Huset's Hall of Fame

The idea for a hall of fame for the little 3/8 mile dirt speedway was first proposed in 1979 at the 25th anniversary, but then promoter Fred Buckmiller was not convinced of the idea. A bit of irony is the first hall of fame class included Mr. Buckmiller.

The second attempt to establish a hall of fame was successful and the original selection committee met in April of 1998 to kick start the idea. The first five members of that committee were: Bruce Conley, a sports writer for the Argus-Leader newspaper with a great knowledge of racing; Don Jones, a former track champion as well as engine and car builder and later official at the track; Harold Petree, also a former champion and driver at the track since the 1950’s and later also an official; Jay Egge, a driver, owner, engine and car builder, sponsor and chief of the Split Rock Fire Department which provided fire safety at the track; and Tom Savage a representative of the media. At that first meeting the group drew up bylaws which remain in effect today. The basic bylaws were to be eligible for admission to the hall of fame a person had to have ‘been involved for at least one full year’ in any of the above categories. This particular provision was to insure that only people who had ‘grown’ with the track would be considered and not drivers like Steve Kinser or Tony Stewart who only appeared on occasion. Another of the bylaws was “selection committee members will not be influenced by any outside sources” which kept the decision making processs exclusive to the committee. Each of the original committee members then wrote down names of possible first class inductees and 13 names were tabulated. The committee then met one week later, a week to think about the 13 to arrive at 5, and made the first selection to the Huset’s Speedway Hall of Fame. Those first inductees selected were: Fred Buckmiller, promoter from 1958 until his death in 1982; Til Huset, who built the speedway; Marshall Gardner, a driver who ran in the first race and was a consistent top racer and among the first to realize the value of good press, Jim Matthews, who also ran the first race and was later a champion; and Paul Stogsdill who won the first feature on that historic May 23rd. And thus the Huset’s Speedway Hall of Fame was off and running.

In the ensuing years, the Huset’s Speedway Hall of Fame continued to grow and achieve more visibility, stature and credibility. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Huset’s Speedway Hall of Fame committee, the process of nominating persons to the hall of hame has expanded with a simple nomination form, and has also gained interest with updates and follow through procedures. The Huset’s Speedway Hall of Fame page has added the memories that embody the history of the famed oval. This has kept all interested parties current with the Hall of Fame.

Of the original five member committee only Don Jones remains and serves as the unofficial ‘old timer’ for consultation and recommendations to the Hall.

History can never be overlooked regardless of the venue and the history of local racing will live on forever.