Stories and memories are guaranteed to be shared as the Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame and Museum inducts four more racers to the hall today to bring that number to 56.
Longtime promoter and owner Butch Behn, who now resides in Washington state, where he runs South Sound Speedway, twins Terry and Tracy Cessford of T & T Racing in Victoria and driver and crewman Gerry Flesh of Nanaimo, will all be feted, said George Jenson, president of the hall of fame committee and old-time racing association.
The 2016 Pioneer Awards will be presented to supporters Alpine Group, Gary Haskell and Derick Stratford.
鈥淭o top it off, we will have Bill Foster鈥檚 1965 IndyCar that Gordy Alberg bought. Gordy was a crew member for Billy Foster back in the 1960s. He bought one and it will be on display at the hall of fame,鈥� said Jenson. 鈥淏illy was one of the only Canadians to run the Indy 500, so that鈥檚 pretty neat.鈥�
It鈥檚 a vehicle that Mario Andretti also used to run.
鈥淢ario Andretti and Billy Foster were quite good friends in the 1960s,鈥� said Jenson.
Foster, who ran in the 1965 and 1966 Indy 500s, died in a crash during practice for a NASCAR event in Riverside, California, on Jan. 20, 1967.
鈥淲e want to get people out and have a good time, meeting old racers like Dave Cooper who is still around at 96. There鈥檚 a lot of racing history at Western Speedway and in Victoria in general,鈥� said Jenson.
鈥淭he original first race track was built in 1910 where Willows Beach is. It used to be Willows raceway, where they ran horse racing one weekend and auto racing the next.鈥�
Jenson, who has been involved in racing for 48 years, also noted that Western Speedway was the first paved racing track in sa国际传媒, which dates back to the 1950s.
The hall of fame ceremony will open its doors at Western Speedway at 1 p.m. with inductions to commence at 2:30 p.m. The event is open to the public at a cost of $10.
Selections are made on the basis of nominations reviewed and voted on by the committee, Jenson explained.
