Northeast Dirt Modified Museum and Hall of Fame

The Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame issues deepest condolences to the family, friends and fans of John McArdell, a successful Central New York racer in the early days of the sport, who passed away on May 10 at the age of 86. McArdell, from Baldwinsville, NY, was inducted into the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame in 1995. A winner from the start, McArdell entered and aced a demolition derby at age 16, his first time on the track. In 1952, John and his brother Gale po...oled their money to buy their first stock car for $500, sharing driving duties at tracks like Brewerton and Lafayette. By the 1960s, John was the family star, wheeling cars for top owners on the circuit. He is best remembered driving Dominic Tantello’s iconic Leanin’ 11 to victory at Maple Grove and Weedsport speedways, among other area tracks. One of few drivers to make the successful transition from flatheads to V8 power, McArdell was one of the first test drivers for Show Car Engineering builder/fabricator Howard Conkey back in the ’60s. His best season was 1964, where he won 27 feature events, including a 50-lap championship race at Canandaigua, the Open Invitational 100 at Maple Grove, and the NASCAR-sanctioned Salt City 25 on the New York State Fairgrounds mile. McArdell was also fast qualifier at the NY State Fair Labor Day event that year. During the course of a quarter century of competition, McArdell claimed track championship titles at Maple Grove in Waterloo (1960), Canandaigua (1960, 1964) and Weedsport (1963, 1968). Driving Jim Sincerbeaux’s 0, he was track champion at both Rolling Wheels and Skyline in 1975, before retiring from the sport two years later. In addition to his 1995 induction in the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame, McArdell was also recognized by the Living Legends of Auto Racing in Daytona Beach in 2006, and the New York State Stock Car Association in 2019.

The Northeast Dirt Modified Museum in Weedsport, N.Y., is open today until 5 p.m. with volunteer Harry Elkema, a former mechanic for Will Cagle. Great fun!

We are getting excited about re-opening the Museum, starting on Sunday, May 2, from 12 Noon to 5 p.m., and then every Sunday thereafter, May through September. Plus... the Museum will be open every day that the Weedsport Speedway is racing in 2021. SUNDAYS are FUN DAYS!!

They don't get oldthey just get better! Congratulations to Hall of Fame driver Alan Johnson (Class of 2017) who showed all the kids how it's done last Saturday at Outlaw Speedway, scoring win #558 in his legendary career. That victory extends Alan's unbroken win streak to 47 years an incredible run that has never before been achieved by any Northeast Mod racer, in any era. And all in the headlining Modified division! "A.J. Slideways" is truly in a class of his own!

The Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame conveys heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and many fans of Ralph Quarterson, one of the all-time greats in Western PA racing, who passed away on June 23 at the age of 80. Quarterson, from Hermitage, PA, was inducted into the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame in 2010. Starting in 1959 in a cutdown #66 coupe owned by his father, Ralph scored his first win in his rookie year, at the long-gone Ashtabula County Fairgrounds in... Ohio. Equally proficient in both Sprint Cars and Modifieds, Quarterson decisively stamped his mark on both, pulling double duty for much of his career, many times sweeping the night. Quarterson will go down in history as The Master of Mercer, as no other driver could ever get around that tricky egg-shaped track like he did. From 1965-80, Ralph racked up 149 wins at Mercer Raceway 97 in Sprints, 48 in Mods, and another four in a Late Model Camaro in the sole year that class ran weekly at the track. His 14 championships in three divisions solidify his standing as Mercer’s most accomplished driver of all time. Ralph’s resume also includes four titles at Lernerville and a pair at Butler Speedway. He won the Western PA Sprint Championship five times, twice topped the #1 Cochran Cavalcade Sprint Car Series, and claimed the inaugural All-Star Circuit of Champions title in 1970. In addition to his election to the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame, Quarterson was also inducted into the Pittsburgh Circle Track Club Hall of Fame in 1993, the Lernerville Speedway Hall of Fame in 2010, the Mercer County Hall of Fame in 2012, and was nominated to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville, IA.

As a result of health and safety concerns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame has made the difficult decision to cancel its 2020 Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, scheduled for July 23. The Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame joins the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY (originally scheduled to induct Derek Jeter on the same weekend), the National Museum of Horse Racing, the International Tennis Hall of Fame and other sports... Halls of Fame around the nation in cancelling all ceremonies for this year. "While we are disappointed to cancel this incredibly special event, it is the right thing to do under the circumstances," said Hall of Fame Committee Chair Buffy Swanson. "Given the changing rules and restrictions about what can and can’t take place, the fear many have about close contact and social events, and the conviction that we keep the induction ceremonies in the hallowed halls of the museum, maintaining the level of excellence we have established and continue to build on. . . the best solution is to forego the 2020 ceremonies, and induct this year’s class in the summer of 2021, with all the fanfare they deserve." The previously announced Class of 2020 drivers Brett Hearn, Harold Bunting and the late Joe Donahue; car owner Tico Conley; mechanic Billy Taylor; promoters Bob and Donna Miller; TV producer Tery Rumsey; and Woman in Racing April May Preston-Elms will be fully honored next summer, on a date to be determined. Since 1992, the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame has inducted 101 championship drivers and honored 136 distinguished award winners from throughout the region. In recent years, the Hall of Fame program held annually in the museum has been bracketed by festive pre- and post-event receptions hosted by Weedsport Speedway.

Hope to have the event as we do yearly.

The Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame joins the racing community at large in mourning the death and celebrating the life of popular driver Clarence Butch Jelley, who passed away after a long illness on May 1. He was 79. Jelley, from Andover, VT, was inducted into the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame in 2005. The Vermont native began his career as a teenager in 1957, racing jalopies on the dirt at Claremont Speedway in New Hampshire. He went on to compete at tracks in... New York, Vermont and southern Canada over the course of six decades, from the late 1950s into the 2000s. Jelley stands ninth on the all-time Modified win list at Lebanon Valley Speedway, with 31 victories recorded from 1965-1989. He was the Valley’s Rookie of the Year in 1960. He earned the sole championship of his career in 1975 at Devil’s Bowl Speedway, in his home state, where he won 14 times in the late 1960s and ’70s. He was a teammate to Tommy Corellis in the All-Star Racing League in 1971. Jelley’s most popular rides over the years included Ed Wynn’s #Y, with a red cartoon devil character painted on the side, and Martin Riiska’s famous yellow #X, featuring a skunk mascot called Lil Stinker. Those cars, in particular, made Jelley a favorite with the kids in the crowd. Butch was also inducted into the Lebanon Valley Speedway Hall of Fame in 1978 and the New York State Stock Car Association Hall of Fame in 2003.

The Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame sends sincere condolences to the family and friends of Ed Ortiz, a popular Western New York racer in the 1960s and ’70s, who passed away on April 16. He was 88. Ortiz, from Ransomville, NY, was inducted into the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame in 1999. Ortiz was the ringleader of the Ransomville Slo-Pokes, a group of 15 street racers who carved out the original Ransomville Speedway on property behind Ed’s father’s car dealership ...in 1954. Four years later, the club moved the track to its current location on Braley Road. A talent behind the wheel who competed at nearly 30 different speedways during his career, Ortiz recorded his first win at Merrittville in 1958, followed two weeks later by a victory at his home track. Throughout the ’60s and into the ’70s, Ed occupied the winner’s circle more often than not, 199 times to be exact, and picked up championship titles at Merrittville in 1961, Ransomville in 1962, Canandaigua in 1962 and ’63, Lancaster (on the pavement) in 1966, and Rolling Wheels in 1971. As Ransomville was running under the NASCAR banner in ’62, Ortiz was also named NASCAR’s New York State Sportsman champion that year. In an emotional comeback 20 years after he officially retired, Ortiz returned to Ransomville in a Pro Stock in 1998 to score the 200th and final win of his career, at the age of 66.