Class of 2024 National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame inductees Bobby East (left) and father, Bob East (right).
(John Mahoney Photo)
By: Richie Murray
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin (September 3, 2024)………Harry Conklin, Bob East, Bobby East, Junior Knepper, Ken Schrader and Jimmy Sams are the newest inductees into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, class of 2024.
The announcement was made during last Sunday night’s USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event at Sun Prairie, Wisconsin’s Angell Park Speedway, the home of the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.
Harry Conklin notched 15 Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association championships as a car owner for drivers Jimmy LaManna, Steve Troxell, Sammy Sauer, Randy Roberts, Kenny Lewis and Gary Taylor. In a career spanning six decades, his cars won 140-plus Rocky Mountain features, including the inaugural Belleville Nationals with driver Eddie Jackson in 1978.
Bob East virtually owned USAC Midget racing throughout the 1990s and 2000s. As a constructor, his Beast midget chassis earned countless victories on both dirt and pavement at virtually every notable event in the sport. Under his role as chief mechanic for Steve Lewis’ and Terry Klatt’s teams, East earned 12 USAC National Midget titles and 150 wins.
His son, Bobby East, was one of the most prolific drivers of his era and a USAC National Midget champion in 2004. In 2001, he became the youngest USAC National Midget winner, at the time, at the age of 16. Bobby totaled 22 career USAC National Midget wins, including the Hut 100, the Belleville Nationals, Turkey Night, the Night Before the 500 and the Copper World Classic.
Walter “Junior” Knepper-owned cars earned 34 USAC National Midget victories with drivers Bob Wente, Tom Bigelow, Mel Kenyon and son, Steve Knepper between 1968-1997. Junior’s team captured the 1969 Night Before the 500 with Wente, plus the 1988 Belleville Nationals, the 1992 Hut 100, eight MARA titles and a SLARA crown, all with Steve in the seat.
Jimmy Sams was one of the early pioneers of motorsports photography. From the 1930s-1950s, he was a fixture at Kansas City area racetracks such as Olympic Stadium where he operated a photography concession. His images preserved the history of midget racing’s golden era. In the late 1940s, he also served as the president of the Kansas City Midget Auto Racing Association.
Ken Schrader is among the most accomplished race drivers of all time in a wide variety of disciplines. He scored 21 career USAC National Midget wins between 1980-1988 and achieved monumental triumphs with the series in the inaugural 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora in 1981, the Night Before the 500 at IRP in 1983 and on the Springfield Mile in 1984.
Furthermore, longtime Indianapolis Speedrome promoter John Stiles will be recognized with the inaugural National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame Founder’s Award.
The 40th annual luncheon and induction ceremony for the six inductees will be held on Friday, January 17, 2025. The event will be held at Fair Meadow Hall at the Tulsa Fairgrounds in Oklahoma, adjacent to the Expo Center which will be hosting the Chili Bowl Nationals during the week.
For additional information on the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, contact Barb Hellyer at kingdoodlebug@sbcglobal.net.
