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GROVE WINNERS LIST IMPRESSIVE -- OPENING DAY FEBRUARY 24.
MECHANICSBURG, PA -- Winning a sprint car feature at Williams Grove Speedway has always been a very prestigious event.
The sprint car winners list is dotted with many of the all-time greats of the sport from Tommy Hinnershitz and Ted Horn to A. J. Foyt
and Parnelli Jones.A position near the top of that list is practically a ticket to the Hall of Fame.
No less than eight of the first thirteen drivers on the Grove's list of winners are already enshrined in the National Sprint Car Hall of
Fame in Knoxville, Iowa. The other five are not yet eligible for induction. Keith Kauffman, Lynn Paxton, Smokey Snellbaker, Kenny Weld, Steve
Kinser, Bobby Allen, Steve Smith and Mitch Smith are already in.
Fred Rahmer, Lance Dewease, Don Kreitz, Jr., Greg Hodnett and Todd Shaffer will have to wait their turn until they meet the age requirement.
Rahmer, who turns 50 in March, will be eligible for induction next year and is the most compelling candidate.The Salfordville, Pa., veteran has won more features than any other driver since the speedway was built in 1939. His victory total of 74
places him seven ahead of Lance Dewease, who is second on the career win list with 67. Kreitz is third with 52.
Drivers who could move up on the list this year include Hodnett and defending Cindy Rowe Auto Glass champion Shaffer. Hodnett, who is currently tied with Kinser for eighth on the list with 37 victories, trails Kenny Weld who won 38 races, Snellbaker with 41 and 5th-place Paxton with 43. Hodnett won seven times in 2002 and eight in 2003, so he is capable of cracking the top five this year.
Shaffer, who is currently eleventh on the list with 34, is just two behind tenth-place Bobby Allen.
The 2008 season will begin at Williams Grove Speedway at 2:00 on Sunday afternoon, February 24, with sprint car racing as the sole attraction.
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