Meridian Speedway Banquet – November 17th, 2007

Thank you Brent, my name is Stan Fuller, Steve Towery and I are pleased to be with you tonight as we announce our 2007 Humanitarian Achievement Award winner.

Each year, the Idaho Historical Racing Society recognizes an individual who have made a significant contribution to our local oval track history.

The past four recipients of our award are, Glen Naylor, Dan Crow, Dan Breach and the late Roger Cornell.

Glen Naylor gave us 35 years as a driver, his family paid the ultimate price to this sport losing both sons, Bob and Tom to auto racing accidents.

While in the prime of his driving career, Dan Crow was critically injured while driving a late model stock car, after 18 months of intense rehabilitation he returned to Meriden speedway to drive again.

Dan Breach has given 33 years to the racing community as a driver, official score keeper, a track official and a flagman.

The late Roger Cornell was a chassis builder and a driver, Roger made history in 1966, while driving one of his own off set roadsters with a 6 cylinder motor, by outrunning all the more powerful v-8 powered super modified in a 50 lap main event at the CAMRA, Western States Championship race at Meridian Speedway. 

Each of our previous recipients has set a standard of excellence, So it is with our 2007 award winner..

I would like to give a short driving history of this year’s award winner. I have found it difficult to compile a “short driving history” because this individual has had a life time of racing. 

This season marks his 43rd year of oval track racing. 

In 1964, this individual traded an old motorcycle for his first modified race car. He made Rookie of the year with that first car.  Thus started the driving career on one Kenny Hamilton.

In 1966 Kenny won the first ever “Idaho 50” A race that Meridian ran on Memorial Day weekend, It was Meridians version of the Indy 500, with 33 super modifieds on the tight speedway for 50 laps. Kenny won that race driving the Hood Construction, Grant King Roadster. 

1966 was the year that I first met Kenny, for he and my father were teammates on the Hood Construction, Cesco Equipment Racing Team.

The next year, 1967, Kenny was offered a ride in another Grant King roadster, this particular one belonged to Art Sugia, out of Ontario Oregon, sponsored by the Eastside Cafe and Lounge, it was the pink lady roadster. In his first year of driving the pink lady roadster he captured the A-class championship.

1968 was the year that started the legend of the Pink Lady Sprint car for Art Sugai had returned to Grant King and ordered a new sprint car. Kenny took the beautiful new pink lady sprint car to Portland Oregon for the cars first time out, and won, He would go on to win 19 main events out of 22 races that year.

1980 and 1984 brought more fame to the Pink Lady with Kenny winning the prestigious Copper World Classic at the one mile oval at Phoenix International Raceway.  

Anderson Speedway in Anderson Indiana has a special race each May with a historic tradition, back in 1949 Anderson Speedway, which is known as the worlds fastest high banked quarter mile, started running the Little 500, 33 sprint cars on their quarter mile oval for 500 laps, this year they celebrated their 57th running of this event. Kenny, driving the Pink Lady has qualified and ran the Little 500, five times. 1995 was his best finish, an 11th place, completing 464 laps.   

Next season the pink lady sprint car will be 40 years old; The Pink lady has likely won more races than any other car in America.
 
Kenny’s driving career is much more than the Pink Lady,
 
1981 and 1982 were the two years that Kenny gave Indy Champ car racing a try. In 1981 he failed to qualify at the Indy 500 and the Phoenix race.  He got his first green flag at an Indy car race at the old Riverside California road course, yes, Kenny actually has made some right hand turns.  Driving a Riley rear engine Chevy, he finishing 23rd, with engine problems.

Not being afraid to try something different, 1982 was the year that Kenny and a group of local engineers built their own Indy car in an effort to qualify for the 1982 Indy 500, this rear engine car had aircraft aerodynamics built into the body. It had potential, but a lack of set up time hindered their efforts. In August of 1982 Kenny made the show at the Michigan 500, finishing 27th suffering engine oil pressure problems.
 
Besides chris - crossing America and running at every major track, Kenny’s driving talents took him to another continent, South Africa, where he won the championship one year driving for the United States team in a series of sprint car races.

I have not touched on the years he drove in the Canadian America Modified Racing Association, nor his years at the old Super Oval with his “super fly” rear engine car, nor the years with the Super Modified Racing League, the USAC sprint car series, nor the NSRS sprint cars series.

I have given you a glimpse of why he has earned the nick name of “the legend”

On behalf of the Idaho Historical Racing Society, the 2007 achievement award recipient is Kenny Hamilton. 

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Written by Stan Fuller  

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