Story By: DINO OBERTO / MAHONING VALLEY SPEEDWAY – LEHIGHTON, PA – The 2023 class of inductees into the Dorney Park Speedway/Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame was formally announced this past Saturday night at Mahoning Valley Speedway during the annual Fan Appreciation Night.
The 12th installment of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony – being held and honoring individuals who made a lasting impression between the two eastern Pennsylvania asphalt tracks – will be held on Sunday, November 5 at the America on Wheels Museum in Allentown.
This year’s honorees for Dorney Park include Larry Saeger who was the 1971 Late Model champion. Dennis Stauffer, a top Late Model winner during the mid-1970s. Zorro Engler, whose real name is Rodney Nolf, excelled in Sportsman Modifieds from the early to mid-1960s and the Miller Brothers Racing Team who not only fielded winning cars in the Sportsman Modifieds but also worked diligently behind the scenes in many different capacities at the Park.
For Mahoning Valley Speedway the late Paul Strohl, a formidable Late Model racer who later helped weekly with the wrecker crew heads the list. Bill Swartz Sr., who was affixed with Mahoning Valley when the track first opened in 1957, first as a driver then a longtime car owner up until his passing in 2006. Penny Faust, who is credited as the first female to win a regular division feature race with the Pro 4 class and Amanda Sesely, who was the first female to win a Modified feature and was also a top winner in the former D/A Modified division.
Also Robert “Bob” Hatcher will be inducted as a member of the media. Hatcher is a noted historian/statistician who has continued to chronicle and promote the racing between Dorney Park, Mahoning Valley and Evergreen Raceway as well as several other area race tracks via his hugely popular Facebook page.
The Dorney Park Speedway/Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame ceremony began in 2011 and was started by racing photographer brothers Bob and Dale Snyder.
Since 2020 Mahoning Valley has been holding Hall of Fame Tribute races which pays honors to those currently in the HoF.
The November 5 event will begin at 11:00 am with race cars on display. The introduction of the 2023 recipients will start at 1:00 pm in the upper hall of the museum. The America On Wheels Museum is located at 5 N. Front Street in Allentown.