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The Kentucky Motorsports Hall of Fame held its induction ceremony of its fourth annual class Sunday, August 14, at Swope’s Cars of Yesteryear Museum in Elizabethown, Ky.
The 2011 inductees, in alphabetical order, are:
Jesse Baird of Louisville, Late Model and Figure 8 champion at the Fairgrounds Motor Speedway as well as champion at the Sportsdrome Speedway in Jeffersonville, Ind. and a winner in supermodified and ARCA competion.
Gene and Alberta Barker of Morehead, drag racers and track owners, instrumental in operating several tracks in Kentucky, including Mt. Park Dragway at Clay City, Bluegrass Dragway in Lexington, Lake Cumberland Dragway at Russell Springs, and Bluegrass Raceway Park at Owingsville.
Elmo Guy of Bowling Green, track builder, oval, motorcycle, and drag racer, who drove stock cars until around 1960, when he switched to drag racing and became one of the most dominant drivers in the early days of Beech Bend Park.
Bill Roell of Latonia, drag racer and race car painter, winner of 80 to 100 national awards whose work appeared on dozens of national magazine covers, and paint scheme designer for many of drag racing’s most notable cars.
Hansel (Pop) Sullivan of Warsaw, considered the man who started and developed the two-wheel drive tractor and truck pulling classes, wrote the rules for the class, and was responsible for TNT Motorsports adding two-wheelers as a class.
Elmer Trett of Keavy – champion Top Fuel motorcycle builder and racer, winner of eight No. 1 plates during a career from 1976 until 1996, the first TF Motorcycle racer to reach 200 mph, and holder of the world record for the class at 6.05 seconds and 235 mph at the time of his death in 1996.
Andy Vertrees of Louisville, Figure 8 champion at the Fairgrounds Motor Speedway, and promoter at Kentucky Motor Speedway, Charlestown Motor Speedway, and Louisville Speedway, recognized as a national leader in organizing and operating motor sports facilities.
Paul (Butterball) Wooldridge of Frankfort, champion dirt track stock racer, who won feature races and championships all over Kentucky, as well as taking important races in Indiana, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida, and was one of the original operators of Franklin County Speedway.
The Kentucky Motorsports Hall of Fame’s mission is to honor, by public acknowledgement or commemoration, individuals, families, or teams who have merited recognition and distinction.
Visit our website at www.kentuckymotorsportshalloffame.com
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