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France, Rahal, Amato Lead Class of Seven into Motorsports Hall of Fame |
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Novi, MI – January 30, 2004 – NASCAR executive Bill France Jr., road racing and Indy car champion Bobby Rahal and drag racing legend Joe Amato will lead a class of seven racing greats into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America when the organization stages its 16th annual induction ceremony on Thursday, July 29, 2004 at the State Theatre in Detroit. These three, along with Los Angeles Times racing reporter Shav Glick, multi-class sports car champion Geoff Brabham, driver-designer-builder Don Vesco and 1950 Indy 500 winner Johnnie Parsons will join the 138 racers already enshrined in the Motorsports Hall of Fame. “From top to bottom, the Class of 2004 is one of the finest we’ve had,” says Ron Watson, President of the Hall of Fame. “Combined, they represent more than 15 major championships, more than 120 major race wins, several land speed records, journalistic excellence and NASCAR’s rise to prominence.” Bill France Jr. was thoroughly prepared to assume the leadership role at NASCAR in 1972 when his father, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. retired. For 29 years, France Jr. built the Daytona Beach-based organization into the world’s most successful motorsports sanctioning body. He led NASCAR through the fuel crisis of the early ‘70s, brokered the deal with CBS-TV to televise the 1979 Daytona 500, the first live, start-to-finish telecast of a major race, staunchly defended the use of carburetor restrictor plates and enthusiastically supported the creation of the Craftsman Truck Series. France was chairman of NASCAR’s board of directors until September of 2003 and still is chairman and chief executive officer of International Speedway Corp., owner/operator of 12 speedway facilities. Bobby Rahal was a road racer who found his true niche in Indy cars. He began his career in SCCA club racing in the early ‘70s and won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1981. Rahal made his Indy Car debut in 1982 and was named rookie of the year. He won the Indy 500 in 1986, one of 24 CART victories. Rahal also won the CART championship in 1986, 1987 and 1992. He started his own team in 1992 and retired from the cockpit in 1998. He dedicated himself to being a full-time CART, IRL and Toyota Atlantic team owner after short stints as CEO of CART and the Jaguar F1 program. Joe Amato was forced into the business world at age 16, when he took over his ailing father’s auto parts operation. He went on to become NHRA’s most prolific top fuel driver with 52 national event wins and a record five Top Fuel season titles including Top Fuel’s only three-peat in 1990, 1991 and 1992. Amato also was the first drag racer to eclipse the 260- and 280-mph barriers. During his entire 19-year career, he never finished outside the top 10 in season standings and won a record six times in the Bud Shootout All-Star race. Amato retired abruptly at the conclusion of 2000 due to a detached retina. He currently is owner and president of Keystone Automotive Warehouse in his hometown of Exeter, PA, the largest auto parts chain on the East Coast. Shav Glick of the Los Angeles Times is widely considered the best of the best and the premier author of racing news. A sports reporter for almost a half-century and a motorsports writer for more than three decades, Glick won several awards including the Jim Murray Outstanding Journalist Award, STP/AARWBA Writing, Broadcast and Photography honors and the AMA Hazel Kolb Brighter Image Award. He was only the fourth person in the 18-year history of the Motor Press Guild to receive a lifetime achievement award, and was inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame. There also is an award that is named after him, “The Shav Glick Award,” presented for distinguished achievements in motor racing by a Californian. Geoff Brabham, son of three-time world champion Jack Brabham, was a racing star in his own right during a career that spanned more than 20 years – and included some 30 major race wins and six championships. He won the Super Vee championship in 1979 and the Can Am title in 1981 then became the undisputed master of the IMSA GTP class in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During that time he won 26 races, highlighted by the 1989 and 1991 12 Hours of Sebring, and four IMSA GTP season crowns. His 90 starts in the CART series led to 10 podium finishes. Don Vesco was one of the world’s most accomplished race car drivers as well as an outstanding motorcycle rider. At the end of 2002, Vesco held 18 motorcycle and 6 automotive records. He established a motorcycle land speed record at 318.598 mph that lasted for 19 years. He first ran a motorcycle at Bonneville Salt Flats at age 16 in 1957. A factory rider for American Honda Co., Yamaha and Kawasaki, he won the 1963 U.S. Grand Prix Open Class at Daytona Beach giving the Yamaha its first American victory. That same year he became a member of the exclusive Bonneville 200 mph club in a streamliner powered by an Offenhauser engine. In the 1970s, he was the first person to drive a motorcycle at more than 250 mph and set an American Motorcycle Association (AMA) record with an average speed of 281.702 mph on the salt flats. Before dying of cancer in 2002, Vesco had set an international land speed record for wheel driven vehicles with a speed of 458.44 mph. Johnnie Parsons was a product of midget racing in the immediate post World War II era where he earned fame and popularity for his personality as well as his outstanding driving talent. He won the 1949 AAA National Championship after only limited experience in Indy cars the previous year. He finished second as a rookie at the Indy 500 in 1949 and took the checkered flag at the Brickyard in 1950. His career total of 11 victories puts him in 22nd place on the all-time Indy Car list despite having retired more than 30 years ago. Parsons also was well known for his contributions to the sport and continued as an ambassador for racing until his death from a heart attack in 1984. Tickets for the induction ceremony can be purchased by calling 1-800-250-RACE (7223). The Motorsports Museum & Hall of Fame is operated by the Motorsports Museum and Hall of Fame of America Foundation Inc., a non-profit corporation. The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America is a museum housing more than 40 racing and high performance vehicles. The constantly changing collection features racers from the world of Indy cars, stock cars, Can Am, TransAm, sprint cars, powerboats, truck racing, drag racing, motorcycles, air racing and even snowmobiles. Among the highlights is the last-ever Novi Special Art Arfons’ Green Monster jet car, and Winston Cup cars driven by Dale Jarrett, Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough. ### |