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(Allentown, PA 10-16-22) The class of 2022 inductees to the Dorney Park Speedway/Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame will be installed during ceremonies on Sunday, November 6 at the America on Wheels Museum in Allentown starting at noon.
The event will begin at 11:00 am with race cars on display. The introduction of the 2022 recipients will start at 1:00 pm in the upper hall of the museum.
For Dorney Park they include Joe “Reds” Protivnak who is second on the all-time Late Model wins list with 18 victories. All of those triumphs occurred within a four year span between 1961 and 1965, which during that time the class was known as the Hobby cars. Reds also raced in the Sportsman Modified class, winning his first race in 1971.
Kermit “Bup” Christman raced Sportsman Modifieds successfully at the Park from 1971 until it’s closing in 1986. He then moved on to Mahoning Valley and continued his stardom through the 1990s. His son Rod and grandsons Brandon and Jacob carry on his legacy today.
Tim Parry enjoyed a great career at Dorney Park that saw him begin his winning ways in 1966 and up until 1983. 1966 was also a championship season for Tim in the Sportsman Modified division. He went on to added success when he moved to Mahoning Valley Speedway in 1987 and continued there until his retirement in the late 1990s.
1980 Late Model champion Al Hewett rounds out the list of Dorney honorees. Al visited Victory Lane numerous times during the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.
Mahoning Valley’s induction list will see the Rahmer brothers, Al and Fred Sr., George Steigerwalt Sr., Darryl Bruenig and Carman Bauman enter into the Hall.
When Mahoning became a paved track in 1970 the Rahmer’s paired up to be a reckoning force with regular visits to Victory Lane. Al was the very first Modified champion on the pavement.
George Steigerwalt Sr., forged a great history at Mahoning that began during the track’s dirt days and then onward throughout the early pavement years. He was the 1962 Sportsman champion. When George began running on the blacktop it was with the Late Model class with his signature “Flying 0.” His sons, Greg and Geno went on to formidable careers in the same class. Geno is the 2021 Late Model champion.
Modifieds, Late Models, D/A Mods – Darryl Bruenig raced them all and quite successfully too. His best years by far where with the Late Model where he captured the 2003 class championship.
Carman Bauman was a noted car owner who saw several drivers take his mounts to Victory Lane although known more than his son-in-law and Hall of Famer Todd “Hollywood” Geist. Bauman’s cars where staples at both Dorney and Mahoning as well as a number of other area speedways.
The final inductee is the late Paul Reinhard who worked at the Allentown Morning Call for more than 60 years in the sports department. Reinhard not only reported on mainstream sports but also did a spectacular job of keeping readers up to date on all the weekly action at Dorney Park, Mahoning Valley and every other race track throughout the Lehigh Valley and most times the very next day after an event.
2022 marks the 11th Hall of Fame ceremony which began in 2011 and was started by racing photographer brothers Bob and Dale Snyder.
A standing race car show will held in a section of the museum’s parking lot. Anyone who would like to out their race car on display please contact Dino Oberto at 570-401-8168.
The America On Wheels Museum is located at 5 N. Front Street in Allentown.
