Drivers Comments and
Special Memories
Sprint Car Drivers
Tony Elliott
Tony continued his racing in the USAC ranks driving Silver Crown dirt champ cars, midgets, and sprints. He won the USAC Sprint Car Championship in 1998 which earned him a chance to test drive IRL indy cars for Panther Racing. He has won the Gas City Speedway track championship 3 times and the Kokomo Speedway track championship 8 times! He continues to race all three USAC type cars and is looking forward to the possibility of competing in some IRL events in the future. Who knows, maybe the Indy 500 is just around the corner!
Favorite Memory - Runnin' at home with Hazen and winning at home in front of friends and family.
Den England
Denny continued racing sprint cars, but switched from dirt racing to asphalt racing - "It was something new. They were closing all of the dirt tracks and the asphalt tracks are faster, so we decided to try it." Denny has finished 2nd at the famous 'Little 500' and now has two Pennzoil Outlaw Winged Sprints Championships with a third on it’s way this year.
Favorite Memory - "The people that I raced with - we were all buds, we were all friends. We won a lot of races at Warsaw, but the people were the most important."
Randy Woodling
Randy only raced a sprint car one time after Warsaw closed. He switched to late models with great success over the past 10 years. He finished 12th in the famous Eldora Speedway World 100, made the first Dream Race at Eldora and finished 11th, and won the 42nd Anniversary Feature at Eldora. He continues to race mostly in Ohio and now considers Eldora his home track.
Favorite Memory - "My friends and family being at the track every Saturday night. It's not the same now. My most memorable win was the next to last feature ran at Warsaw because we knew it was going to end."
As A Child - "I lived in town and my parents were divorced. I used to ride my bike everywhere and when I heard the cars for the first time, I flew home, found out what was going on at the fairgrounds, got some money, and went to the races! I was hooked and rarely missed a race from then on. It definitely kept me out of trouble and it's sad that our young kids don't have that now!"
Limited Late Model/Roadrunner Drivers
Butch Boggs
After Warsaw closed, Butch continued racing late models mainly in Ohio for Lloyd Smith. He won the UMP Ohio State Championship in 1991 and made the famous "World 100" at Eldora! After Lloyd passed away, Butch quit racing totally for about 6 years and focused on starting and growing his own business. It wasn't until recently that he started dabbling in driving again, but has sold the car and all of his equipment this past summer. Hopefully some car owner will contact him and hire one great late model driver!
Favorite Memory - Back in '86 or '87 when I was driving for Terry's Automotive, we put in an experimental motor. Well, it blew up during qualifying, but not before we completed one lap and had fast enough time to secure the pole starting position. We took that car back to the shop and about 12 of us worked on it all night long! It just happened to be one of those hot sticky August evenings. Well, we finished it just in time to get back to the track and start the feature. It was great when we ended up winning that feature after all of that hard work!
Terry Sroufe
Terry continued racing in the UMP late model ranks and now competes at Eldora, Attica, Oak Shade, and Butler. He's won features at Eldora and 2 features this year at Butler where he is leading in the points race so far. You can check out pictures of his current car on the Butler Speedway web site at:
www.butlermotorspeedway.com
Favorite Memories - "My favorite memories of racing at Warsaw, that's easy, racing with my dad."
Arnold Prater
Arnold left the speedway quietly for the final time that August night and after only a few weeks, never raced again. Like many other drivers, he also never has returned to the fairgrounds except for maybe a demo derby or two. During the Summer of 2000, Arnold finally decided to buy another car and get back into the driver's seat again. Good Luck Arnold!!
Favorite Memory - Being voted "Sportsman Of The Year" one time because it was voted on by the drivers. Shane Denny and I tied for it and that really meant a lot!
Also, beating Allen Marsh one time in a one-on-one dash because he was always had a fast car!
As A Child - I started going to the speedway in '61 or '62 and my favorite was Paul Grimm in the "Weenie-Roaster"!! I remember the big flame that always came from the car and we always cheered for him.
Kelly Prater
Kelly continued racing only one year after Warsaw closed, but never lost his love for the sport. He's started racing again in 2001 and did very well at Shadyhill Speedway and Bunker Hill with several features wins.
You can check out his new web site at: www.members.tripod.com/PRATERRACING46.COM
Favorite Memory - "Racing at Warsaw was great because I grew up there. My grandpa used to own cars, then my dad raced and probably all together, about ten or eleven different people in my family tried racing at one time or the other. The people at Warsaw stuck together and made it feel like one big family. It's hard to find that anywhere else than at your home track."
Harvey Hayes
Harvey is still racing first trying the asphalt tracks of New Paris and Plymouth because of convenience, but later switching back to the more challenging dirt tracks. He now races at Shadyhill, and Montpilier Speedways, but not as often because of a busy schedule and time constraints.
Favorite Memory - "That's easy, the last feature race ever ran at Warsaw because we won it!"
Check back often - More drivers to add!!
