BAKERSFIELD, Calif., March 8, 2023 – NASCAR Cup Series champions Kurt Busch, Las Vegas, Nev. and Kevin Harvick, Bakersfield, Calif., winners of nearly 100 premier division races including the Daytona 500 and other crown jewel events, head the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame’s five-member Class of 2023.

Their fellow enshrinees – chosen via two rounds of voting by the Hall’s board of directors – are Matt Crafton, Tulare, Calif., a three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion and winner of 15 NASTheir fellow enshrinees – chosen via two rounds of voting by the Hall’s board of directors – are Matt Crafton, Tulare, Calif., a three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion and winner of 15 NASCAR national series races; Brent Kaeding, Campbell, Calif., a 13-time Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) sprint car champion and World of Outlaws winner; and Lyn St. James, Phoenix, Ariz., International Motor Sports (IMSA) class winner at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring, Indianapolis 500 rookie of the year and leader in furthering through Women in Racing North America. 

The Class of 2023 – the hall’s 20th – will be enshrined Thursday, June 8, during the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame’s induction gala, presented by World Wide Technology Raceway, at Sonoma Raceway’s Turn 11 Club VIP/Hospitality complex encircling the road course’s iconic Turn 11.

The event opens a packed weekend of racing at Sonoma Raceway, which includes the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR/ARCA Menards Series West and the inaugural Northern California appearance of the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

The organization also will induct its sixth Heritage class, comprised of individuals whose careers largely ended prior to 1971. The 2023 Heritage inductees will be named in April.

Also featured will be the 3rd Annual Kickin’ Doorz Down Philanthropist of the Year Award presented by 51FIFTY. This award recognizes an individual that has displayed a heart for giving back to others, through charitable giving or in-kind services to the industry. Previous honorees are Mike Curb, 2001 and the Sonoma Chapter of the Speedway Children’s Charity  in 2022.

Highlights of the induction ceremonies will be broadcast by Speed Sport1 later this summer, air dates and times to be announced.

“Highlighting the Class of 2023 is the election of Lyn St. James, who joins 2003 inductee Margo Burke and 2021’s Motorsports Lady of the Century Linda Vaughan in West Coast Motorsports Hall of Fame. We recognize the significant achievements of these and other women on the growth of the motorsports industry,” said Ken Clapp, Chairman and CEO of the West Coast Motorsports Hall of Fame. “We also are pleased to salute three NASCAR national champions, as well as arguably one of best sprint car competitors of his era.”

About the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame:

The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame was conceived in 2001 as a means of recognizing significant contributors and contributions to the sport of stock car/motorsports competition. The mission of the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame is founded to preserve history and heritage of the important role west coast stock car and motorsports figures have played in the sport’s development and continuation and to recognize, through annual enshrinement, of outstanding individuals and groups within the sport such as, but not limited to, designers, engineers, mechanics, drivers, race track owners, promoters, publicists and members of the motorsports media.

The Hall is a 501(c)3 charitable organization, dedicated to supporting a variety of organizations and groups from coast to coast. During its tenure, the Hall has raised more than $700,000 in the past five of its 22 years for youth, health and safety, hospitals, animal rescue, military and other charitable causes.

For more information on the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame visit: www.WestCoastStockCarHallofFame.com

The Class of 2023

Kurt Busch

• Kurt Busch. Kurt Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion, began his racing career at age 14 in Dwarf Cars at Pahrump Speedway near his home in Las Vegas, Nev. 
• After winning a hobby car title at Las Vegas Speedway  Park, Busch joined the NASCAR Elite Series Southwest Tour and became the late model stock car series’ youngest champion (age 21) driving for West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee Craig Keough. 
• A Jack Roush “gong show” graduate, Busch was the 2001 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series rookie of the year and championship runnerup with four victories that graduated him to Roush’s Cup Series team. 
• Through 2022, Busch counts 34 victories winning in 20 of 23 fulltime seasons. Those wins, driving for Roush, Penske Racing, Stewart Haas Racing, Ganassi Racing and 23X1 Racing – include the 2017 Daytona 500, the 2010 Coca-Cola 600 and the 2010 Sprint All-Star Challenge. 
• Busch, a rookie, finished sixth in the 2014 Indianapolis 500 and won the Talladega Super Speedway IROC round in 2003. Busch, 44, is the older brother of two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch.

Matt Crafton

• Matt Crafton, a native of Tulare, California, began in karting at age 7, winning regional and national titles. The three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion – one of just two competitors to win three or more titles – competed in a variety of West Coast tracks and touring series with his father Danny. 
• The pair’s roles were reversed in 2000 when the younger Crafton won the NASCAR Elite Series Southwest Tour championship in a Ford built by his father. 
• Crafton was hired by Duke Thorson’s ThorSport Racing in 2000 to compete in the Truck Series and finished ninth in his inaugural event at California Speedway. Crafton has competed in 523 consecutive series races, both records for starts and consecutive starts. 
• Sylvania, Ohio based ThorSport – which has fielded Chevrolets, Fords and Toyotas – has been Crafton’s home with exception of the 2004 campaign during which he raced with Kevin Harvick Inc. All of Crafton’s 15 wins have come in ThorSport trucks. 
• The 47-year-old Californian finished 18^th in the 2015 Daytona 500, subbing for injured Kyle Busch. He also has scored top-five finishes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. 

Kevin Harvick

• Kevin Harvick, the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion, began racing karts at age five in his Bakersfield, Calif. hometown. At age 17, as a North High School senior, he won the 1993 late model championship at the old Mesa Marin Raceway. 
• His career accelerated with four victories in the NASCAR Elite Series Southwest Tour and the ARCA Menards Series West – where Harvick won the 1998 championship. Harvick joined Richard Childress Racing expecting to compete for the 2001 NASCAR Xfinity Series title but was bumped up to the NASCAR Cup Series upon the death of Dale Earnhardt in the Daytona 500. Harvick won the Xfinity Series title and was named rookie of the year in both national series. 
• He won 23 NASCAR Cup Series races for RCR before joining Stewart Haas Racing in 2013. Harvick captured the 2014 title in an SHR Ford and counts 37 victories with the team. Harvick’s victories include the 2007 Daytona 500, the 2011 Coca-Cola 600, three Brickyard 400s and the 2020 Southern 500. 
• With wife Delana, he operated Kevin Harvick Racing from 2004-11, winning the 2006 Xfinity owner title and 2007 and 2009 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series owner championships. 
• Harvick, 47, lives in Kernersville, N.C. He is in his final season as a NASCAR Cup Series competitor and will join FOX Sports in 2023 as a booth analyst.

Brent Kaeding

• For three decades – 1980s, 90s and 00 — second generation competitor Brent Kaeding was virtually unbeatable in open wheel racing in California. 
• The 65-year-old Campbell, Calif. resident is a 13-time Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) sprint car champion – eight of the titles in consecutive seasons. Kaeding won 11 King of California championships and is a 21-race winner at fabled Calistoga (Calif.) Speedway. 
• He is a nine-time World of Outlaws winner, and three-time Dirt Cup winner. Kaeding also won the USAC Turkey Night midget race at Ascot Park in Southern California. 
• Kaeding was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2008. Kaeding finished 29^th in his only NASCAR Cup Series start at Phoenix Raceway and also competed in a NASCAR West Series (now NASCAR/ARCA Menards Series West) event at Sonoma Raceway. 
• His father, Howard Kaeding, is a Heritage inductee into the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame.  

Lyn St. James

• Lyn St. James was born Evelyn Gene Conwall in Willoughby, Ohio but has lived in Phoenix, Ariz. through the majority of her racing and post-competition career.
• As a sports car competitor, she shared class wins in two Daytona 24 Hour races, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Nurburgring. St. James also competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 
• She started 62 IMSA GT races, winning six times and become the only woman to win a race driving solo. 
• St. James made seven Indianapolis 500 starts and was named the 1992 rookie of the year – the first woman to be honored. Her best finish, 11^th, came in 1992 as did her best qualifying effort, sixth. St. James made 15 CART and Indy Racing League starts, with a best finish of eighth at Walt Disney World. 
• Post racing, St. James has been active in furthering the careers of female drivers and was named the 2001 Guiding Woman in Sports by the National Association of Women and Girls in Sports. She was named among the top 100 of Women Athletes of the 20^th Century by Sports Illustrated magazine. St. James is a member of the Sebring Hall of Fame and Florida Hall of Fame. Her broadcast career includes analyst and pit reporter roles for ESPN and ABC. 

Media Contact: 
Owen A. Kearns
okearns@bak.rr.com
661-342-2983

BAKERSFIELD, Calif., March 1, 2023 – The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame and 51FIFTY Enterprises are pleased to announce the five 2023 nominees for the 3rd Annual Kickin’ Doorz Down Philanthropist of the Year Award presented by 51FIFTY.

This year’s nominees are:

• The Kurt Busch Foundation
• The Kevin Harvick Foundation
• The Jimmie Johnson Foundation
• Tony LaRussa’s Animal Rescue Foundation
• Steve Marucci Family Foundation

Description of each foundation’s philanthropic activities can be found at the conclusion of this release.

The Award’s winner will be announced June 8, 2023 during the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame’s induction gala, presented by World Wide Technology Raceway. The Thursday night event will be held at Sonoma Raceway’s Turn 11 Club, as part of the track’s NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and NASCAR/ARCA Menards Series weekend.

Previous Award winners are Mike Curb (2021) and the Sonoma Raceway Speedway Children’s Charities Chapter (2022).

“Three years ago, when Carlos Vieira of 51FIFTY Enterprises first told me of his desire, through the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame, to create an honor recognizing outstanding philanthropy. I instantly saw the opportunity for creation of a great initiative,” said Ken Clapp, West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame Chairman and CEO.

“I could not have imagined the impact this award would have as we prepare to bestow this honor for the third year. It has grown far beyond any of our imaginations in terms of impact and appreciation.”

The Knockin’ Doorz Down Philanthropist of The Year award was brought to life by Carlos Vieira, a business man, an entrepreneur, a retired racecar driver, a father and a philanthropist. Carlos Vieira has spent years of his life living the madness, in which he has overcome obstacles and adversities throughout the years to become the success he is today. 

And with that success he has been given opportunities to help others along the way. He founded the Carlos Vieira Foundation in 2010 and began the great works of helping families living with autism, mental illness and drug addiction, through programs such as Race For Autism, Race 2B Drug Free and the Race To End The Stigma campaigns. 

Vieira captured all of this in his book Knockin’ Doorz Down, released in 2020, the real life story of breaking through the darkness of addiction and finding redemption. He continues to live this life of philanthropy and is actively encouraging others to follow suite. This award is a representation of that mindset. To put others first, to lift others up and to always do what we can to help when help is needed.

“Wealth isn’t just about dollars. We all have time, talent, and creativity, all of which can be used for positive change. Share your blessings in whatever form they come and to whatever level you have been blessed,” Vieira said.

2023 Nominees

Kurt Busch Foundation

In 2022, the Foundation –with the assistance of 41 NASCAR Cup Series drivers, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and 23XI –  raised more than $100,000 for the second consecutive year through its Window of Hope program. The funds directly benefit the Charlotte, N.C. community through Atrium Health Cancer Institute’s Project PINK, which was established to increase access to life-saving mammography screenings for uninsured women in the local area. 

Earlier this year, the National Motorsports Association (NMPA) recognized the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion as its 2022 Pocono Spirit Award. Busch twice was the NMPA’s quarterly winner – for his work with Window of Hope; and the nonprofit Veteran Tickets Foundation (Vet Tix), through which he donates tickets allowing veterans to attend NASCAR races. The Busch Foundation – Vet Tix partnership began in 2019. 

Kevin Harvick Foundation

A former high school wrestler, Harvick values education and understands the difficulties families may face in providing for their child’s education. The Kevin Harvick Athletic Scholarship is an ongoing, full-ride need-based scholarship in partnership with the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and California State University Bakersfield.

Harvick also supports Bakersfield, Calif.’s North High School athletics, raising funds to rebuild its wrestling facility and, in 2013, donate sets of new golf clubs, golf bags, putters and team apparel for the school’s golf team.

Harvick’s organization also partners with the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation, which uses baseball and softball themed programs to help build character and teach critical life lessons to underserved youth residing in America’s most distressed communities. The Kevin Harvick Foundation funded construction of the Kevin Harvick Youth Development Park in Greensboro, N.C.; a second park in Harvick’s home town of Bakersfield, Calif.; and Jake Owen Field in Vero Beach, Fla.

Jimmie Johnson Foundation

The Foundation is dedicated to assisting children, families and communities in need throughout the United States. The charitable organization was founded in 2006 by the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and his wife, Chandra. It currently focuses on support K-12 public and charter schools in North Carolina, Oklahoma and California through its Champions Grant program. Since its inception, the Jimmie Johnson Foundation has contributed more than $13 million to public schools and non-profit organizations that align with its mission.

In 2022, the Foundation announced 18 school projects in North Carolina totaling $468,462.47. Champions Grants are awarded in the following areas: Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM); language and literacy; health and wellness and the arts. Since 2009, over $6.8 million has been contributed through the Foundation’s Champions Grant program to schools in North Carolina, Oklahoma and California. 

Tony LaRussa’s Animal Rescue Foundation

The Foundation is an award-winning, nationally recognized leader for its unique, dual mission of People Rescuing Animals … Animals Rescuing People.” With 47,000 adoptions and counting, it also strengthens the human-animal bond through life-changing programs for children, seniors, veterans and under-resourced members. The ARF’s Walnut Creek, Calif. headquarters is a 37,700 square foot animal care facility and community center.

The catalyst for ARF came on May 7, 1990 during a televised baseball game between the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees. In the middle of an inning amidst cheers from spectators, a stray tortoiseshell cat looking for food and shelter dashed around the field. Tony LaRussa, then manager of the Athletics, coaxed her gently into the A’s dugout where she would spend the rest of the game, exhausted from her ordeal. LaRussa and his wife, Elaine, a life-long animal advocate, discovered there wasn’t a shelter which could take the cat. The LaRussa’s took the cat, named Evie after A’s owner Evie Haas, under their wings and ultimately were able to place her in a permanent, loving home.

The experienced awakened the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame manager and his wife to the desperate circumstances in under-resourced public animal shelters and the plight of homeless dogs and cats – and inspired them to act. Less than a year later, they co-founded ARF to rescue dogs and cats before they ran out of time at the shelters.

Steve Mariucci Family Foundation

The Steve Mariucci Family Foundation was formed in 2011 by Steve Mariucci – former coach of the National Football League’s San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions and NFL Network analyst – to advance his philanthropic works and to involve his family in those endeavors. The purpose of the Foundation is to raise money and make grants to other non-profit organization. The Foundation organizes, hosts and is the beneficiary of various fund-raising events to support its purposes including Special Olympics and charities such as CreatiVets, Montalvo Arts Center and many more.

Among the Foundation’s successes is the Mariucci Family Beach House, a “home away from home” for patients and families that travel across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to receive specialty mediation care at U.P. Health System-Marquette and the Upper Peninsula Medical Center. The private, nonprofit donation-based organization ensures that families in a medical crisis never have to ask, “Where am I going to stay and how am I going to be able to afford it?”

About the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame:

The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame was conceived in 2001 as a means of recognizing significant contributors and contributions to the sport of stock car/motorsports competition. The mission of the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame is founded to preserve history and heritage of the important role west coast stock car and motorsports figures have played in the sport’s development and continuation and to recognize, through annual enshrinement, of outstanding individuals and groups within the sport such as, but not limited to, designers, engineers, mechanics, drivers, race track owners, promoters, publicists and members of the motorsports media.

The Hall is a 501(c)3 charitable organization, dedicated to supporting a variety of organizations and groups from coast to coast. During its tenure, the Hall has raised more than $700,000 in the past five of its 22 years for youth, health and safety, hospitals, animal rescue, military and other charitable causes.

For more information on the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame visit: www.WestCoastStockCarHallofFame.com

Media Contact: 
Owen A. Kearns
okearns@bak.rr.com
661-342-2983

About 51FIFTY

51FIFTY is power! Power to overcome, power to persevere, the power to set your life on the course of success. When you’re faced with the challenge’s life throws at you, you focus and do what is needed to go beyond what is required. Stand up, stand firm, believe, make it happen and live through the madness, knockin’ doors down along the way! 

51FIFTY represents the lifestyle we choose to live, to have confidence in ourselves, to not let anyone or anything stop us, to overcome all adversity. We choose to be who we’re meant to be. We help others with empathy, compassion and honor. We see a world that is destined for greatness when we lift each other up rather than tearing each other down. 

We choose to help, focus on community and inspire those around us. We are 51FIFTY!

Contact:
Jason VanDusen
51FIFTY Enterprises
jvandusen@51fiftyltm.com
925-980-7673

Bakersfield, Calif. (January 9, 2023) – NASCAR Cup Series champions Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick and international sports car star and Indianapolis 500 rookie of the year Lyn St. James are among 10 finalists vying for induction into the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023.

Final voting by the Hall’s Board of Directors to select the five 2023 inductees continues through February 6, 2023. Five Heritage candidates from racing’s historic era also will be inducted in the Class of 2023. Their selection will be announced later this spring.

The Class of 2023 will be enshrined Thursday evening, June 8, 2023. The event, presented by World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, will be staged for the second time in Sonoma Raceway’s Turn 11 Club and will feature naming of the 3rd Annual Knockin Doorz Down Philanthropist of the Year presented by 51FIFTY. The event serves as kick-off for the raceway’s June 8-11 NASCAR Cup Series, inaugural Xfinity Series and ARCA Menards Series West weekend. 

“When the Hall of Fame first became my responsibility from a leadership standpoint three decades ago, I had a vision that in time we would grow to the height that we could recognize those who came from the west and stood out in forms of racing besides stock cars,” said Ken Clapp, chairman and CEO of the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame. “We have more than achieved that, as is displayed in this year’s candidates we will be honoring.

“This has led to more than one huge positive as we will from all indications, by the end of 2023, the organization will be able to reach $800,000 in gifting to varied charities since June of 2017. The future is bright and getting brighter every day.”

Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion, has won 34 times in 20 of 23 seasons in NASCAR’s premier series. The Las Vegas native counts victories with five different organizations, the include the 2017 Daytona 500, the 2010 Coca-Cola 600. Busch, who announced his retirement from fulltime competition at the conclusion of the 2022 season, most recently won with 23XI Racing.

Harvick won the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series title driving for Stewart Hall Racing. The Bakersfield, Calif. native  joined Richard Childress Racing in 2002 and won 23 times in Chevrolets. He moved to Stewart Haas Racing in 2013, winning 37 times in SHR Fords. Harvick is a former NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, as well as a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series owner champion with wife Delana.

Vasser, the final American-born Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) champion in 1996, won nine times for Chip Ganassi Racing on ovals, road courses and street courses – including the CART street race in Queensland, Australia. The Canoga Park, Calif. native’s final victory – for Team Rahal at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. – was CART’s fastest race at an average speed of 197.997 mph.

St. James shared class wins in two Daytona 24 Hour races, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Nurburgring. St. James also competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. She started 62 IMSA GT races, winning six times and become the only woman to win a race driving solo. The Scottsdale, Ariz. resident made seven Indianapolis 500 starts and was named the 1992 rookie of the year – the first woman to be honored.

Busch, Harvick and St. James are first-time nominees, as are Matt Crafton of Tulare, Calif. and Davey Hamilton of Nampa, Idaho. Crafton is a three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion and winner of 15 races in 22 fulltime seasons in the NASCAR national series. Hamilton owns multiple pavement supermodified championships and is an 11-time Indianapolis 500 starter and radio/television broadcaster.

Previous nominees making the final ballot are Vasser;  Tony Hunt, Rancho Cordova, Calif., a multiple U.S. Auto Club champion with nine sprint car titles, 50 main event wins and 50 pole positions; Brent Kaeding, Campbell, Calif., a 13-time Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) sprint car champion – eight of the titles in consecutive seasons; Greg Pickett, Alamo, Calif., the only competitor to have won SCCA Trans-Am races in four decades of competition as well as 21 victories and two American Le Mans Series (ALMS) team and driver championships; and Nick Rescino, San Francisco, a six-time San Jose Speedway Super Modified champion, at both the paved track and the fairgrounds. Rescino is the only competitor to win a World of Outlaws A-Feature driving a super modified.

The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame annually nominates for induction worthy individuals who competed in traditional stock car racing as well as other racing vehicles under international and national sanction by the FIA, IndyCar, International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), GRAND-AM and the Sports Car Club of America. The Hall also is open to winners and champions of other forms of racing, as determined by the Hall’s nominating committee.

To obtain media credentials for coverage of the 23rd West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame awards, please contact Owen A. Kearns at 661-342-2983. To obtain details about table sponsorship for the 2023 awards dinner, please contact Ken Clapp at ckcdeee@gmail.com.

About the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame:

The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame was conceived in 2001 as a means of recognizing significant contributors and contributions to the sport of stock car/motorsports competition. The mission of the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame is founded to preserve history and heritage of the important role west coast stock car and motorsports figures have played in the sport’s development and continuation and to recognize, through annual enshrinement, of outstanding individuals and groups within the sport such as, but not limited to, designers, engineers, mechanics, drivers, race track owners, promoters, publicists and members of the motorsports media.The Hall is a 501(c)3 charitable organization, dedicated to supporting a variety of organizations and groups from coast to coast. During its tenure, the Hall has raised more than $600,000 in the past five of its 20 years for youth, health and safety, hospitals, animal rescue, military and other charitable causes.

For more information on the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame visit: www.WestCoastStockCarHallofFame.com

Media Contacts:
Owen A. Kearns
okearns@bak.rr.com
661-342-2983

BAKERSFIELD, California (Nov. 14, 2022) – Recording producer and former California lieutenant governor Mike Curb and Las Vegas nurseryman and team owner Craig Keough will join the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame as advisors to Chairman and CEO Ken Clapp.

Curb, owner of Curb Records in Nashville, Tenn. has been a prominent member of the motorsports industry as NASCAR Cup Series team owner and sponsor. He was inducted into the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2005 and is the recipient of the inaugural Knockin Doorz Down Philanthropist of the Year presented by 51FIFTY in 2021.

Keough is the owner of Star Nursery and a longtime driver and motorsports event sponsors. The 2020 West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee was a key, early figure in the success of many notable Las Vegas competitors – including NASCAR Cup Series champions Kurt and Kyle Busch.

“We are pleased that Mike Curb and Craig Keough have agreed to share their time and expertise as honorary members of the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame’ board of directors,” said Clapp. “Both are eminently successful both in business and as longtime members of the motorsports community. Mike has been and continues to be a major supporter of the Hall and its charitable giving. Craig’s  commitment to our sport is unquestioned. His presence – frequently behind-the-scenes – is why local racing and racers continue to flourish in Southern Nevada.”

Kurt Busch. Kurt Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion, began his racing career at age 14 in Dwarf Cars at Pahrump Speedway near his home in Las Vegas, Nev. After winning a hobby car title at Las Vegas Speedway Park, Busch joined the NASCAR Elite Series Southwest Tour and became the late model stock car series’ youngest champion (age 21) driving for West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee Craig Keough. A Jack Roush “gong show” graduate, Busch was the 2001 NASCAR Truck Series rookie of the year and championship runnerup – four victories that graduated him to Roush’s Cup Series team. Through 2022, Busch counts 34 victories winning in 20 of 23 fulltime seasons. Those wins, driving for Roush, Penske Racing, Stewart Haas Racing, Ganassi Racing and 23X1 Racing – include the 2017 Daytona 500, the 2010 Coca-Cola 600 and the 2010 Sprint All-Star Challenge. Busch, a rookie, finished sixth in the 2014 Indianapolis 500 and won the Talladega Super Speedway IROC round in 2003. Busch, 44, is the older brother of two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch.

Dick Cobb. Dick Cobb, a native New Yorker, moved to Las Vegas in 1968 at age 20. As driver, car builder, crew chief, driving instructor and mentor, Cobb’s racing career spanned 45 years. Cobb won three sportsman/late model stock car championships at the old Craig Road Speedway, a quarter-mile paved track in North Las Vegas. Following the track’s closure, Cobb won the premier division title at the old Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif. He captured four NASCAR Super Late Model Championships at the three-eighths-mile Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, as well as the 2000 NASCAR Sunbelt Region title. Cobb also competed in the NASCAR Elite Series Southwest Tour as teammate to NASCAR Cup Series champion Kurt Busch with the Q-Motorsports Team of  West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee Craig Keough. During his career, Cobb won several hundred feature races. Cobb mentored a lengthy list of Las Vegas drivers and – as instructor at the Richard Petty Driving Experience – assisted West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee Brendan Gaughan’s transition from off-road to NASCAR competition.

Matt Crafton. Matt Crafton, a native of Tulare, California, began in karting at age 7, winning regional and national titles. The three-time NASCAR Trucks champion – one of just two competitors to win three or more titles – competed in a variety of West Coast tracks and touring series with his father Danny. The pair’s roles were reversed in 2000 when the younger Crafton won the NASCAR Elite Series Southwest Tour championship in a Ford built by his father. Crafton was hired by Duke Thorson’s ThorSport Racing in 2000 to compete in the Truck Series and finished ninth in his inaugural event at California Speedway. Crafton has competed in 521 consecutive series races, both records for starts and consecutive starts. Sylvania, Ohio based ThorSport – which has fielded Chevrolets, Fords and Toyotas – has been Crafton’s home with exception of the 2004 campaign during which he raced with Kevin Harvick Inc. All of Crafton’s 15 wins have come in ThorSport trucks. The 47-year-old Californian finished 18^th in the 2015 Daytona 500, subbing for injured Kyle Busch. He also has scored top-five finishes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. 

Davey Hamilton. Davey Hamilton is a second-generation supermodified star and Indianapolis 500 veteran. A native of Nampa, Idaho, the son of open-wheel pavement legend Ken Hamilton began his racing career in the six-cylinder class at Boise’s Firebird Raceway. He won championship and rookie of the year titles in 1979 and made his supermodified debut a year later with the Canadian American Racing Association (CAMRA). He won three consecutive titles, 1987-89 and from 1990 through 1994 championships in Western States Supermodified Tour, Super Modified Racing Association, Fire and Fury Series and the Madera series. Hamilton competed in 11 Indianapolis 500 races, finishing fourth in 1998. He made 56 Indy Racing League starts, driving for A.J. Foyt, Galles Racing and Dreyer Reinbold Racing teams. Hamilton was runner-up in the championship two times – 1997 for Foyt and 1998 for Nienhouse Motorsports. He scored eight IRL podiums, twice finishing second at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Pikes Peak International Raceway. Hamilton, 60, is a broadcaster with SIRIUSXM Radio and NBC Sports.

Kevin Harvick. Kevin Harvick, the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion, began racing karts at age five in his Bakersfield, Calif. hometown. At age 17, as a high school senior, he won the 1993 late model championship at the old Mesa Marin Raceway. His career accelerated with four victories in the NASCAR Elite Series Southwest Tour and the ARCA Menards Series West – where Harvick won the 1998 championship. Harvick joined Richard Childress Racing expecting to compete for the 2001 NASCAR Xfinity Series title but was bumped up to the NASCAR Cup Series upon the death of Dale Earnhardt in the Daytona 500. Harvick won the Xfinity Series title and was named rookie of the year in both national series. He won 23 NASCAR Cup Series races for RCR before joining Stewart Haas Racing in 2013. Harvick captured the 2014 title in an SHR Ford and counts 37 victories with the team. Harvick’s victories include the 2007 Daytona 500, the 2011 Coca-Cola 600, three Brickyard 400s and the 2020 Southern 500. With wife Delana, he operated Kevin Harvick Racing from 2004-11, winning the 2006 Xfinity owner title and 2007 and 2009 NASCAR Truck Series owner championships. Harvick, 47, lives in Kernersville, N.C.

Jeff Jefferson. Jeff Jefferson is a three-time NASCAR Elite Series Northwest Tour champion and an ARCA Menards Series West team owner. Jefferson, a resident of Naches, Wash., is the son of West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee George Jefferson. He won the 2003-05 Tour titles, posting 13 victories in 80 starts. Jefferson, 50, also competed on the ARCA Menards Series West, winning once at Portland Speedway in 2000. With West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame crew chief Jerry Pitts, Jefferson purchased the assets of Gene Price Racing in 2005. Their drivers included Noah Gragson, who won five times and was named the 2015 rookie of the year. The team – JP Racing and Jefferson Racing – scored 13 victories in the ARCA Menards Series East and West. Among winning drivers were NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick and Will Rogers. Austin Dillon, Sheldon Creed and William Byron also drove the team’s Fords.

Lyn St. James. Lyn St. James was born Evelyn Gene Conwall in Willoughby, Ohio but has lived in Scottsdale, Ariz. through the majority of her racing and post-competition career. As a sports car competitor, she shared class wins in two Daytona 24 Hour races, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Nurburgring. St. James also competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. She started 62 IMSA GT races, winning six times and become the only woman to win a race driving solo. St. James made seven Indianapolis 500 starts and was named the 1992 rookie of the year – the first woman to be honored. Her best finish, 11^th, came in 1992 as did her best qualifying effort, sixth. St. James made 15 CART and Indy Racing League starts, with a best finish of eighth at Walt Disney World. Post racing, St. James has been active in furthering the careers of female drivers and was named the 2001 Guiding Woman in Sports by the National Association of Women and Girls in Sports. She was named among the top 100 of Women Athletes of the 20^th Century by Sports Illustrated magazine. St. James is a member of the Sebring Hall of Fame and Florida Hall of Fame. Her broadcast career includes analyst and pit reporter roles for ESPN and ABC.

Jimmy Vasser. Jimmy Vasser, born in Canoga Park, won the 1986 Sports Car Club of American Formula Ford championship and in 1992 was the runner-up Formula Atlantic points finishers winning six times. Vasser moved to Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) the following year with Hayhoe-Cole Racing, signing with Chip Ganassi Racing for the 1995 season. CART’s last American-born champion, Vasser won nine times for CGR on ovals, road courses and street courses – including the CART street race in Queensland, Australia. His final  victory for Team Rahal at Fontana, Calif. is CART’s fastest at an average speed of 197.997 mph. Vasser twice finished fourth in the Indianapolis 500 but the CART/IRL split kept him away from the Speedway during his prime years. He co-owned IndyCar’s KV Racing Technologies and over 14 seasons won seven times including the 2013 500 with Tony Kanaan. Vasser was selected for the International Race of Champions (IROC) and twice finished fourth at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Indianapolis. Vasser, 66, operates Jimmy Vasser Toyota of Napa, California.

Previously Nominated Drivers

Ken Boyd. Ken Boyd was California’s pre-eminent pavement Late Model car racer of  the 1980s and 1990s, winning five championships at Stockton (Calif.) 99 Speedway. Boyd was the first to win four consecutive championships (1988-91) at the quarter-mile track, where he recorded 71 victories and 84 fast times during his career – including 39 consecutive fast times, believed to be a national record. His first title came in 1977 at Madera (Calif.) Speedway. The Ceres, Calif. resident finished fourth in the 1991 Whelen All-American Pacific Coast Region, winning 14 times. He also won twice in the NASCAR Elite Division Southwest Series. Boyd, age 68, fielded entries for a number of prominent competitors, including West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Famers Ivan Baldwin, Jeff Gordon and Ernie Irvan. Baldwin was the biggest winner in Boyd equipment, posting 15 of 29 total victories. His other winners were Kenny Kitchens, Chad Nichols and Jim Reich. Boyd spent two decades servicing tracks and traveling series as a provider of tires, fuel and parts. 

Austin Cameron. Austin Cameron overcame life-threatening illness to star in the ARCA Menards Series West. Cameron, from El Cajon, Calif., began racing go-karts at the age of nine, eventually graduating to stock cars. He was the rookie of the year at Willow Springs Raceway in Southern California. In 1998, Cameron joined the  ARCA Menards Series West, also becoming the season’s top rookie and finishing fourth in the championship standings despite missing the first race. His first of 15 series victories came in 1999, at Irwindale Speedway outside Los Angeles where, in 2003, Cameron returned to capture the Toyota All-Star Showdown featuring late model competitors from throughout the United States. While Cameron failed to win a series title, he finished three times in the point standings, including runners-up in 1999 and 2004. In 2005 Cameron underwent treatment for non Hodgkins lymphoma and a heart transplant. He returned to competition in 2006, winning twice before retirement. Cameron, 55, also competed in all three NASCAR national series.

Mike David. Mike David of Modesto, Calif. is the 2007 ARCA Menards Series West champion. David, 53, competed in 91 NASCAR West Series (now ARCA Menards Series West) events between 2001 and 2012, most of them behind the wheel of the Bennett Wineries Ford owned by 2013 West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee Randy Lynch. Three of his seven victories – including David’s first, in 2004 – came at the Stockton 99 Speedway, a quarter-mile paved oval in California’s Central Valley. David, 55, previously captured a Stockton late model title. His final series victory came at Phoenix Raceway in 2008 driving Lynch’s Toyota. David’s ARCA Menards Series West line shows 43 top-five and 66 top-10 finishes and three poles. He finished third in the 2006 Toyota All-Star Showdown at the Irwindale Events Center and also competed in the NASCAR Elite Southwest Series with a best result of second at Madera (Calif.) Speedway.

Eric Holmes. Eric Holmes is a second-generation competitor, who followed his father, Steve, into racing at Stockton (Calif.) 99 Speedway. Holmes, from Escalon, Calif., began racing karts at age eight, winning races and a pair of championships. He drove an occasional street stock race at age 17 and, after a season working on West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Famer Ernie Irvan’s NASCAR Xfinity team on the east coast, returned to California to begin racing fulltime. He won numerous events at Stockton, then began his touring career with West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Famer Allen Beebe. The pair won the 2006 NASCAR West (now ARCA Menards Series West) title, using one car and one engine while also finishing second in NASCAR Elite Southwest Series late model points. In 2008, Holmes joined West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Famer Bill McAnally’s potent Toyota team, repeating as champion the same season, placing second the next and becoming a three-time titlist in 2010. In 13 seasons in the West Series, Holmes won 17 times with 59 top-five and 78 top-10 finishes, as well as 13 poles. Holmes, 48, remains with the McAnally organization as its driver coach and spotter for BMR’s Driver Development program.

Lance Hooper. Lance Hooper is a member of the “Palmdale Posse,” a group of NASCAR racers that raced out of Palmdale, Calif. headed by West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. The 55-year-old Hooper, like Hornaday, is a second-generation competitor whose family raced stock cars throughout Southern California and called Saugus (Calif.) Speedway home. Driving for West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Famer Ray Claridge, Hooper won championships in consecutive seasons – NASCAR Elite Southwest Series in 1995 and the NASCAR West Series (now ARCA Menards Series West) in 1996. Hooper won four times in West; seven times in the late model Southwest Series. Later, Hooper competed in all three NASCAR national series, finishing 10^th in a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Nazareth (Pa.) Speedway. Hooper transitioned to a crew chief’s role with nearly 100 events over seven seasons. He posted top-10 finishes with Clay Rogers and Jeff Green and spent a full season at ThorSport Racing with Kerry Earnhardt. 

Tony Hunt. Tony Hunt is a multiple U.S. Auto Club champion – with nine sprint car titles, 50 main event wins and 50 pole positions. The Rancho Cordova, Calif. competitor won his first USAC championship in the 1992 Formula Russell Series, as well as several kart titles. Hunt, 50, competed in the ARCA Menards Series West in 1993 and 2000, posting two top-10 finishes including a sixth at Shasta (Calif.) Speedway. He spotted for a number of NASCAR premier series drivers – John Andretti, Stevie Reeves, Ken Schrader and Mike Wallace to name a few. Hunt has instructed at the Jim Russell Racing School, Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track Driver School and the Richard Petty Racing Experience. He is an automotive brand ambassador and driving instructor and a stunt driver and most recently was the stunt driving double for Christian Bale’s character Ken Miles in the 2019 film Ford v Ferrari. 

Brent Kaeding. For three decades – 1980s, 90s and 00 — second generation competitor Brent Kaeding was virtually unbeatable in open wheel racing in California. The 65-year-old Campbell, Calif. resident is a 13-time Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) sprint car champion – eight of the titles in consecutive seasons. Kaeding won 11 King of California championships and is a 21-race winner at fabled Calistoga (Calif.) Speedway. He is a nine-time World of Outlaws winner, and three-time Dirt Cup winner. Kaeding also won the USAC Turkey Night midget race at Ascot Park in Southern California. Kaeding was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2008. Kaeding finished 29^thin his only NASCAR Cup Series start at Phoenix Raceway and also competed in a NASCAR West Series (now ARCA Menards Series West) event at Sonoma Raceway. His father, Howard Kaeding, is a Heritage inductee into the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame. 

Brad Noffsinger. One of the West’s premier competitors in non-winged sprint cars, Brad Noffsinger also raced in the NASCAR Cup Series, became a Cup crew chief and – for 20 years – was an instructor at the Richard Petty Driving School at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Noffsinger, from Huntington Beach, Calif., began his sprint car career in 1979, becoming the California Racing Association’s Rookie of the Year the following season. He won back-to-back CRA titles in 1986-87, at the wheel of the Jack Gardner Jr. sprinter. Noffsinger won 50 CRA features. Noffsinger also competed part-time in USAC’s Silver Crown division, winning once at Memphis Motorsports Park. He moved to the NASCAR West Series (now ARCA Menards Series West) in 1987, then to the Cup Series where over portions of three seasons competed in 17 events, with a best finish of 19^th at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In 1997 Noffsinger joined SABCO Racing as the crew chief for Wally Dallenbach Jr. The No. 46 team competed in 18 races with a best finish of 10^th at The Glen. Noffsinger, 62, was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2013.

Greg Pickett. Greg Pickett of Alamo, Calif. is the only driver to have won SCCA Trans-Am races in four decades of competition. The 75-year-old Pickett won the 1978 T-A II championship posting four victories in a Chevrolet Corvette. In 1984, Pickett gave Jack Roush his first T-A victory at Sonoma Raceway. Pickett counts a pair of 12 Hours of Sebring class victories (1987, 2010). As an owner in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), Pickett’s Muscle Milk stable counted 21 victories and two team and driver championships. He also competed in a pair of NASCAR Elite Series Southwest Series events finishing sixth at the Los Angeles Coliseum and Sonoma Raceway. Prickett is a 2022 inductee into the Sports Car Club of America Hall of Fame.

Nick Rescino. One of the all-time greats to race in California, Nick Rescino won a total of six San Jose Speedway Super Modified championships, at both the paved track and the fairgrounds. Nick won the 1972 and 1975 titles on the high banks of San Jose Speedway and the 1980, 1981, 1983 and 1984 championships at the Santa Clara County fairgrounds. His 86 main event wins rank him near the top on that list. Rescino won the prestigious Johnny Key Classic six times, in 1972, 1974-75, 1982, 1984 and 1986. Nick is the only driver in history to win a World of Outlaws A-Feature driving a super modified, at Sacramento, Calif.’s West Capital Raceway June 8, 1979. Rescino set more than 200 career fastest qualifying times at 17 different tracks. The San Francisco competitor was the Motor Sports Press Association’s 1979 Oval Track Driver of the Year. He is a member of the MSPA’s Hall of Fame as well as the San Jose Speedway Hall of Fame. 

Sean Woodside. The Saugus, Calif. competitor won the 1999 NASCAR West Series (now ARCA Menards Series West) championship, following two seasons of second-place points finishes. Woodside drove for two West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees – Bill McAnally in his championship season and Ray Claridge. He won seven times – five in Claridge’s Pontiacs and two as a McAnally Chevrolet driver. Three quarters of Woodside’s 74 series starts resulted in top-10 finishes (49). Woodside also won 12 poles. The competitor also raced in the NASCAR Elite Series Southwest Tour, winning twice and also pursued limited schedules in NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series. Woodside is 52 years old

Previously Nominated Crew Chief

Ernie Cope. Ernie Cope, 53, is a native of Spanaway, Wash. whose father and uncle built professional dragster engines. His cousin, Derrike, is a Daytona 500 winner and West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee. Cope began racing in the NASCAR Northwest Series at the age of 19, posting 24 top-five finishes in the late model stock car touring series. He finished third in the championship in 1994 and moved to the ARCA Menards Series West the following year, scoring two victories in Lew Miller’s Chevrolet en route to a second-place points finish. Cope swapped driving gloves for a crew chief’s headset, competing in more than 400 national series races. He won nine times in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – six of them with Kevin Harvick. Cope’s NASCAR Xfinity Series record shows 285 races, 16 poles, 15 wins, 106 top fives and 170 top 10s. His drivers finished runnerup in two seasons – Elliott Sadler in 2011 and Chase Elliott in 2015. Cope currently is competition director at JTG Daugherty Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. 

BAKERSFIELD, California (Nov. 6, 2022) – Two NASCAR Cup Series champions, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick and Championship Auto Racing Teams champion Jimmy Vasser are among eight first-time and nominees under consideration for induction into the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2023.

The inaugural nominees are:

• Kurt Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2017 Daytona 500 winner
• Dick Cobb, winner of multiple weekly track championships in Las Vegas and California 
• Matt Crafton, three-time NASCAR Truck Series champion
• Davey Hamilton, pavement supermodified champion and Indianapolis 500 veteran
• Kevin Harvick, the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion and winner of all four “crown jewel” races
• Jeff Jefferson, three-time NASCAR Elite Series Northwest Tour champion
• Lyn St. James, Daytona 24 and Sebring 12-hour class winner and Indianapolis 500 rookie of the year. Proponent of women in auto racing
• Jimmy Vasser, 1996 Championship Auto Racing Teams champion – the last American-born competitor to win a CART title

Read all nomminees bios here

Nominated again after appearing on previous ballots are Austin Cameron, Ken Boyd, Ernie Cope, Mike David, Eric Holmes, Lance Hooper, Tony Hunt, Brent Kaeding, Brad Noffsinger, Greg Pickett, Nick Rescino and Sean Woodside. Five inductees will be named in early 2023, following two rounds of voting by the organization’s Board of Directors. First-round voting begins next week.

The organization also will induct its sixth Heritage class of five individuals whose careers largely began prior to 1970. The five Heritage inductees will be named in spring 2023.

The 2022 induction ceremonies, presented by World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, will be held Thursday, June 8 as part of the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and ARCA Menard Series West weekend at Sonoma Raceway. The gala will be held in Sonoma Raceway’s Turn 11 Club and will feature naming of the 3^rd Annual Knockin Doorz Down Philanthropist of the Year presented by 51FIFTY.

“As the Hall moves forward into its third decade, it has been able to display a very diversified approach to nominations. In 2023, we are recognizing everyone from NASCAR Cup Series champions to lesser-known but extremely worthy short track kings such as Dick Cobb,” said Ken Clapp, Chairman and CEO of the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame. “Each year, the voting becomes more intense and the results to gain admission, much more difficult

“With Hall changes moving the organization to greater fame and recognition, the Hall’s ability to gift more to charities much greater. This year, despite trying economic times in the world, we are shooting towards reaching three-quarters of a million dollars over the past six years.

“There will be exciting news for 2023 coming in the near future that will be tremendously positive for the ARCA Menards Series West championship. The series is far and away the premier form of stock car racing west of the Rocky Mountains and has been for nearly 70 years. The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame will play a significant role in that huge announcement.”

The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame annually nominates for induction worthy individuals who competed in traditional stock car racing as well as other racing vehicles primarily on road courses under international and national sanction by the FIA, IndyCar, International Motor Sports Association (IMSA), GRAND-AM and the Sports Car Club of America. The Hall also is open to winners and champions of other forms of racing, as determined by the Hall’s nominating committee.

To obtain media credentials for coverage of the 22nd West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame awards, please contact Owen A. Kearns at 661-342-2983. To obtain details about table sponsorship for the 2023 awards dinner, please contact Ken Clapp at ckcdeee@gmail.com.

About the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame:

The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame was conceived in 2001 as a means of recognizing significant contributors and contributions to the sport of stock car/motorsports competition. The mission of the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame is founded to preserve history and heritage of the important role west coast stock car and motorsports figures have played in the sport’s development and continuation and to recognize, through annual enshrinement, of outstanding individuals and groups within the sport such as, but not limited to, designers, engineers, mechanics, drivers, race track owners, promoters, publicists and members of the motorsports media.

The Hall is a 501(c)3 charitable organization, dedicated to supporting a variety of organizations and groups from coast to coast. During its tenure, the Hall has raised more than $600,000 in the past five of its 20 years for youth, health and safety, hospitals, animal rescue, military and other charitable causes.

For more information on the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame visit: www.WestCoastStockCarHallofFame.com

Media Contacts:
Owen A. Kearns
okearns@bak.rr.com
661-342-2983

Newburyport, Mass., September 12, 2022 – Motorsports publisher Coastal 181 announced today the release of “SEA TO SHINING SEA: Racing from the Wild West to Daytona,” by Ken Clapp with Bones Bourcier. It is the newest in a long string of popular racing books presented by the company over the last 22 years, focused on recording and preserving the color and drama of racing across the United States.

Call it an auto(racing)biography, with everything happening at speed. One day Ken Clapp is just a boy attending races with his parents, the next he’s on pit crews, learning at the elbow of master mechanic Cos Cancilla. Then the management end of motorsports catches his interest, and he’s mixing with key players like Bob Barkhimer and Margo Burke, the region’s busiest race organizers; promotional legend J.C. Agajanian; and Riverside International Raceway boss Les Richter. Crucially, he allies with NASCAR founder Bill France and his son, Bill Jr., eventually becoming a NASCAR Senior Vice President.

Meanwhile, through his company CARS Inc.—California Auto Racing Speedways—he staged races at a huge number of tracks in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Canada. There were stock cars, Supermodifieds, Sprinters, Midgets, and motorcycles. Incredibly, Clapp’s guess is that he had a direct role in “a bit more than 6,000” single-day events. No one—not a sanctioning body, but a promoter or small promotional team—ever put on more.

            With time and accomplishment came respect on a national level. Track owners called him for advice. He spoke at promoters’ workshops, counseled fair boards, consulted with politicians and civic leaders. He was NASCAR’s point man on exploratory trips that led to races in Australia, Japan, and Mexico. Aware that his sport had not always done a great job of preserving its history, he assumed stewardship of the lively institution now known as the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame.

       Aside from all the pure history in this tale, Clapp walks us cleverly behind the scenes, taking us to places where some of the best-known racing names—some in fire suits, some in business suits—succeed and fail. 

“SEA TO SHINING SEA,” priced at $39.95, can be ordered online at www.coastal181.com or by calling Coastal 181 at 877-907-8181 toll free. The website, updated daily, includes over 1500 other motorsports books and DVDs, as well as hundreds of photos and racing commentaries. Profits from book sales will be donated to the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame.

The book also is available from Hunt’s Race World, 900 Riverside Avenue, Roseville CA 95678, telephone 916-773-7223. Business hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

SONOMA Calif., June 14, 2021 – The West Coast Stock Car /Motorsports Hall of Fame celebrated its 2022 induction ceremonies on June 9 before more than 500 inductees, racing industry figures, guests and media members at the Sonoma Raceway.
 
The ceremonies, presented by World Wide Technology Raceway, celebrated the many achievements of 13 members of the Class of 2022.  For the first time, the event was held at Sonoma Raceway, as Grand Opening of the track’s elegant Turn 11 Club. Highlights of the ceremonies will be broadcast by MAVTV later this summer, date and times to be announced.
Inducted in the Class of 2022 are Greg Biffle, NASCAR Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series champion; Garrett Evans, NASCAR Elite Series four-time Northwest Series champion; Brendan Gaughan, two-time ARCA Menards Series West champion; David Gilliland, two-time ARCA Menards Series West championship crew chief; John Moore, NASCAR State of California champion and Placer County Fair Board president; and three-time United States Auto Club Silver Crown champion Jimmy Sills. 2022 Heritage honorees, individuals from an earlier era of motorsport, are Art and Michael Atkinson, two generation NASCAR officials and Southern California track operators; Phil Casey, Indianapolis 500 and United States Auto Club chief mechanic; Ron Esau, NASCAR Elite Series Southwest Series champion; Phil Hill, the only American-born Formula One champion; Ken Sapper, multiple Southern California track sportsman champion and racing industry executive; and Jim Walker, Riverside Permatex 300 winner and multiple Redwood Acres track champion. The Second Annual Knockin Doorz Down Philanthropist of the Year award, presented by 51FIFTY was presented to Speedway Children’s Charities and the group’s Sonoma Chapter. The award was accepted by Sonoma Raceway Senior Vice President/General Manager Jill Gregory. Presenters included NASCAR President Steve Phelps, NASCAR Chief Operating Officer Steve O’Donnell, former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kurt Busch, broadcaster Gary Gerould, additional members of the Hall’s board of directors and previous inductees. Ralph Sheheen, West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame president and owner and publisher of National Speed Sport News, served as master of ceremonies. The annual induction ceremony is the cornerstone of the Hall’s charitable outreach. The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame is a 501(c)3 non-profit. In his opening remarks, Ken Clapp, Chairman and CEO of the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame, announced that the organization will reach $700,000 in charitable giving later this year and expects to reach the $1 million mark in the next several years. What they said: Kurt Busch on inducting Jim Walker: “He was a fellow blue-blue collar racer. Guys like Jim were the types of racer I looked up to.” Phil Casey, looking at his many achievements, pointed to his role in developing the SAFER Barrier as an IndyCar official: “It was a real honor to do that.” Brendan Gaughan on retirement: “When you’ve raced a grandchild, you know it’s time to go.” David Gilliland: The racing community is truly a family. (We’re pleased) that three generations of Gillilands have been able to race in the Cup Series.” Cole Moore, introducing his father, recounted early days racing with John Moore. Asked if his father would let him win, “We were racing Stockton … 10 laps to go, I’m leading and we’re door-to-door. Coming off Turn 4, he put me in the wall.” John Moore: “I’m honored to be here. I don’t know if I deserve it but I’m here.” Gary Gerould introducing Jimmy Sills: “We appreciated his versatility but the best part is that he’s a downright great human being.” Jimmy Sills, on driving for 51 different owners in his career: “I figured driving, not owning, I’d be on the plus side (of the ledger).” About the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame:

The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame was conceived in 2001 as a means of recognizing significant contributors and contributions to the sport of stock car/motorsports competition. The mission of the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame is to preserve history and heritage of the key role west coast stock car and motorsports figures have played in the sport’s development and continuation and to recognize, through annual enshrinement, of outstanding individuals and groups within the sport such as, but not limited to, designers, engineers, mechanics, drivers, race track owners, promoters, publicists and members of the motorsports media. The Hall is a 501(c)3 charitable organization, dedicated to supporting a variety of organizations and groups from coast to coast. Since 2017, the Hall has raised more than $600,000  for youth, health and safety, hospitals, animal rescue and other charitable causes.  For additional information about the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame and its charities, please visit WestCoastStockCarHallofFame.com

Media Information
Owen A. Kearns
661-342-2983
okearns@bak.rr.com

BAKERSFIELD, Calif., June 6, 2022  – Stars of the motorsports galaxy, representing the west’s short tracks, Indianapolis 500, NASCAR’s national competitions and legendary international tracks of Europe, will be enshrined Thursday, June 9 during the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022 ceremonies. 

Presented by World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway Motorsports Park, the Hall’s gala will for the first time be held at Sonoma Raceway’s new VIP/Hospitality Center which rings the track’s famous Turn 11. Registration and a cocktail hour begin at 5:30 p.m. (PDT). Dinner and awards follow at 6:45 p.m.  Valet parking will be available for guests.

The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame is covered internationally by MAVTV, which is carried at U.S. military facilities world-wide. Highlights of this year’s gala will be aired by the network later this summer, times and dates to be announced.

The Hall’s induction ceremonies open a packed weekend of competition at Sonoma Raceway, including the return of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the ARCA Menards Series West and culminating Sunday, June 12 with the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350.

Elected for induction in the Class of 2022 are Greg Biffle, NASCAR Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series champion; Garrett Evans, inaugural and four-time NASCAR Northwest Series champion; Brendan Gaughan, two-time ARCA Menards Series champion; David Gilliland, two-time ARCA Menards Series West championship crew chief; John Moore, 2021 NASCAR State of California champion and Spears Racing League championship owner; and Jimmy Sills, three-time United States Auto Club Silver Crown champion.

2022 Heritage inductees are Art and Michael Atkinson, father and son officials and track operators; Phil Casey, nine-time United States Auto Club national championship chief mechanic winner; Ron Esau, 1996 NASCAR Southwest Series champion; Phil Hill, first American-born Formula 1 champion; Ken Sapper, three-time Saugus (Calif.) Speedway modified stock car champion; and Jim Walker, Riverside (Calif.) Raceway Permatex 300 winner and multiple Redwood Acres (Calif.) Raceway champion.

The 2^nd Annual Knockin Doorz Down Philanthropist of the Year award, presented by 51FIFTY, will be presented to Speedway Children’s Charities, the charitable arm of Speedway Motorsports LLC. Speedway Motorsports LLC President Marcus Smith is expected to accept.
 
Serving again as master of ceremonies is Ralph Sheheen, owner and publisher of National Speed Sport News and West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame president. The annual affair serves as the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame’s major charity fundraiser. The Hall, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit, has gifted more than $600,000 over the past five years. 
 
West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame’s  roster of national sponsors include Ford Performance, General Motors, Northern California Toyota Dealers Association and TRD, Goodyear Racing, Hoosier Tires, NASCAR, South Point Resort, Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Speedway Motorsports LLC and Sunoco. The Hall’s presenting sponsors are World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway Motorsports Park, Eberle Winery and 51FIFTY Enterprises.

2022 West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees (top to bottom left to right) Art Atkinson, Michael Atkinson, Greg Biffle, Phil Casey, Ron Esau, Garrett Evans,  Brendan Gaughan, David Gilliland, Phil Hill, John Moore, Ken Sapper, Jimmy Sills, Jim Walker.

About the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame:

The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame was conceived in 2001 as a means of recognizing significant contributors and contributions to the sport of stock car/motorsports competition. The mission of the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame is to preserve history and heritage of the key role west coast stock car and motorsports figures have played in the sport’s development and continuation and to recognize, through annual enshrinement, of outstanding individuals and groups within the sport such as, but not limited to, designers, engineers, mechanics, drivers, race track owners, promoters, publicists and members of the motorsports media.

The Hall is a 501(c)3 charitable organization, dedicated to supporting a variety of organizations and groups from coast to coast. Since 2017, the Hall has raised more than $600,000  for youth, health and safety, hospitals, animal rescue and other charitable causes.

For more information on the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame visit: www.WestCoastStockCarHallofFame.com

Media Information
Owen A. Kearns
661-342-2983
okearns@bak.rr.com 

The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame is supported by NASCAR and its west coast tracks Auto Club Speedway and Phoenix Raceway. Speedway Motorsports Inc. properties Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Sonoma Raceway also are participating sponsors, as is Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway, Madera (Calif.) Speedway and Stockton 99 (Calif.) Speedway.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif., May 19, 2022 – Speedway Children’s Charities, the charitable arm of Speedway Motorsports LLC, has been named the 2^nd Annual Knockin’ Doorz Down Philanthropist of the Year Presented by 51FIFTY.

The 2022 winner, whose eight chapters include Sonoma Raceway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, was jointly announced by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame and Award sponsor 51FIFTY Enterprises. Speedway Motorsports LLC President Marcus Smith is slated to accept the award during the Hall’s June 9 Induction Gala presented by World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway. The ceremony is being held for the first time at Sonoma Raceway’s new VIP/Hospitality complex which circles the road course’s iconic Turn 11. 

The 12-member Class of 2022 – the hall’s 19th – will be enshrined. The night’s activities begin with registration/cocktails at 5:30 p.m. Dinner and awards will follow at 6:45 p.m. Valet parking will be available for guests. Highlights of the ceremonies will be broadcast later this summer by MAVTV. The event opens a packed weekend of racing at Sonoma Raceway, which includes the NASCAR Cup Series, ARCA Menards Series West and the return of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

“The Knockin’ Doorz Down Philanthropist of the Year Award, Speedway Children’s Charities, was chosen from among many nominated individuals and groups,” said Ken Clapp, Chairman and CEO of the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame. “The Speedway Children’s Charities’ giving on behalf of the motorsports industry has an enormous impact both nationally and in Northern California and Nevada.”

“Thank you to the West Coast Stock Car and Motorsports Hall of Fame for the work you do and giving us the opportunity to present the Knockin’ Doorz Down Philanthropist of The Year award,” said Carlos Vieira, owner of 51FIFTY Enterprises and founder of Carlos Vieira Foundation, “We look forward to continuing this partnership and highlighting individuals and organizations who encompass the meaning of being philanthropists.”

The inaugural Knockin’ Doorz Down Philanthropist of the Year Award by 51FIFTY was presented in 2021 to record producer, songwriter and racing team owner and sponsor Mike Curb.

Founded in 1984 by Bruton Smith, chairman of Speedway Motorsports, SCC originated at Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina and the Sonoma chapter is one of eight chapters at Speedway Motorsports facilities throughout the country. Since its inception, SCC Chapters have cumulatively distributed more than $60 million nationally to youth-serving organizations.

Speedway Children’s Charities Sonoma is dedicated to caring for children in critical need to help them and their families live safe, productive lives.

The Sonoma Chapter hosts several events and campaigns throughout the year to raise critical funds to distribute throughout the local community. The popular “Laps for Charity” event gives race enthusiasts a rare opportunity to drive the road course in their own vehicle, and new for 2022, fans can now adopt a famous Sonoma Raceway sheep with all proceeds benefitting SCC Sonoma.

To donate or view upcoming events, visit www.speedwaycharities.org.

About the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame:

The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame was conceived in 2001 as a means of recognizing significant contributors and contributions to the sport of stock car/motorsports competition. The mission of the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame is to preserve history and heritage of the key role west coast stock car and motorsports figures have played in the sport’s development and continuation and to recognize, through annual enshrinement, of outstanding individuals and groups within the sport such as, but not limited to, designers, engineers, mechanics, drivers, race track owners, promoters, publicists and members of the motorsports media.

The Hall is a 501(c)3 charitable organization, dedicated to supporting a variety of organizations and groups from coast to coast. Since 2017, the Hall has raised more than $600,000  for youth, health and safety, hospitals, animal rescue and other charitable causes.

For more information on the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame visit: www.WestCoastStockCarHallofFame.com

For Media information, Contact:
Owen A. Kearns
661-342-2983
okearns@bak.rr.com