Announcement of new Illinois Stock Car Hall of Fame

Chicago, Ill.—During last night’s annual banquet for the Illinois Vintage Racing club, president Art Fehrman announced the formation of the Illinois Stock Car Hall of Fame.

Following the footsteps of numerous other state and area stock car groups, Fehrman’s intent is to honor various Illinois racing personalities that have enjoyed fame and success, as well as dedication, to the sport of stock car racing, both in and outside the state of Illinois.

“I think it is time that we honor the participants that have made stock car racing in the state of Illinois a success over the years,” Fehrman said. “Illinois stock car racing, including the Chicago area, has a strong history, rich in tradition. Numerous drivers have enjoyed success both on local and national levels. Fred Lorenzen quickly comes to mind as he enjoyed success on Chicago-area short tracks and then became one of NASCAR’s superstars in the 1960’s.”

Plans call for the inaugural induction ceremonies to take place in the spring of 2012. The state will be divided into four sections for inductee election with potential hall of famers being reviewed by a board of directors. A permanent display will be housed at the Historic Auto Attractions museum in Roscoe. The Hall of Fame will be funded by sponsorships and annual support memberships, which will include quarterly newsletters to members.

A former stock car driver himself, Fehrman, is among the board members that include Wayne Lensing, Jerry Gille, Herb Shannon, Sr., Herb Shannon, Jr. and Stan Kalwasinski. Fehrman began racing in 1968 at Chicagoland’s Santa Fe Speedway, where he competed in both the sportsman and late model ranks. In 2006, he founded the Illinois Vintage Racing club.

Lensing is another former stock car racer, who currently owns the Historic Auto Attractions in addition to being the owner of Lefthander Chassis, Inc. in Roscoe, one of the largest stock car chassis building/racing supply companies in the country. Gille, a longtime stock car competitor at the Rockford Speedway, is a two-time NASCAR late model champion at the high-banked, quarter-mile paved oval.

The Shannons, the father and son combination from the Peoria area, have been involved in stock car racing ever since the elder Shannon began his racing career in 1947 with the Shannon Sr. competing on both local and national stock car circuits, including NASCAR and the Untied States Auto Club. He competed in the Daytona 500 in 1965. Currently, both Shannons are involved in vintage stock car racing in the Midwest.

Kalwasinski is a longtime motorsports writer and photographer in the Chicago area and has been a racing fan since attending his first race in the mid 1950’s. Kalwasinski is an authority on the history of Chicago area racing.

A website for the new Illinois Stock Car Hall of Fame is under construction. Current news about the new organization can be temporarily found at www.illinoisvintageracing.com.