MIKE JEWELL DRIVER

Bob Pierce in the process. Through the years, Richmond was the scene of a number of major victories for the Hoosier pilot, including an unprecedented nine wins in their annual Butterball Wooldridge Memorial event.

Kentucky record books reveal when it came time for special events, Mike’s winning ways were displayed across the entire Bluegrass State. He’s collected hardware for victories from the Ralph Latham Memorial at Florence, the Fall Classic and the Friday Night Rumble at Ponderosa, the Spring Sizzler, Kentuckiana Clash and Stars and Stripes Classic at Bluegrass, along with many more. He was also crowned the 1993 UMP Kentucky State titlist and champion of the Battle of the Bluegrass DirtCar Series in 2005 and 2006.

At Brownstown, he is remembered as a champion and won titles in 1991 and 2011. Mike scored wins there in the Kenny Simpson and Lee Fleetwood Memorial races along with two victories in the Hoosier Dirt Classic.

His popularity with the fans, promoters, and competitors alike brought about by his easy-going, friendly demeanor earned him the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame’s Sportsman Award back in 2007. Mike has also been honored where it all began for him, at the Brownstown Speedway, with induction into their Hall of Fame in 2009.

Now retired from competition, Mike sealed his legacy as one of Indiana’s finest weekend dirt racers, doing it primarily with a self-financed operation while also helping raise a family and managing a full time position as a supervisor for the highway department. Earning over 300 main event triumphs on dirt ovals with very little controversy, nice guy Mike Jewell is a perfect selection for induction to the Hall of Fame.

CONTRIBUTING INDUCTEES in the Hall of Fame are a collection of the many who have through the years gone over and beyond the call of duty to assist in entertaining the ticket paying patrons. The track announcer is a main artery to each and every racing program and this year’s Hall of Fame Class delivers one of the finest microphone masters the sport has ever known - Rick Eshelman.

At an early age, Rick knew he wanted to somehow be involved in auto racing. In 1976, he landed a job as a track official at the Flat Rock Speedway in his native state of Michigan although he had his sights set on a line of work he truly preferred – track announcer. When the position opened in 1979, Eshelman was asked to give it a shot, and evidently he fit like a glove and he continued his role in the booth at the Michigan oval for the next 20 years. During his tenure there, he also took on the duties as co-announcer at the Toledo and Oakshade Speedways in Ohio.

As the new millennium began, Rick switched his attention to announcing weekly dirt racing at Oakshade and the Limaland Motorsports Park. At this time, he was named the house announcer at

ALL ACROSS THE wide world of dirt

Late Model racing there are announcers, and there are announcers - and then there is James Essex. The 59-year-old veteran broadcaster will be taking his place among the best of his trade as a contributing inductee in this year’s Class of the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame. Debuting as a step-in replacement, the Greensburg, Indiana, veteran at the mic has called events for a good portion of his life to become one of the most familiar voices in all of dirt Late Model racing.

It all began tagging along with his parents to watch stock car racing at the old 25th Street Speedway in Columbus, Indiana. In 1969, the Essex family made the move down the road Saturday nights to the popular ¼ mile Brownstown Speedway. At the time, his mother worked as a correspondent sending in race results to the local newspapers and James assisted.

James was a familiar face around and in the press box of the southern Indiana speedway and one night when the regular announcer was a no show, 14-year-old Essex was asked to fill the void. It was a move that laid the foundation for a highly regarded 40-plus year career in entertaining race fans all across America.