April 20, 2007

MARNE, MI - Berlin Raceway announced today the names of the 15 nominees to be considered for induction into the track's Hall of Fame in 2007. These 15 people will be voted on by the public over the course of the 2007 season, and up to three of them will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the annual Boyne Machine Berlin Raceway Driver Awards Banquet in November.

This fall's inductees will join the six members who have been inducted to date: 2005 inductees Chester and Rose Mysliwiec, Charles Mysliwiec and Richard Mysliwiec (track co-founders) and 2006 inductees John Benson Sr. (racer), Bob Knight (racer) and Harry Obie (car owner).

The Berlin Raceway Hall of Fame presented by Boyne Machine Co. was created as a means to permanently immortalize its greatest drivers and contributors. Its mission is to preserve the rich history and heritage of Berlin Raceway by recognizing and honoring outstanding individuals who have made significant accomplishments in and contributions to the sport of auto racing at Berlin Raceway. Inductees are commemorated with high-quality engraved bronze plaques permanently placed on a concrete "Hall of Fame" wall outside Turn 1 at the track.

The nominees were selected from submissions made by Berlin Raceway fans. The selection committee narrowed the list down to 15 names, among them drivers, track employees, car owners and engine and chassis builders. Eleven of the nominees are second-time nominees; new to the list this year are racers Gail Cobb, Duane Knoll and Jimmy Nelson and car owner Bill Ponstein.

Drivers must have been retired from the sport of race car driving for a minimum of five years and must have achieved significant accomplishments on the track at Berlin Raceway. Lifetime Achievement candidates must have a minimum of 20 years service to auto racing at Berlin Raceway and must have made a considerable impact upon Berlin Raceway.

Starting now, fans can vote for their top three choices online at www.berlinraceway.com. Fans may also vote via ballot in the raceday program during races. To be inducted, a nominee must be listed on at least two thirds of the ballots. The top three qualified vote-getters will be inducted.

The 2007 Berlin Raceway Hall of Fame nominees, in alphabetical order, are:

Ralph Baker, Holland, Driver
(b. April 23, 1930)
Baker was one of the premier Berlin Raceway drivers in the late 1950's and 1960's. He began racing at Berlin in 1957, first running Modifieds, then becoming one of the first drivers to race Late Model stock cars when he raced an ARCA race at Berlin. Baker won many races at Berlin, including the 1961 Tri-State race and the 1962 Spring Championship race. His career took him traveling on the USAC and ARCA series tours in the late 1960's, but Baker never forgot his roots at Berlin Raceway, where he can still be found every Saturday night.

Ray Baker, Spring Lake, Engine Builder
(b. Aug. 30, 1942)
One of the premier engine builders in Berlin Raceway history, Ray Baker has built winning engines for the likes of Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt, Sr, Neil Bonnett, and Darrell Waltrip. From 1966 to 1994, the founder and former operator of Baker Engineered Racing Engines supplied engines for Berlin drivers Bob Senneker, Butch Miller, Fred Campbell, Mike Eddy, Ed Howe, Tom Maier, John Benson Sr, Randy Sweet, Bob Sensiba and Don Rand, plus many others.

Dick Carter, Breckenridge, Driver
(b. Aug. 17, 1934‚d. Aug. 14, 1965)
One of the greatest dirt-track racers of all time in Michigan, Carter began racing at Berlin in 1955 and won the 1957 Season Championship by lapping the entire field of cars in 100 laps. He also won the Spring Championship race in '61 and the Tri-State Championship race in '63. Carter holds the supermodified track record on Berlin's half-mile dirt track at 22.16. Carter's outstanding racing career was cut short on August 14, 1965, when he died in a crash while leading the field (after setting fast time, winning the fast car dash and winning his heat race).

Gail Cobb, Ada, Driver
(b. July 18, 1937)
Gail Cobb began a long and storied racing career at Berlin Raceway in 1966 when the Grand Rapids Speedrome closed down. He continued racing at Berlin until his retirement in 2000. During his Berlin career, Cobb raced Supermodifieds, Late Models and Sportsman cars. Gail ended his career by winning the 2000 Sportsman title at Berlin Raceway. At 63 years of age, Gail was the oldest driver to win a Berlin Raceway championship. He was known as a tough, hard-nosed, no-nonsense racer who earned the respect of the entire racing community.

Ed Howe, Beaverton, Driver/Car Builder
(b. Dec. 9, 1938)
In addition to over 200 feature wins as a driver, Howe's company, Howe Racing Enterprises (which he still owns and operates), revolutionized the Late Model chassis. He has had drivers in his house car such as Bob Senneker, Tom Maier, Mike Eddy, Larry Moore, and Rodney Combs.

Duane Knoll, Muskegon, Driver
(b. Nov. 29, 1933)
Knoll raced at Berlin Raceway from 1957 to 1978. He won theŻBerlin Raceway season track championship in 1963 and the Modified Championship in 1966, as well as winning 30-some features in his career at Berlin Raceway on both dirt and asphalt. He ran several classes of cars at Berlin Raceway during a career that made him known for being a very skilled, successful driver and a crowd favorite. Knoll was the last driver to win a feature on Berlin's half-mile dirt track before it was paved in 1966.

Jimmy Meyer, Holland, Flagman
(b. December 14, 1934)
Meyer served as Berlin Raceway's official flagman from 1967 to 1997, earning the respect of drivers, car owners, officials and fans for his authoritative and flamboyant flagging style.

Jimmy Nelson, Flint, Driver
(b. May 19, 1930 - d. Aug. 21, 1965)
Nelson raced at Berlin Raceway from 1960 until his death in 1965, when he suffered a horrific crashed while leading a feature race at the Grand Rapids Speedrome in 1965, just one week after the death of his friend Dick Carter. Nelson was known as a fearless hard charger and a real showman who never failed to leave the fans in awe. He was well-liked by both drivers and fans during his short but outstanding Berlin racing career.Ż

Bill Ponstein, West Olive, Car Owner
(b. Dec. 16, 1941)
Ponstein is recognized as one of Berlin Raceway's most successful car owners during the past 15 years. Ponstein's driver, Dave Lake, captured the Pro Stock title in 2006, giving Ponstein his fourth Berlin track championship. Ponstein earlier guided Bob Holley to three consecutive Late Model titles during the 1990s. He also has fielded cars for Bob Senneker, Charlie Dunshee and Chris Orr as well as his son, Andy Ponstein; his current drivers are Lake and Ryan Gruppen. Ponstein himself raced for three years at Berlin.

Johnny Roberts, Wheeler, Driver
(b. January 18, 1931)
Roberts raced at Berlin Raceway from 1955 to 1961. He changed the racing landscape at Berlin in 1957 when he built a radically new race car, the first true Super Modified race car to race at Berlin. His speedy new Super Modified car forced the rest of the field to imitate him in order to keep up. Throughout his career Roberts was almost unbeatable. The mid-season championships in 1957, 1958 and 1959 were among many victories in his seven-year Berlin Raceway career.

Robert "Smokey" Steele, Grand Rapids, Car and Engine Builder and Track Maintenance
(b. 1924 - d. 1976)
Smokey was a race car builder, engine builder and crew chief for fellow Hall of Fame nominee Bob Knight from 1957 to 1964. Together they won several championship races at Berlin Raceway in cars owned by track owner Chet Mysliwiec. In addition, his "day" job was maintaining Berlin Raceway, including grading and watering the dirt track surface, for Mysliwiec. He was the grandfather of current Berlin driver Tim Steele.

AJ Stehouwer, Walker, Car Owner and Race Official
(b. Feb. 3, 1924 - d. 1998)
A.J. was a car owner during Berlin's dirt era, from 1951 until Berlin paved its track in 1966. He was then hired as pit steward, a position he held until retiring in 1989. A.J. ran the entire pits during that time, handling lineups on restarts and making the decision on who was running where. In addition, Stehouwer was the mayor of Walker for 11 years. He was the father of current Berlin Raceway driver Dave Stehouwer and Dave's car owner/crew chief, Ed Stehouwer.

Eddie Vanderlaan, Grand Rapids, Driver
(b. April 7, 1933 - d. November 24, 1991)
Brother of fellow nominee Gordy VanderLaan, Eddie was one of Berlin Raceway's top drivers from 1953 to 1976. He was Berlin's Rookie of the Year in 1953 and won the season championship in 1962. Eddie was successful on dirt as well as on asphalt after the track was paved in 1966.

Gordy Vanderlaan, Grand Rapids, Driver
(b. July 25, 1928)
Brother of fellow nominee Eddie VanderLaan, Gordy raced at Berlin Raceway for 12 years, beginning when the track opened in 1951 and ending in 1962, when he was forced to retire from racing due to a non-racing injury. He was a three-time track champion (1952, 1955 and 1959). He also won the longest race ever held at a short track in Michigan when he finished first at the 500-lap race at the Ionia Fairgrounds (a race that was promoted by Chet Mysliwiec).

Bill Wiltse, Grand Rapids, Driver
(b. June 17, 1923 - d. November 5, 1993)
Wiltse began racing at Berlin when the track opened in 1951 and raced here through 1959, racing jalopies, stock cars and Super Modifieds. Bill won the 1952 mid-season championship and the 1959 Michigan state championship race.

Ballots, nomination forms, complete eligibility criteria and selection procedures are available online - just click "Hall of Fame" on the left side menu.