The 2017 sprint car class of the Warsaw Speedway Hall of Fame will be inducted Sept. 8.
The event, which also includes 600cc micro sprint races, will be held at the Warsaw Motorsports Complex.
Gates open at 4:30 p.m. and racing is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
Members of the sprint car hall of fame class include Jerry Priest, Don Walker, Ronnie Miller, Steve Kline, Louie Mann, Van Gurley, Rocky Fisher, Bob Jonas, Dave Darland, Warsaw Speedway promoter Monte Miller, and Woot Gibson, the original promoter at Warsaw Speedway.
Don Walker is planning to bring the last sprint car he raced at Warsaw Speedway to the event.
In addition, Walker’s son, Jeff, is expected to be in attendance.
Jeff Walker won the final sprint car feature at Warsaw Speedway in 1990, and later owned cars driven by Darland and the late Tony Elliott.
Darland, known as The People’s Champ, still races and will be driving a 600cc micro sprint the night of the induction.
Prior to a recent race at Kokomo Speedway, Darland reflected on some of his memories of Warsaw Speedway, where the popular USAC driver cut his teeth in the sport.
“It was a good place to go race and learn how to drive sprint cars,” said Darland, who will celebrate his 51st birthday four days before the race/induction. “There was some good competition up there with the guys that raced sprint cars every Saturday night. That’s where I learned to race ... it was a beautiful race track there by the lake. It was just a great race track for me to learn how to do what I do.
“That’s where I met my wife. She was from the Warsaw area ... from North Webster. We met at the Warsaw Speedway. And guys like Bimbo Atkins, Tony Elliott, Dewayne Barker, Van Gurley, Denny England ... there was about 10 guys I could name that could’ve won any night. It was great track, and we had a lot fun at Warsaw Speedway.”
Darland has won national championships in all three of USAC’s divisions – midget, sprint car and silver crown.
He was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Iowa, in June, as was Elliott.
