Inductees

#Lee Ackerman ##Journalist Lee, an Omaha native, became hooked on auto racing while attending the old IMCA races at the Nebraska State Fair in the 50’s and 60’s. He began writing about the sport and has written for Dirt Late Model, Flat Out, and Dirt Modified Magazine since 2004. Lee wrote for Dirt Monthly for 3 years and was the auto racing correspondent for the Omaha World Herald for twelve years. Lee has written for the Hawkeye Racing News, Late Model Illustrated, Dirt Empire Magazine and a number of other racing publications. Lee has provided stories for many special events such as the Knoxville Late Model Nationals, the Silver Dollar...more

#Don Barker ##Mechanic / Car Owner Don Barker was raised in Lincoln and developed an interest in high-powered open wheeled race cars at a young age. In 1968, Barker joined the Sprint Car team of Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame inductees, Jim Riggins and Mike Barnett and a year later, joined the Larry Swanson Sprint Car team. With Barker turning the wrenches, Lonnie Jensen wheeled the Swanson-owned Sprinter to three track championships in 1972. The team also won the Big Car Racing Association (BCRA) championship, as well as the Nebraska Modified Racing Association (NMRA) title. After moving to Arizona in 1974, Barker managed the...more

#Mike Chadd ##DRIVER Mike Chadd competed with a number of Sprint Car racing organizations including the World of Outlaws (WoO). He won the National Championship Racing Association 360 Sprint Car series championship in 1993, and the Nebraska Sprint Car Association title in both 1998 and 2001. Track championships to his credit include the Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway 360 title in 1987 and the Eagle Raceway 360 crown in 1998....more

No inductions were held in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic...more

#Wayne Huntley ##DRIVER / MENTOR Wayne Huntley was raised in Hastings and began his racing career as a go-kart driver in Blue Hill as a teenager in 1964. A couple of years later, in 1966, he and a group of high school classmates purchased a 1937 Chevrolet Stock Car, selected the number 62, because they all had graduated from high school in 1962, and set out to go dirt track racing. After successful seasons in 1966 and 1967, the team assembled the popular burgundy 1955 Chevrolet Huntley became known for, and secured their first track championship at Kearney Raceway in 1969. Huntley quickly established himself as the dominant driver in...more

#Don Droud Jr. ##DRIVER Following in the footsteps of his father, Nebraska Hall of Fame Inductee Don Droud, Sr., Don Droud, Jr. began his racing career as a 16-year old youngster driving Street Stocks and then Late Models, before jumping into a Sprint Car in his early twenties. In the 1980s, Droud, Jr. performed successfully at his hometown track, Midwest Speedway in Lincoln, winning eight Sprint Car feature races there, and later achieved success in a Sprinter at nearby Eagle Raceway. Droud turned his attention to regional racing in the mid 1990s, and during his first full season of racing at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway, in 1997,...more

#Mike Barnett ##MECHANIC/RACE OFFICIAL Mike Barnett’s introduction into auto racing came as a Junior High School youngster in Lincoln when he and Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Jim Riggins, were given a 1948 Ford Coupe which they quickly fashioned into a race car. As both of them were too young to drive at the time, they had to hire a driver in order to race the car at the former Lincoln Speedway at Capitol Beach. In 1970, Riggins purchased a home-built Modified frame and over the next few seasons the pair raced the Chevrolet-powered machine at several tracks in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and South Dakota. In 1971, the car...more

#Marlin Bogner ##DRAG RACER / CAR OWNER / ENGINE BUILDER Marlin Bogner was raised in Kearney. As his family was involved in the automotive parts and repair business, he developed an interest in cars and engines at a very young age. Bogner began his drag racing career in 1974 when he made his first pass down a quarter-mile drag strip in his 1965 Plymouth Barracuda at Kearney Dragway. Bogner captured his first championship in 1978 when, after scoring numerous regional wins along the way, he secured the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Division V championship in the Stock Eliminator Class. In 1980, Bogner earned the title of NHRA...more

#Bill Barbour ##DRIVER / CAR OWNER Bill Barbour was raised in Omaha and began his driving career racing Midgets throughout the Midwest prior to World War II. In the tough Midwest circuit, Barbour raced successfully in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri, winning numerous races. Barbour’s career as a driver ended in 1946 when he was critically injured while racing his Midget at CeeJay Speedway in Wichita, Kansas. His car flipped several times and he sustained numerous injuries including a broken back which left him paralyzed from the chest down. In 1949, following the accident, he opened Barbour’s Speed Shop in Omaha, a business...more

#Marty Bassett ##MECHANIC / CAR BUILDER Marty Bassett was born in Tacoma, Washington, but later moved to Lincoln where he went to work for “Speedy” Bill Smith at Speedway Motors in 1959. Smith put Bassett through welding school and one of his early projects was welding on a 1932 Ford Sedan Modified which Smith campaigned with great success. During the 1960 and 1961 seasons, with Lloyd Beckman handling the driving chores and Bassett turning the wrenches, the car won 16 feature races in a row at Capital Beach Speedway in Lincoln. The team captured a total of 14 main event wins in 1961 and won the Tri-State Championship at the Clay County...more

#Stan Cisar Jr. ##ANNOUNCER / CAR OWNER Stan Cisar, Jr. grew up around racing. His father, Stan Cisar, Sr., served as a flag man at a number of race tracks and by the time he was a teenager, Cisar, Jr. found himself working pit gates at various race tracks around his hometown of Omaha. Cisar built his first race car, a 1957 Chevrolet in 1970 and a few years later, put together a 1964 Chevelle which he drove at Playland Park Speedway in Council Bluffs and Sunset Speedway in Omaha. In 1976, he and Craig Spetman teamed up on a Chevrolet Camaro Late Model which Spetman raced successfully at Harlan, Iowa, Whitehead Speedway in Nebraska City...more

#Chuck Bosselamn ##DRIVER / PROMOTER Chuck Bosselman was raised in Grand Island and began his love affair with cars by tinkering on them as a youngster. In the late 1960s, Bosselman got bit by the “racing bug” and built his first race car, a 1955 Chevrolet which he painted red, white and blue and numbered as car 58. He also partnered with his brother-in-law, Bill Bixenmann, to form a two-car team and the pair raced regularly at Hastings and Kearney and other tracks in Nebraska and Kansas. After a few successful years in the car number-58, Bosselman upgraded to a new Chevrolet, known as the “Black Baron,” which bore the number 3X. At...more

#Fred Anderson ##DRAG RACER A native Nebraskan, Fred Anderson was born and raised in Omaha. He got the “racing bug” as a teenager and began competing at the Scribner Airbase as an 18-year old. Anderson’s first drag car was a 1940 Ford Coupe which housed an Oldsmobile engine. He purchased the car from Omaha drag racing pioneer Gene Stanley. In the mid 1960s, Anderson drove Don Stephenson’s 1957 Chevrolet “Tension” car, setting numerous national records in the machine. The original “Tension” car was wrecked in a freak pit road accident when a wheel-standing Roadster collided with it. Stephenson built a second version of the car and...more

#Gene Barnett ##OFFICIAL / PROMOTER / PHOTOGRAPHER Gene Barnett was born in O’Neill but grew up in Lincoln where he eventually became a flight instructor at the Lincoln Airport. Known as a dare devil by friends and acquaintances, Barnett began performing motorcycle stunts in the late 1920s and also began racing both cars and motorcycles. He eventually was involved in a serious racing accident, in which he was thrown from his race car and run over by a fellow competitor. He nearly lost a leg because of the accident and walked with a limp for the remainder of his life. As a result of that life-changing accident, Barnett decided to give...more

#Clarence “Speed” Haskell ##DRIVER Clarence “Speed” Haskell was born in Lincoln and began building and racing motorcycles and cars while he was in high school. In 1929, Haskell received his big break in racing when he was tabbed to drive Chelse Johnson’s “Antelope Park Garage Special.” The pair raced at Ak-Sar-Ben Speedway in Omaha, at the Nebraska State Fair, as well as in neighboring states through the conclusion of the 1933 season. In 1929, Haskell picked up a win for Johnson at Hutchinson, Kansas and in 1931, in front of 5,000 fans at an American Automobile Association (AAA) event at Ak-Sar-Ben, finished second to legendary...more

#Joe Fahnestock ##PROMOTER / RACE OFFICIAL Although details on the youth and adolescence of Joseph M. “Joe” Fahnestock are unclear, he eventually ended up in Lincoln and became one of the most influential people in auto racing in Nebraska in the 1930s. It is entirely possible that without his influence, auto racing in the state may not have existed at that time. In 1932 Fahnestock was named Director of Auto Racing at the Nebraska State Fair in Lincoln. During his first year at the helm, a stellar field of Big Cars showed up at the Fair including Art Challenger, Ted Davis, Bert Ficken, Curly Freeman, Johnny Gerber, Clyde Gilbert, Ted...more

#Edwin “Tex” Arnold ##ROAD RACER / MECHANIC / RACE OFFICIAL Edwin “Tex” Arnold was born in Staten Island, New York. He began his racing career in 1961 when he purchased a Triumph TR-3 and began to compete in autocross and rally events. In 1962, he joined the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and earned his SCCA competition license. In 1964, Arnold began competition in the G Modified class and a year later, earned an invitation to the American Road Race of Champions at Daytona Beach, Florida. That same year, he finished second to Roger Penske in the President Cup Races in Marlboro, Maryland. After returning from an Air Force tour of...more

#Clyde Baker ##TRACK PROMOTER / RACE OFFICIAL Clyde Baker was born and raised in Ord. Although he had no previous racing background, he eventually became the Race Superintendent for the Valley County Fair. He presided over the storied venue from 1929 through 1951. During his tenure as Race Superintendent, the track played host to Hot Rods, Modified Stock Cars, Midgets, Big Cars, and Motorcycles. Baker was instrumental in bringing AAA (American Automobile Association) events to Ord, and later introduced area race fans to IMCA (International Motor Contest Association) events and drivers. Some of the greats who raced Big Cars at the...more

#John & Laura Beecham ##PROMOTERS John and Laura (Golden) Beecham were both raised Palmyra and became interested in auto racing by walking two distinct paths. As a teenager, John began working on pit crews for teams that raced at Capital Beach, while Laura’s exposure came through her brother, Jim Golden, who raced Sprint Cars in the 1970s. After their marriage in 1966 and prior to a diving accident in 1981 which left John a quadriplegic, they were involved in the local Corvette Club, participating in racing and other club events. In 1984, John’s brother Marty approached him regarding promoting a World of Outlaws Sprint Car event at...more

#John Bagley ##DRIVER / CAR OWNER John Bagley was born in Omaha. He started his racing career riding motorcycles in 1919 and very shortly was racing two-wheelers all over the Midwest. In 1925, Bagley built his first race car, a bob-tail dirt car with a Fronty-Ford engine. The following year, at a county fair race in South Dakota, he soundly defeated dirt track legend Gus Schrader and shortly thereafter, was winning regularly against the likes of Schrader, Johnny Gerber, Sam Hoffman, and Pat Cunningham. In 1929, Bagley opted to cut back on his time in the cockpit and started hiring other drivers to pilot his car. His first “hired...more

#John Davisson ##CAR OWNER John Davisson was born in Lawrence, Nebraska and following his graduation from high school in Franklin, attended machinist school in California. After serving for a time in the Army, Davisson returned to Franklin where he opened a service station and began hanging around the local race track. Late in the 1950s, Davisson, along with Harry Griffin and Bill Pike built a race car. The first night out, with Chuck Sears at the wheel, their car number-9 won its heat race, the Trophy Dash and the A-Feature at Oxford. When Griffin and Pike retired from racing, Davisson built his first “Mighty Mouse” race car, a...more

#Kenny Gritz ##DRIVER Kenny Gritz grew up in Beatrice but moved to Lincoln shortly after his graduation from high school. In 1964, he began helping Larry Williams with his Supermodified race car and after hopping into the cockpit late in the season, knew he wanted to be a driver. Gritz purchased the car from Williams in 1965 and began racing with the Nebraska Modified Racing Association (NMRA) at Midwest Speedway in Lincoln and Eagle Raceway near Eagle. In 1967, Gritz constructed a new race car and picked up his first-ever feature race win at Midwest Speedway while falling just short of winning the NMRA championship, finishing a...more

#Frank Brennfoerder ##DRIVER Frank Brennfoerder was born in Ruskin, Nebraska and developed an interest in automobiles at an early age. He started his racing career in August of 1949 driving in a Hot Rod race at the Nuckolls County Fairgrounds in Nelson. Brennfoerder won the race and his career was underway. Brennfoerder raced with the Nebraska Hot Road Racing Association (NHRRA) until his career was interrupted by a stint in the military. In 1951, while stationed at Scott Field Air Force Base near St. Louis, he was able to drive on weekends in Belleville and Mt. Vernon, Illinois and Valley Park, Missouri. While on furlough, he also...more

#Noel Bullock ##DRIVER Noel Bullock was born in Franklin, Nebraska and at a young age moved with his parents and family to a homestead in what would eventually become known as Madrid, Nebraska. In 1918, as a teenager, Bullock assembled his first race car in an old blacksmith shop. He earned a heralded driving record in the car while racing at county fairs and other dirt tracks throughout Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas and Colorado. Over the next five years, Bullock’s Ford Special won over 80 racing events, many on mile race tracks. Bullock’s most prestigious win came in 1922, when at age 23, he achieved international fame by scoring...more

#Lloyd Beckman ##DRIVER Lloyd Beckman began his motorsports career racing motorcycles in 1948. A year later, at the urging of Woody Brinkman, he was hired by Bill Smith to pilot his race car at Lincoln Speedway at Capital Beach. Although the team achieved success from the outset, it was when Smith built the famous Speedway Motors 4X Sedan in 1960 that Beckman’s career began to roar into high gear. From midway through that season through the halfway point of the following campaign, Beckman strung together 16 consecutive feature race wins at “the Beach.” Those wins continued to pile up through 1965 when the pair of Smith and Beckman...more

#George “Andy” Anderson ##DRIVER / OFFICIAL Born in Salem, Iowa, George “Andy” Anderson spent much of his childhood in Hastings, after his family moved there when he was eleven years old. As a young 20 year old, Anderson began his racing career in 1949, racing with the Nebraska Hot Rod Racing Association (NHRRA), driving a Roadster, or “Hot Rod” as they were known, for owners Gene and Elmer Young. Anderson won his first feature during his rookie season, and a year later, wheeling a Roadster owned by the Thaut Brothers, raced to an impressive third place finish in the NHRRA point standings. In 1951 and 1952, Anderson raced to the...more