On Sunday afternoon at the University Comfort Inn in Mt Pleasant, Michigan 10 new members of the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame were inducted into history and special award winners were honored during the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
The Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame was founded in 1980 and incorporated by 1982 It consisted of a dedicated group of volunteers that included racers, car owners, racing writers, and historians. The MMHoF has always been diverse including inductees from all walks of auto racing with six categories voted on each year that include the following:
1. “Other than driver/officials/media”. This covers all persons who had a non-driver role in motorsports, which of course encompasses many aspects.
2. “Other than driver/car owners/etc.”. This covers all persons who had a non-driver role in motorsports, which of course encompasses many aspects.
3. “Drag Racing” This covers any and all roles within drag racing.
4. “Other Motorsports” This covers all legitimate motorsports other than car oval track racing, and drag racing.
5. “Oval track driver—Legend era” This covers car oval track drivers who began their career 50 years or more prior to the current voting year.
6. “Oval track driver---Modern era” This covers car oval track drivers who began their career from 25 up to 49 years prior to the current voting year.
From the Other than Driver category, Long time Sprint Car owner and former mini-modified driver Dick Myers was inducted Sunday. Joining Dick in the Other than Driver category is Berlin Raceway General Manager, Jeff Striegle. Jeff has a long history in Motorsports as a driver, PR person, Mini Champ driver/champion, and is the Lead Anchor for the Motor Racing Network.
Representing the Drag Racing category is the late Roy Steffey. Roy Steffey was instrumental in the early days of Funny Car racing and development along with Maynard Rupp. Together they formed RSE or Rupp Steffey Engineering. Roy built many engines out of his RSE shop as well as fielded a car himself. RSE was highly successful and was tightly aligned with the Logghe Brothers of Logghe Stamping fame.
Representing the Other Motorsports category is the Husband and Wife duo of Steve and Sue Christopherson. Together they both drove at the Bonneville Salt Flats and are the only Husband/Wife team to be included in the prestigious 200 MPH Club at Bonneville where they set numerous land speed records. Later on, the duo went drag racing with a rear-engined rail before switching over to a nostalgia funny car that has gone 218 mph.
In the Oval Track Historical Era, Denny Anderson, Mike Bilacic, and Charlie Ryan Sr. got the nod. Anderson is a long-time racer out of Grand Rapids. He has raced on both dirt and asphalt with success on both surfaces. Denny is the father of the Late Lee Anderson who himself was an accomplished driver and leading chassis builder.
Mike Bilacic hails from Twining and started out on snowmobiles and grass drags but soon migrated to the Stock Car form of racing. Mike has seven track championships over the years and was a mainstay at the Whittemore Speedway.
Charlie Ryan Sr. is the father of 2023 Inductee the late Charlie Ryan Jr. As the patriarch of the Racing Ryan family, Charlie was also the leader of "The Leslie Gang" of racers from the Leslie area that have all tasted success over the years. He has won numerous feature races all over Michigan but is most notably known for driving at Spartan Speedway and Owosso Speedway as well as Springport, Butler, Crystal, and Hartford.
In the Oval Track Modern Era, there are three inductees as well. Earl Miles Jr., Dennis Whisman, and one more soon-to-be named individual have been selected. The third person does not know yet so we will update the list once he knows.
Earl Miles started at the Butler Motor Speedway and was Rookie of the Year that year. His racing travels have taken him all over Michigan and neighboring states as well. Most notably he has been a modified driver and has championships at Springport as well as in the I-Car modified traveling series.
Dennis Whisman Sr. has 17 season championships in the figure 8 division at the Flat Rock and the Toledo Speedways. In addition to all of that success, Dennis has raced street stocks, X-cars, and has traveled to the World Figure 8 series three-hour race at Anderson, Indiana as well as traveling to Showtime Speedway in Clearwater, Florida to compete in the Outlaw class world championship the last few years. Dennis has over 100 Figure 8 Feature wins over his long career that started in 1982.
Tristan Dupuis has been a very versatile driver, winning in multiple types of race cars from enduro's to Dwarf's to ASA and many in between. He is the type of racer that can and did win in everything.
The 2024 Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame Lifetime Dedication Award is Wayne Bishop of Michigan Race Tire Warehouse. Wayne has spent his long career running up and down the road making sure that racers, race tracks, and traveling series have had tires to keep the race cars going and shows running.
Not only did Wayne sell the tires but he also mounted and dis-mounted them as well as taking the used ones away. Wayne and his American Racer tires were a mainstay of many prominent racing series and continue to be that way today even as Wayne has retired and sold the business.
Hall of Fame President, Dave DeHem says the afternoon was exactly what the Hall of Fame Ceremony is all about.
"From the opening welcome to the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame by Mount Pleasant Mayor, Amy Pestschbacher to the final 'Thank You' of the day, the magic was in the air," DeHem said. "It was veritable who’s who of racing history in attendance to support the Class of 2024. There was excitement and enjoyment all day long. As it is every year it was like a family reunion of the Motorsports Community. Each year is different but always proves to be a memorable, emotional, and proud day for many."
The Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame is actively seeking new nominees to consider for induction into the Hall of Fame. Guidelines on submitting a bio are available at MMSHOF.org.
Story - Zach Hiser
Photo - Rand Thompson
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