Together, Pitkavish and Watt were an amazing team. The duo
was best known for it's exploits in the big-block modifieds, which were called
"coupes" in Western Pennsylvania for many years. In 1974, Pitkavish and Watt won 14
feature races at Lernerville Speedway and Schmucker's Speedway, each in one of the
region's most successful race cars, a black and orange 1937 Coupe No. 1 with a Dodge
Hemi engine. Those single-season win records still stand to this date.
Watt was Walt Wimer's #1 Cochran Calvalcade Coupe champion twice. Pitkavish and
Watt also displayed their success at other tracks throughout the 1970s such as
Motodrome Speedway, North Hills Raceway, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Motor Speedway and
Tri-City Speedway.
Over the years, it is estimated that Pitkavish amassed over 200 feature wins. Watt
earned 144 of those victories by the time Pitkavish retired in 1986. Pitkavish died
in 2002 while Lernerville Speedway continues to run an annual DIRT Modified race in
his memory.
*Photos are available for viewing under the history section of Joe Pitkavish at his
grandson's website, http://enter.193motorsports.com/index.html.
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.