Evans, Fuge, Michaelian, Philpotts, Pook, Stockman Family named to Hall of Fame 

BAKERSFIELD, California (May 12, 2026) – Famed promoters of America’s most prestigious street racing event, two race car builders and a pair of prominent racing families comprise the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame’s 2026 Heritage class.

            The inductees are:

• Chris Evans, 2024 Trans Am West SGT and 2025 Trans Am West XGT champion and race car builder
• Dave Fuge, two-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship crew chief and car builder
• Jim Michaelian, the late former president and CEO of Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
• John and David Philpott, the late John Philpott, a Stockton (California) 99 Speedway mechanic of the year, founded Philpott Racing in 1968. Son David is a two-time 99 Speedway NASCAR Late Model Sportsman champion and three-time crew chief champion with son Justin
• Chris Pook, founder of Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach and famed American street course consultant
• The Stockman Family – the late Harry, a post-World War 2 open wheel champion; son Gary, driver, car owner, car builder, crew chief, and track promoter at San Bernardino, California’s Orange Show Speedway and grandson Danny, twice NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship crew chief and two-time and reigning NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship crew chief.

Complete biographical information for each inductee can be found at www.westcoaststockcarhalloffame.com

“In review of this year’s West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame’s Heritage inductees, I can only think back about how fortunate I was to have engaged all of them,” said Ken Clapp, Chairman and CEO, West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame. “I personally am very proud  of each and every one and I look forward to greeting all of them and their families on October 1 in Las Vegas.”

Final-round voting by the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors began this month and continues through June 1. Five inductees (and ties, if necessary) will be chosen and announced during the June 26-28 NASCAR Cup, O’Reilly Auto Parts and ARCA Menards Series West weekend at Sonoma Raceway. The 2026 Pioneers of Speed (pre- and post-World War 2 figures) will be announced in mid-June. 

Inductions will be held on October 1 at the South Point Hotel Casino & Spa in Las Vegas, Nevada. The sixth Kickin’ Doorz Down Philanthropist of the Year by 51FIFTY will be announced during the festivities.

The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame gala kicks off a weekend of speed at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. NASCAR ARCA Menards Series West racing takes place at The Bullring short track on October 2, followed by the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (October 3) and NASCAR Cup Series (Oct. 4) on the 1.5-mile track.

2026 Heritage Class Photo Gallery

2026 Heritage inductees bios

Chris Evans. Chris Evans was born in Moses Lake, Washington in 1952 and began racing motorcycles at the age of 18. His first race was the High Desert 100 in central Oregon. Evans’ two-wheeled career lasted until the age of 40 and included the 1988 Western Eastern Racing Association’s West Coast Endurance championship, aboard a Suzuki 750. Evans, owner of a heavy steel fabrication business, has competed in NASCAR, Sports Car Club of America, NASA and Great American Stock Car Series. He founded GASS in 2006, building the cars that ran in the series. After entering Trans Am in 2022, Evans became a designated builder for the TA Cup class under direction of West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Famers Jeff Jefferson and Jerry Pitts. The United State Air Force veteran won the 2023 Portland Rose Cup and the 2024 Trans Am West SGT and 2025 Trans Am West XGT championships.

Dave Fuge. Dave Fuge  became the first independent owner/crew chief to win a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title in 1992 with current West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Famer Mike Bliss. He followed with another owner title in 1994 with Travis Kvapil.  The Washington native has excelled as race car builder, team owner and crew chief. Fuge has worked with a Who’s Who of drivers including West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame members Bliss, Derrike Cope, Ron Eaton, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Bill Schmitt. Fuge won championships in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with Bliss (1992) and Travis Kvapil (1994) and 11 races overall. The late Bobby Hamilton won the NASCAR Cup Series rookie of the year title driving for Tri-Star Motorsports which Fuge co-owned with Mark Smith and George Bradshaw.

Jim Michaelian. For 51 years, Jim Michaelian served as the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach’s Controller, Chief Operating Officer and, in December 2001, was named President & CEO. Under his leadership, the Acura Grand Prix event has grown into one of the premier street races in the world, blending top-level competition with major entertainment, civic, and business impact for the City of Long Beach. A graduate of University of California, Los Angeles with a B.S. in Physics and an M.B.A., Michaelian was also a competitive sports car racer who for more than 25 years, competed in endurance racing at such tracks as Le Mans, Daytona, Nürburgring, Spa, Watkins Glen, Dubai and Sebring which further deepened his lifelong connection to racing. Michaelian passed away in March at the age of 83.

John and David Philpott. Known in the garage as Chief, the late John Philpott of Tracy, California began racing hard tops in 1968 at Stockton (California) 99 and San Jose (California) speedways. He won the 1992–93 NASCAR Regional Series Mechanic of the Year and the track’s Gold Wrench Award.  His son, David, competed in the Late Model Sportsman division from 1976-2010, winning the 1977 NASCAR State of California championship – and 13 feature victories at All American Speedway in Roseville, California. He was the 1992-93 Stockton champion. He won the 1991 Rose Classic at Roseville and was the 2000 Tri-Track champion. Philpott served as crew chief when his son Justin won championships in Stockton in 2009, 2014, and 2019.

Chris Pook. One day, former British travel agent Christopher Robin Pook asked himself, “Why not a Monaco-style race on the streets of Long Beach?” From that idea, he became one of the brightest lights in American motorsports history, inventing the modern street race and establishing one of the country’s longest-running and most popular events, whether as a Formula 5000, Formula 1, or since 1984, the current NTT IndyCar race and the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Inspired by this example, Pook also helped create major street races in Denver, Detroit, Del Mar, Las Vegas, Dallas, Meadowlands, New Jersey and St. Petersburg, Florida. He oversaw the development of two permanent facilities, St. Louis’ Gateway Motorsports Park (now World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway) and Memphis International Raceway. 

The Stockman Family. The Stockman family legacy is deeply embedded in West Coast motorsports, spanning three generations of drivers, builders, and championship-caliber leaders. It begins with Harry Stockman, a respected and versatile competitor across midget cars, sprint cars, and track roadsters throughout Southern California and Arizona. The Yucaipa native emerged as a standout at Orange Show Speedway in 1947 and reached the height of his career in 1952, capturing the California Racing Association championship. He fielded an entry in the Indianapolis 500 in 1953, passing away in 1994 at age 75. Son Gary Stockman was a dominant presence at Orange Show Speedway between 1974 and 1987, earning dozens of victories in hobby stocks and super late models. He excelled as a driver, car owner, car builder, crew chief, and track promoter at Orange Show. His winning equipment included a super late model driven to victory by Ron Hornaday Jr. in 2006. Stockman was a crew chief during the inaugural season of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 1995 and played a key role in mentoring and developing the next generation of drivers, his sons Danny and Travis. That third generation reached national prominence with Danny Stockman. Stockman has recorded more than 500 starts as a crew chief across NASCAR’s top three national series and has earned 50 pole awards, the most of any NASCAR crew chief. His accomplishments include NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championships in 2007 and 2009 with Kevin Harvick Incorporated, where he served as truck chief for Hall of Fame driver Ron Hornaday Jr. He captured additional championships with Richard Childress Racing, guiding Austin Dillon to the 2011 Truck Series title and the 2013 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship. From 2020 to 2023, he served as a crew chief with Kyle Busch Motorsports before returning to Richard Childress Racing in 2024. As crew chief for Jesse Love, he led the No. 2 team to the 2025 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship.

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, soon to be (c)4 charitable organization, dedicated to supporting a variety of organizations and groups from coast to coast. The Hall has raised more than $1 million during the past seven 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
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