RPW Column: Glen Ridge Motorsports Park’s ’23 Hall Of Fame Class Has Long History At Speedway

Column By: TOBY LAGRANGE / RPW – FULTONVILLE, NY – The name Hall of Fame means different things to different people. To some, it means a place for the best of the best in that particular area expertise to live for all-time and for others it’s more like a museum dedicated to keeping the sports memory alive.
Regardless of how you view a Hall of Fame one thing will always remain true for those who become a member of one and that is the feeling of appreciation, excitement and humbleness.
It was in the summer of 2018 that the Glen Ridge Motorsports Park Co-Promoter Butch Hazzard approached myself about starting a Hall of Fame for the fast, quarter mile in Fultonville, New York. With my appreciation for Halls of Fame and my experience in bringing the Fonda Speedway Hall of Fame back to life in 2015, he asked me to organize it, assemble a committee and get things started.
So we did just that and later that summer the first class was announced and then enshrined. The first class included three racers and the family that built the facility. The Hayes Family was joined by Bob Vedder, Randy Hotaling and the late Don Warner.
After the success of the inaugural class, the Hall of Fame committee went back to work in 2019 and selected five more inductees (which is the maximum allowed by committee bylaws) – former promoter Bob Niemetz, car owner and sponsor Bill Nelson, the father-son Street Stock super duo Bob and Rob VanAernam (together), driver Butchie Irwin and former track official and driver Denny Tillison.
With Covid-19 restrictions not allowing a class of 2020, the 2021 class featured a one-time only class greater than five. The seven inductees included driver Bobby Varin, officials Angela Hanson and Dan Kingsley, former promoters Jake Spraker and Mike Romano, media member Jim Ellis and track supporter, the late Dave Joslin.
Last season five more inductees entered the Hall of Fame which would include two families, two drivers and an all-around track supporter. They were the Constantino’s (John and Georgie), the Demitraszek’s, Danny Ballard, Frank Blanchard and Bob Lansing.
The 2023 class was inducted this past Sunday afternoon. For the first time the inductions took place before the scheduled racing program at the beautiful pavilion behind the track, which offers an amazing view of the Mohawk Valley.
The new inductees featured a family and three people that were instrumental in the 20-year history of stock car racing at The Ridge and one family that dominated the karting days at the original version of the track.
What follows are excerpts from the speech that I have, introducing each Hall of Fame member.
Everything kicked off with Elmo Reckner.
If you are a race fan or a racer then you all know who Elmo Reckner is. From his days in the Street Stock division at the Albany-Saratoga Speedway where he was the track champion in 1980, to every track here in the Capital Region, Elmo Reckner has been a fixture in our sport.
He has not just been a fixture…but an unmeasurable asset who has helped many budding racers get behind the wheel.
In 2010 the Reckner family opened Elmo’s Speed & Supply and ever since the next generation of racers in our area had a place to go for whatever they needed.
At The Ridge Elmo has sat in victory lane five times as a driver in the DIRTcar Modified division and many more as a sponsor and mentor.
Next would be the first family of the class – The Sampson Family (Jerry, Sr., Gloria and Jerry, Jr.)
The Glen Ridge Motorsports Park Hall of Fame Committee is very much a pro-family group. Families are what keep us all going and are what created The Ridge in the first place. Some families are recognized due to their on-track success and others because of their support either behind the scenes or as ones who took a risk to ensure the track would continue on.
Our next inductee is not just one person or a group…it’s a family that did all of those things and then some.
They have supported The Ridge and many drivers over the years as a sponsor and as a car owner. They also spent a short time as the promoters of the track that we all call home.
Clem DaBiere would be the next inductee.
Our next inductee goes hand and hand with the Sampson Family and to be completely honest, you cannot honor one without including the other.
After all, it was the Sampsons that gave him the nickname,” Clem Ridge”.
One year ago we inducted Bob Lansing into the GRMP Hall of Fame. In my introduction during his ceremony, I mentioned that he had done pretty much everything that one could do here at The Ridge…from track work to cleaning the bathrooms to even announcing.
Well, there is one more person that you can add to the exclusive Mr. Everything List that Bob currently calls his own…Clem DaBiere.
Clem did pretty much all you could do over the years here at Glen Ridge…and I should know, because for a couple of years I was working right alongside of him…even if I didn’t want to. You see Clem and Gerry had an unwritten rule…if I wanted to have fun on Sunday, I had to help with the no so fun work the days prior.
It is kind of funny because they almost echoed the rules my grandparents had. Maybe that is why I respected both of them so much.
The Swartz Family would be next to enter the Hall of Fame.
Our next inductees will not only have the honor of being inducted into the GRMP Hall of Fame but they will be the first of the kart racers to be enshrined.
While the Glen Ridge Motorsports Park is celebrating its 20th season of stock car racing in 2023, the actual history of the quarter mile goes back a few more seasons. The original GRMP was smaller than the current layout and offered weekly kart and slingshot racing every Saturday night.
The number of karts and slingshots that used to pass through the gates each week were huge and without the records to prove it, would be unbelievable today. Karting would continue on a few seasons after the stock cars took over but not for long.
During those early years one family name dominated above all others…the Swartz family.
While father Jeff and son Ryan did the bulk of the winning during those years, it was a true family effort that continues today with daughter Kirsten in the Slingshot and Limited Sportsman divisions. Unfortunately, the records from those karting days are no longer available however for those of us who were here, there is no denying who sat on top.
The final inductee was the late Bob James…aka BOBCO.
I have always frowned on the term saving the best for last…however in this case, I think it fits perfectly. All of our inductees here today hold an equal place in the heart of The Glen Ridge Family, so when I say that we saved the best for last, I mean we saved the best in his field for last.
His field is videography and the best was without a doubt the late Bob James…aka BOBCO.
Prior to today’s streaming services, if you wanted to watch local racing at home you needed to buy a CD…and before that, a VHS video. Over the past few decades, here in the Capital District and for a large time here at The Ridge, that meant purchasing a video from BOBCO Racing Videos.
From his weekly videos to the one thing that I couldn’t wait to get each year…the annual Crash Video, Bob’s work was the best around.
I can tell you his Crash Videos are still a big hit in my house as my two sons love watching those, even if they cannot fathom what a VHS tape is.
Bob James did more for racing than just sell videos. He was the director of the New York State Stock Car Association and long-time member, he helped others get into his field and he helped announcers like me when they first started out and a whole lot more.
The current Glen Ridge Motorsports Park Hall of Fame Committee members include myself, Hazzard, Ed Biittig, Sr., Jim Ellis and Bob Lansing.
My view of Halls of Fame is a bit different than most. I think in order to be enshrined in a hall of fame that you should be the best of the best, in what you do or the person who was integral part of the entity that makes up the hall of fame.
Regardless if the hall of fame is along Otsego Lake or about an hour northeast in the Mohawk Valley, those who are enshrined there deserve the recognition that they receive and the memories that they will bring back to life for generations to come.