Kenny Irwin Jr.

2018 NMARHOF Inductee 

Kenny Irwin, Jr. began his racing career in quarter midgets while in the second grade, but his racing career took a detour from 1988 to 1991 as he and his father raced a family-owned Buick Somerset in SCCA Trans-Am and IMSA GT racing series. In 1991 Kenny debuted in midgets with both the All-American Midget Series (AAMS) and the United States Auto Club (USAC).

Kenny claimed the 1992 AAMS championship in a season highlighted by a pair of wins on the high banks at Winchester Speedway and single wins at Salem Speedway and Indianapolis Raceway Park while he also challenged Stevie Reeves for the USAC national midget title. 

Irwin opened his 1993 campaign with a win in the Toronto Sky Dome Grand Prix 100, as he led the final 75 laps around the 1/6-mile oval and held off John Andretti for the win.  At the end of season, Kenny again finished a close second place to the repeat USAC Midget national champion Reeves. 

In 1994, Irwin finished fourth in USAC national midget points, then in August 1995 Kenny won his first and second USAC dirt races on the same day, as he won the Silver Crown and midget races at the Springfield Illinois mile dirt track.  During the 1996 USAC national midget season, Kenny drove for Steve Lewis’ Nine Racing team and scored two wins, at Richmond Virginia and Huset’s Speedway in South Dakota, and claimed the 1996 USAC National Midget Series Championship.

For 1997 Irwin went to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series full-time, won two races and earned Rookie of the Year honors. In 1998 he moved up to the Winston Cup series and again was named Rookie of the Year.  Kenny lost his life in July 2000 in a practice crash at New Hampshire International Speedway only one month away from his 31st birthday.

In addition to his eight career USAC National Midget Series wins Irwin’s open wheel career record also count six USAC Silver Crown Series wins and seven career USAC National Sprint Car Series wins. The National Auto Racing Hall of Fame is honored to welcome Kenny Irwin Jr. as a 2018 inductee.

Bryan Clauson

2018 NMARHOF Inductee

Third generation racer Bryan "BC" Clauson won a quarter midget national championship and two California state championships before the Clauson family moved to Indiana to further his racing career. At the age of sixteen, Bryan started his first United States Auto Club (USAC) race in June 2005 and finished third. In October 2005, Bryan became the youngest driver ever to capture his first USAC national midget feature victory at Columbus Motor Speedway.

Clauson moved to ARCA and NASCAR stock car racing with Chip Ganassi’s team for several seasons before he returned to USAC open-wheel competition with a vengeance racing out of his adopted hometown of Noblesville Indiana.

Bryan scored wins at all the historic midget racing events – he was the two-time champion of the Turkey Night Grand Prix as won the 2009 and 2010 events held at the ½-mile paved Irwindale Speedway, as well as the 58^th running of the historic ‘Hut Hundred’ in 2010. Clauson captured the Belleville Nationals title three times in 2009, 2010 and 2015, and the USAC Eldora 4-Crown Nationals midget crown in 2014, the same year that he reigned as the champion of the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa Oklahoma. 

Clauson is the sixth driver to score 100 USAC feature wins and his career record of 112 USAC wins is sixth all-time behind Rich Vogler, A.J. Foyt, Ron “Sleepy” Tripp, Mel Kenyon and Dave Darland, and his total of 38 USAC national midget victories places him seventh overall with two USAC national midget titles back-to-back in 2010 and 2011.

Bryan also won three Indiana Midget Week titles, back-to-back USAC national sprint car championships in 2012 and 2013 and was the USAC National Drivers Championship winner three consecutive years in 2010, 2011 and 2012 based on points he accumulated in all three USAC national series.

Bryan set a personal goal of competing in 200 races during the 2016 season, but he lost his life in a crash as he led the 2016 Belleville Nationals. For his racing accomplishments and legacy of organ donation, we are proud to induct Bryan Clauson into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.

Mario Andretti

2018 NMARHoF Inductee

In 1961, young Italian immigrant Mario Andretti began his open wheel racing career in a three-quarter midget purchased from Bobby Marshman with the American Three-Quarter Midget Racing Association, then he scored his first of four ATQMRA wins with a 100-lap race win at Teaneck New Jersey in 1962. In 1963, Mario graduated to full-size midgets in his first race at Danbury Connecticut with the American Race Drivers Club (ARDC) with such legendary drivers as Len Duncan, and Ed “Dutch” Schaefer.

On Labor Day 1963, at 23 years of age Andretti accomplished the near-impossible as he won three midgets features in one day in a single car at two different tracks. In the afternoon program at the fast 5/8-mile Flemington Speedway in New Jersey Mario scored a “clean sweep” he set fast time in qualifying, won his heat race and scored the feature win.

The Mataka Brothers team then loaded up and towed west to Pennsylvania’s 1/3-mile Hatfield Speedway for the evening’s twin feature program. In the first race, Mario again scored a “clean sweep,” then won his third feature of the day with a victory in the make-up race from an earlier rain out. In one day, Mario scored three of his five career ARDC feature wins and from that day on, Mario Andretti was bound for superstardom.

Besides a NASCAR midget win and a United States Auto Club (USAC) midget win in Berlin Michigan in 1966 Mario’s record includes Rookie of the Year honors at the 1965 Indianapolis ‘500,’ victory in the 1967 Daytona 500-mile stock car race, the 1969 Indianapolis ‘500,’ and the 1978 Formula One World Driving Championship. 

Mario’s career record also includes three Sebring 12-hour race victories, four IndyCar championships with wins in each of four decades, Driver of the Year honors in three different decades and he was named the Associated Press Driver of the Century in 1999.

As a driver who started his illustrious open-wheel career in midgets, we are proud to welcome Mario Andretti into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.

Tommy Astone

2018 NMARHoF Inductee 

Growing up in Fresno, California, Tommy Astone’s father was a race car owner and by the age of ten Tommy knew he wanted to be a race car driver. Astone started racing super modifieds at the age of 18 before he moved in the ranks of midget racing in 1969 with the Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA).

During his breakout 1970 BCRA season Tommy swept a twin 50-lap program at San Jose Speedway and the 50-lap Western States midget championship race at Tahoe-Carson (T-CAR) Speedway. In August 1970 at West Capitol Raceway, while he challenged for his consecutive straight BCRA feature win, Tommy tangled with another car. His midget flipped eight times and Tommy suffered a broken collarbone and broken ribs and missed five weeks.

 

In the 1970 season’s final BCRA race at Roseville Speedway, Tommy entered with a 12-point lead and only had to finish the feature to be crowned the champion. The youngster was black-flagged during the feature by BCRA officials and Gary Arnold finished in third place and won the championship over Astone by 14 points. 

By December 1970, Tommy now 21 years old he was and able to race with the United States Auto Club (USAC).  

During the 1971 season, Tommy raced with USAC, the BCRA, and the Southern California-based USRC and URA midget clubs. In 1972, Astone made his first full-season foray with USAC, finished seventh in points and was named the rookie of the year.

Astone claimed his inaugural USAC win on June 20, 1973 at the 3/8-mile clay ‘34 Speedway’ in   Burlington Iowa. The 1973 USAC midget championship was settled on the final day of the season at a twin 50-lap program at Phoenix International Raceway, and Larry Rice emerged as the champion over Astone.

In 1974, Astone spent much of the USAC season in second place in points as he won the prestigious ‘Night Before the 500’ race at Indianapolis Raceway Park.  Tommy missed the final two races of the season due to injuries he suffered in a violent crash at Clovis Speedway but had amassed enough points to again finish second in the USAC midget championship.  

In 1976, Astone finished in third place in USAC midget points before he returned to racing on the West Coast primarily with the BCRA.  Tommy’s USAC midget career includes seven USAC national wins and five USAC Western States midget wins. Tommy Astone was inducted into the Bay Cities Racing Association Hall of Fame in 2009, and now we welcome him into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame. 

The 2018 National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame induction 

The 2018 class of the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held in Tulsa Oklahoma on January 18 2019. This will be an event not to be missed as all six of this year's  inductees - Mario Andretti, Tommy Astone, Bryan Clauson, Kenny Irwin Jr., Bob Marshman and Mike Streicher - will all be represented at the ceremony.  

Reservations are filling up quickly, do not be left out, contact 

kingdoodlebug@sbcglobal.net

for reservations and ticket information. The deadline for reservations is  December 31, 2018.

Don Meacham

2012 inductee

photo courtesy of M&M Racing Photos

Charles “Don” Meacham began his long racing career at age 22 in a hardtop on the quarter-mile paved oval Kearney Bowl in his hometown of Fresno California shortly after Don finished his service in the United States Air Force. After he finished third in the 1959 season points at Kearney Bowl, he was offered an opportunity to drive Fred Hatfield’s midget with the Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) in Northern California.

By 1961 Meacham was racing with the elite drivers of the United States Auto Club (USAC) in selected events such as JC Agajanian’s promotion of a 50-lap race at Orange Show Speedway in a program that featured Indianapolis 500-mile race winner AJ Foyt, Danny Jones and Johnny Moorhouse.

In 1962 Don finished in the top ten in midget points at Bakersfield Speedway behind such names as Lowell Sachs and Lloyd Nygren. Don made his first start in the prestigious Turkey Night Grand Prix in November 1962 and completed the 150-lap race around the half-mile Ascot Park Speedway in seventh place.

For 1964, Mel Kenyon invited Don to travel with him on the USAC national midget circuit and as the season progressed, Meacham began to land better quality rides. Don scored his first USAC main event win at Springfield Illinois on July 13 as he drove the Saemann Grabow Offenhauser then followed that up with his second win a month later at Peoria Speedway in Illinois. Even though he raced only a partial season, Don wound up tenth in the 1964 USAC national midget standings.  

In the winter of 1965 and 1966 Meacham participated in the 14-race BCRA Pacific Coast Indoor Auto Racing Championship series held on the 1/10-mile oval inside the Oakland Exposition Building and finished in the top five in points. During the 1966 racing season as a member of the Myron Caves midget racing team Don along with teammate Mike McGreevy battled Mel Kenyon for the USAC national midget championship.

Don led all drivers as he captured nine 1966 USAC main event midgets wins but wound up third in points behind the eventual champion McGreevy and Kenyon. Don scored wins in Muncie Speedway in Indiana, Santa Fe Speedway and Bob-Jo Speedway Illinois as well as back to back wins on successive nights at Fairbury American Legion Park in Illinois. Meacham also won at the Allentown Pennsylvania fairgrounds and scored his ninth win of the 1966 season at his home track the Kearney Bowl

Don finished second in the 1966-67 BCRA Pacific Coast Indoor championship behind Billy Vukovich with 481 points to Billy’s 539 points. In May 1967, Don made the challenging jump from midgets to a rear engine car at Indianapolis teamed with a rookie car owner, Jim Hayhoe in an effort with a three-year Vollstedt chassis powered by supercharged Offenhauser engine.

The Cleaver-Brooks sponsored team fought hard and steadily improved but just couldn’t find the speed needed to make the starting field.  Offsetting his Indianapolis disappointment, Don finished fifth in the 1967 USAC National midget championship with the Myron Caves Buick Offenhauser powered midget and scored one feature win at Flat Rock Speedway in Michigan.  

In 1968 Don was invited to race “down under” in New Zealand and Australia and achieved much success with 14 wins in seventeen starts and Meacham became a great fan favorite and he returned to visit vintage events in Australia several times. Don cut back on his USAC schedule in 1968 and scored his final USAC feature victory on July 21, 1968 at Kokomo Speedway.

Later in his career, after he had retired from full-time driving and entered the orthopedic device industry, Don drove the Mason Cook Sesco-powered midget in BCRA competition against the rising tide of Volkswagen powered midgets, then he later decide that he would rather switch than fight and drove Len Gozel’s Volkswagen powered machine.  

Don Meacham in action in the Myron Caves midget in Australia

photo from the author's collection

Don’s career total of thirteen USAC national midgets wins places him in a tie with Steve Knepper, Ryan Newman and Stevie Reeves. The most remarkable aspect of his win total is that oftentimes Don raced the Caves Don Edmunds built midget without the help of a crewman.  Through his long career, Don drove for some truly legendary car owners that included his most frequent ride, the Myron Caves Offenhauser, as well as Jack London, Harry Stryker and Bob Rosen.

In addition to his membership in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, Don Meacham is also a member of the Central California Racing Hall of Fame and was recently inducted into the Bay Cities Racing Association Hall of Fame.

Dick Atkins

2017 NMARHoF  

Richard F. "Dick" Atkins was born into a large family with eight brothers and sisters in 1936 in Oakland California, and graduated from Castlemont High School in 1954 after standout career in varsity athletes particularly in football.  Dick who worked as a building contractor in Hayward California began racing in 1960 as a hobby, and by 1963 he was a force in Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) competition driving Sim Clark’s Chevy II powered midget with a signature win in a 50-lap feature at Capitol Speedway on May 30 and he set a track record in June at Stockton 99 Speedway.

1964 was Atkins’ breakout season in 2017 Sim Clark’s Chevy II that included a July 4 weekend sweep of the BCRA races at Chico on the dirt at Silver Dollar Speedway and the tight paved oval at Lakeport California. During July 1964 Dick Atkins captured three consecutive wins and he was crowned the 1964 BCRA outdoor champion following in his third place finish in the October 17 1964 25-lap feature at Vallejo Speedway.

For the 1965 season, Atkins joined the multi-car team of John Pestana and Bob Lang that fielded a pair of Offenhauser-powered midgets for BCRA competition as well the former Fike Plumbing sprint car in Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) races. Atkins won races in both divisions, notably 100-lap features at Santa Maria on Memorial Day and in July at Vallejo Speedway and claimed his second consecutive BCRA driving title.

On Thanksgiving night 1965 on Ascot Park Speedway, Atkins qualified the Pestana #3X in fifth place then watched as AJ Foyt and Parnelli Jones dueled for the early lead until Jones flipped on lap 70. Foyt continued to lead with pressure from Atkins until Foyt pitted on lap 118 and Atkins led the remaining 32 laps to claim the 25th annual Turkey Night Grand Prix victory and nationwide notoriety.

1966 was Atkins’ breakout year which began as he claimed the BCRA Pacific Coast Indoor Auto Racing Champion’s crown as joined JC Agajanian’s REV 500 racing team on the USAC (United States Auto Club) championship circuit at Indianapolis. In his first attempt to qualify for the ‘500,’ Dick passed his rookie test and qualified for the field at 158.158 miles per hour, only to be bumped out of the field the following day  by Larry Dickson and wound up the first alternate.

Days after the ‘500,’ a mechanic’s torch set off an explosion that damaged the Shrike that Atkins had driven at Indianapolis, and for the rest of the USAC season, Dick became the driver of the famed Agajanian #98 entry. Dick also found time to race sprint cars and set quick time and won the final USAC sprint car race held at the Allentown Pennsylvania fairgrounds in August. Dick finished sixth in his first appearance at the high-banked Winchester Speedway in a sprint car after he started 14th and trailed Al Smith, Bobby Unser, Mario Andretti, Roger McCluskey and Arnie Knepper to the finish line.  

Midway during the USAC championship car season, Dick began to pile up steady top ten and top five finish, and in the penultimate race of 1966 at the State Fairgrounds dirt mile in Sacramento, he qualified second. Atkins tracked leader Mario Andretti all race long then swept past to claim victory when Andretti car suffered rear end failure with six laps to go. In one year, Atkins had claimed wins in the three elite USAC classes- champ car, sprint car and midgets.

On the cusp of stardom, with a full-time ride with JC Agajanian set for 1967, Dick Atkins just thirty years old was struck down three weeks after his Golden State victory following a USAC sprint car crash at Ascot Park that also claimed the life of Don Branson. On the fifth lap of the 30-lap feature Branson in what was scheduled to be his final race became incapacitated and his car crashed hard into the outside wall.

Branson’s flipping car landed on top of Dick’s Wally Meskoswitz owned sprint car which exploded into flames. Though rescuers pulled him from the car Atkins had suffered severe burns and a basal skull fracture and he passed away in the Gardena Memorial Hospital at noon the next day. Dick just thirty years old and on the cusp of superstardom was struck down just three weeks after his ‘Golden State 100’ victory.  The tragic Branson/Atkins double fatality led USAC to mandate the use of fuel cells in both sprint cars and midgets.  

Taken from us too soon, we were honored to welcome Dick Atkins truly a phenomenal driver into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2017 at ceremonies in Tulsa Oklahoma on January 12 2018.