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2018 Int'l Drag Racing HoF Inductees Announced
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The Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing has named the Museum’s International Drag Racing Hall of Fame Class of 2018, plus the recipient of the Founder’s Award.
Now retired career employee of General Motors Herb Fishel (Ann Arbor, Michigan) was named the recipient of the Founder’s Awards. The recipient of the annual Patricia Garlits Award will be announced at a later date.
The inductees will be honored at the 28th annual International Drag Racing Hall of Fame Banquet, to be held on Thursday, March 15th, 2018 in Gainesville, Fla. at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center Gainesville, which has just completed a multi-million dollar renovation. Additional details will be announced at a future date.
The Hall of Fame inductees include:
Jeb Allen (Redding, Calif.) – Jeb Allen was the youngest (at the time) to win the Top Fuel class at the National Hot Rod Association’s (NHRA) Summernationals in Englishtown, N.J. in 1972. In 1981, Allen was also the youngest (and still is) to win the NHRA Top Fuel World Championship in 1981 at the age of 27.
Kelly Brown (Gazelle, Calif.) – Top Fuel racer Kelly Brown won the 1978 NHRA World Championship driving in the legendary Brissette & Drake entry. In 1979, he joined the “Over the Hill Gang” team, winning four events including the prestigious U.S. Nationals.
Gary Densham (Menifee, Calif.) – Gary Densham, an independent Funny Car racer who began in 1971, built and tunes his own race cars for three decades before joining John Force Racing in 2001. In five years, Densham won eight races. He continues to race today on a limited NHRA schedule.
Roy Fjastad (Mission Viejo, Calif) – Roy Fjastad’s Speed Products Engineering (SPE) company “perfected” the concept of fixture built chassis to assure repeatable performance behavior, supplying 225 chassis to racers. Fjastad later worked in the street rod market using the same fixture concept to start Deuce Factory. His latest company, Full Bore Products produces specialized tools for engine and chassis builders. He also has been a fixture in the Land Speed racing arena with a streamliner car, and a Modified Roadster.
Jim Oddy (Mooresville, N.C.) – In the 1960s, Jim Oddy raced in the “Gasser” classes, setting records in the NHRA Northeast Division. He retired from driving in the 1970s to launch Oddy’s Automotive and build race-winning powerplants. In the late 1980s, he and driver Fred Hahn debuted a revolutionary late model Corvette in the IHRA’s Pro Modified class, winning a dozen races.
Oliver (Ollie) Riley – (La Verne, Calif. – deceased) – After being approached by the NHRA in 1954 to develop a portable, repeatable drag racing timing system, Ollie Riley, who helped design Top Secret timing mechanisms for guided missiles, accepted the challenge. He was also involved with the creation of the “Christmas Tree” race starter.
Greg Sharp (Pomona, Calif.) – Greg Sharp, historian and curator of the Wally Parks/NHRA Motorsports Museum at the LA County Fairgrounds, was the NHRA Director of Historical Services in 1995. In that role, he helped create the Wally Parks/NHRA Motorsports Museum and was named the curator when it opened in 1998. He has won the Pioneer Award from the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2010.
Now retired career employee of General Motors Herb Fishel (Ann Arbor, Michigan) was named the recipient of the Founder’s Awards. The recipient of the annual Patricia Garlits Award will be announced at a later date.
The inductees will be honored at the 28th annual International Drag Racing Hall of Fame Banquet, to be held on Thursday, March 15th, 2018 in Gainesville, Fla. at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center Gainesville, which has just completed a multi-million dollar renovation. Additional details will be announced at a future date.
The Hall of Fame inductees include:
Jeb Allen (Redding, Calif.) – Jeb Allen was the youngest (at the time) to win the Top Fuel class at the National Hot Rod Association’s (NHRA) Summernationals in Englishtown, N.J. in 1972. In 1981, Allen was also the youngest (and still is) to win the NHRA Top Fuel World Championship in 1981 at the age of 27.
Kelly Brown (Gazelle, Calif.) – Top Fuel racer Kelly Brown won the 1978 NHRA World Championship driving in the legendary Brissette & Drake entry. In 1979, he joined the “Over the Hill Gang” team, winning four events including the prestigious U.S. Nationals.
Gary Densham (Menifee, Calif.) – Gary Densham, an independent Funny Car racer who began in 1971, built and tunes his own race cars for three decades before joining John Force Racing in 2001. In five years, Densham won eight races. He continues to race today on a limited NHRA schedule.
Roy Fjastad (Mission Viejo, Calif) – Roy Fjastad’s Speed Products Engineering (SPE) company “perfected” the concept of fixture built chassis to assure repeatable performance behavior, supplying 225 chassis to racers. Fjastad later worked in the street rod market using the same fixture concept to start Deuce Factory. His latest company, Full Bore Products produces specialized tools for engine and chassis builders. He also has been a fixture in the Land Speed racing arena with a streamliner car, and a Modified Roadster.
Jim Oddy (Mooresville, N.C.) – In the 1960s, Jim Oddy raced in the “Gasser” classes, setting records in the NHRA Northeast Division. He retired from driving in the 1970s to launch Oddy’s Automotive and build race-winning powerplants. In the late 1980s, he and driver Fred Hahn debuted a revolutionary late model Corvette in the IHRA’s Pro Modified class, winning a dozen races.
Oliver (Ollie) Riley – (La Verne, Calif. – deceased) – After being approached by the NHRA in 1954 to develop a portable, repeatable drag racing timing system, Ollie Riley, who helped design Top Secret timing mechanisms for guided missiles, accepted the challenge. He was also involved with the creation of the “Christmas Tree” race starter.
Greg Sharp (Pomona, Calif.) – Greg Sharp, historian and curator of the Wally Parks/NHRA Motorsports Museum at the LA County Fairgrounds, was the NHRA Director of Historical Services in 1995. In that role, he helped create the Wally Parks/NHRA Motorsports Museum and was named the curator when it opened in 1998. He has won the Pioneer Award from the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2010.
