Story By: RON SZCZERBA / NEW YORK STATE STOCK CAR ASSOCIATION – FONDA, NY – On Sunday, May 5 at the Fonda Speedway Hall of Fame & Museum, five people were inducted into the prestigious NYSSCA Hall of Fame, two announcers who have brought the fans and the drivers the story of what happened during those era’s and three drivers. Making the NYSSCA Hall of Fame even more diverse were 2023 inductees Joe Marotta, the late Jack Burgess, Mitch Gibbs, Dale Planck, and Joe Plazek.
As emcee of the 2023 NYSSCA Hall of Fame ceremonies Dan Martin said at the start of the induction ceremony, “For those of you that are not too familiar with NYSSCA it is probably one of the most diverse Hall of Fame’s that you will ever see”.
Thanks to NYSSCA Hall of Fame sponsors the Bedell Family, the inductees all received a beautiful plaque along with a NYSSCA Hall of Fame jacket and a NYSSCA hat.
“Every one of our inductees has left their mark in the motorsports industry in the great state of New York,” Martin said.
The ceremony began with a thank you from emcee Dan Martin and NYSSCA President Rick Hodge, both thanking Jackie Lape along with Jessica Lape-Schwab and Peter Schwab for allowing NYSSCA to hold the induction ceremony at their museum which is located at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds just behind turn four of the Historic “Track of Champions” Fonda Speedway.
Next two gentleman were inducted that brought racing to the fans via the airwaves, via the PA system, starting in the era when they didn’t have wireless microphones. “They did an interview over the track radio. A lot of information was from notes as there were no generated lineups, they did it their way, they did it old school. They painted a picture for the race fans that would leave memories for years to come,” Martin said.
JACK BURGESS INDUCTED BY JOE MAROTTA
The first gentleman was posthumously inducted into the NYSSCA Hall of Fame, the booming voice that many people will think of when they think of the Moody Mile, that was Jack Burgess. Jack Burgess’ son was scheduled to induct his father into the NYSSCA Hall of Fame but a fall caused issues with his shoulder so he could not attend the ceremony. In his place, Burgess’ long time announcing partner Joe Marotta inducted his good friend.
“Jack Burgess was known as the voice of Super DIRT Week, he held down the fort at the Moody Mile for many years,” Martin said. “He also left memories at many speedways, all across New York State. He was a regular at the Albany Saratoga Speedway during the NASCAR era on the pavement that many people talk about how special of a time that was. To think about what Jack Burgess brought to our sport, at our level, is really amazing and certainly deserving of entering the NYSSCA Hall of Fame.”
“I grew up at the New York State Fairgrounds as a little kid,” Marotta said. “One of the people that I remember the most down there was a guy by the name of Chris Economaki and then a guy named Jack Burgess. Jack really placed memories into me, I always remember the way he announced, and his dedication to the sport. I never heard him say a bad word about anyone, he could always elaborate of the history of the drivers and how well they did.”
“Working next to Jack, it was like working next to a teacher or a professor for me,” Marotta continued to say. “He never said anything about what I had said during the show, but after all of the announcements were made he would say “Little Joe, if I was gonna say it again I would say it this way.” One of the things that I will always remember about Jack, and I say it at the races that I do today is “as my good friend Jack Burgess always used to say you’ve gotta have a favorite out there.”
JOE MAROTTA INDUCTED BY DOUG ELKINS
Doug Elkins inducted Joe Marotta telling the crowd that Joe grew up in Solvay which was next to the New York State Fairgrounds off of turn two. At the age of six, Joe would hear the racecars on the mile at the fairgrounds and from that point on he was hooked on racing. In 1996 he was hired by Bob Benway at Fulton to do press releases. Marotta then met Glenn Donnelly and moved on to the Weedsport Speedway. He announced at the first Super DIRT Week along with other tracks including Orange County, Canandaigua, and Rolling Wheels, and still announces at the Oswego Speedway today.
“I will forever remember the final sign off at the Moody Mile after the final race,” Marotta said. “It was like going to a funeral. What an honor this is to be inducted into this Hall of Fame; you all do a great job with the NYSSCA organization. I remember Jack Burgess and Chris Economaki and I always tried to imitate them.”
“I always wanted to be an announcer, and when I saw a sign posted at the Weedsport Speedway that an announcer was needed at the Fulton Speedway, I applied for the job and went for an interview. I started working there for $25 a night and $5 extra to do a race story. Then an opportunity came up at the New York State Fairgrounds. I was there and remember when Wes Moody turned the first 100 MPH lap at the track, and we gave the track the name the Moody Mile.”
“Richie Evans was an asphalt racer, we all know him,” Marotta continued. “Now I’m gonna tell you how he ended up with the car #61. Opening day at the Fulton Speedway there were four cars all carrying the #6 including Richie Evans. They didn’t have any of the electronic scoring that they have now, so I said that we have to get some of those sixes out of there. I went down and saw Richie and asked him about adding the number one next to the six, to make his car the #61 and make it easier on the scorers.”
“Richie said to me will that make you happy,” Marotta said. “If so it will cost you some Bazooka Bubble Gum who at the time I was a salesman for, so I said okay you have a deal. A couple of weeks afterwards at the Spencer Speedway I was walking through the pit area and Richie said hey common over here I’ve got to show you something. He made his guys take the cover off of the car and it was lettered the #61. Richie then told me that was because of me, and he was the #61 from that point on.”
“I’ve worked with many different announcers at many different tracks, and I’ll tell you it has been quite a ride,” Marotta said in closing. “I’d like to close out just like this, as my good friend Jack Burgess always said you’ve gotta have a favorite out there.”
NYSSCA PRESIDENTS AWARD – SHANE ANDREWS
NYSSCA President Rick Hodge was next to the podium to present the NYSSCA President’s award which is named for an individual or group who is important to the NYSSCA organization. “The award goes this year to an individual who the NYSSCA organization called on for help many times whether it was for the banquet or the Hall of Fame,” Hodge said. “In sincere appreciation for your time and dedication to racing and the list of things that you have done for the NYSSCA organization, it is appreciated and does not go unnoticed.”
The NYSSCA President’s Award was then presented to Shane Andrews.
“I’m speechless about this award,” Andrews said. “I don’t know what to say so all that I can say is thank you. I want to thank Joe Marotta, and congratulate Mitch Gibbs and Dale Planck, they are legends in our sport and Joe Plazek who is a symbol of a Nation.”
THE NATURAL DALE PLANCK INDUCTED BY STEVE WILLIAMS
Dale Planck was next to be inducted by longtime friend Steve Williams who said that he met Dale’s father Denny in 1975 and then Dale himself when Dale was five years old. At the time Dale hung around the garage, climbing into the racecars and playing with his matchbox cars. Dale’s mother started taking him to the races when his father raced, but Dale wouldn’t pay too much attention to it as he was playing with his matchbox cars on the bleachers.
Dale started his racing career in Go-Karts, where it was instilled in him by his father that he would have to work on it himself and figure it all out. Planck put a whooping on the adults in Go-Karts and next he bought a four cylinder car with his own money. Next was a Modified bought from Corky Stockham at the Parts Peddler Auction in Syracuse. A new Olsen car followed that which took him to his first career win at Fulton on 5/27/1989.
Planck was also enrolled in the Richard Petty Driving School setting the fastest time in his class and raced a Late Model at Spencer during his career, but in 1997 backed away from the sport after a very diverse and successful career. Known as the “coach,” Dale continues that role to this day as he and his son Brandon own DIG Shocks, traveling to local tracks in order to help other drivers.
He was known as the “Natural” throughout his racing career and when he took to the podium to accept his award he said that his favorite moments in racing included his first Victoria 200 win and his NASCAR Championship.
“NASCAR came into sanction races at Fulton and Utica Rome when I started racing there,” Planck said. “It was great running two nights a week an hour from home for that much prestige. I raced for a living, and I needed to stay in the sport, so our business DIG Shocks fits right in. When someone we help wins a race it makes me feel good.”
“CANADA” JOE PLAZEK INDUCTED BY SHANE ANDREWS
Shane Andrews inducted Canada Joe Plazek into the NYSSCA Hall of Fame as only the second ever inductee from Canada joining Pete Bicknell. In 1993 Plazek was the first driver to bring a big, enclosed hauler on the scene at racetracks in Central New York. His patriotism showed large with the #1 on the side of both his racecar and the enclosed hauler, the #1 with the Canadian flag inside of it as taken from the symbol of Harley Davidson Motorcycles which used to have an American Flag inside of the #1.
Plazek started racing motorcycles, influenced by his grandfather who used to race motocross. He raced motorcycles for five years but after many injuries decided to get out of the sport. In 1977 he bought his first racecar and raced it on asphalt at Cayuga. In 1982 a co-worker of Joe’s at the family salvage yard Plazek Auto Recyclers had a car and his father Ed told him to race it. Plazek’s career ended in 1999 as he felt that there was no steppingstone from the Modifieds, and the carrot was not there to chase.
During Joe Plazek’s racing career spanning from 1977 through 1999, he was fast on both sides of the border, but was proudest about his success at the Syracuse Mile. “Canada” Joe Plazek, as he was fondly referred to by many, had a total of 68 DIRT Car big block victories, including three straight New York State Fair Labor Day Championships in 1995-1997.
Plazek sat on the front row at Syracuse for the Super DIRT Week October Classic four times, in 1993 he was on the pole for the race while in 1994, 1996, & 1997 he qualified on the outside pole. He currently sits 17th in All-Time laps led in a big block on the Syracuse Mile and won races and championship up and down the Northeast corridor, including championships at Weedsport (1995), Canandaigua (1996 & 1997), and Ransomville (co-champion with Danny Johnson in 1996).
Andrews introduced Plazek to get a few words saying, “you were big time before big time was big time.”
“When I started going to Syracuse I was a back marker,” Plazek said. “It became an obsession for me to get faster. Back in 1983 I was told if you don’t race with the best you aren’t going to be the best. We eventually went from a 15th place car to a 10th place car to a 5th place car. The #1 is iconic, the number is a symbol of Plazek Racing. Our salvage yard is second to none. My father always said if you can’t find it you can’t sell it and that carried over to our racing team.”
MITCH GIBBS INDUCTED BY SHANE ANDREWS
Growing up in North Norwich, NY Mitch Gibbs path into racing was blazed at an early age. The son of the late Robert and Charlene Gibbs, Mitch was introduced into racing by his father who ran Late Models at Brookfield. His father loved racing but he wasn’t a mechanic so he would blow a motor and be done. He struggled but enjoyed it.
When Mitch started racing he didn’t think that winning was possible, but after seeing how his father struggled, Mitch wanted to prove that he could win. He rode to the races in the bed of the truck with the jack, tires, and spare parts because there was no room for him in the cab of the truck. They would sneak him in the pit area because he was too young to get in at the time and he would stay in the cab of the truck and just watch.
In 1979 at 16 years of age, a friend of Mitch’s owned a street stock that was never raced so he finished the car at they took it to Brookfield. After a debate about who was gonna drive it, Mitch got in the car he ran a few laps and blew a tire. That was the last time that car was ever raced. In 1980, Mitch took over the seat in his father’s Late Model, which was a proven winner, but he ended up destroying it. It was a learning curve and Mitch was pretty aggressive when he first started.
Mitch’s car #2G came from the yellow and blue #2 Wrangler car that Dale Earnhardt drove, but the first time that he took it to the track with the #2, there was another car with the same number, so he had to add a letter to it, and he added the “G”. Mitch started racing a Modified in 1983, buying a Troyer Mud Bus from Jack Johnson who helped Gibbs set the car up at his shop in Duanesburg on Saturday mornings in order to race at Fonda.
Gibbs was a short track specialist, the bullrings, where you had to be up on the wheel every lap. The short tracks taught him how to race clean and save his tires till it was the right time to go. A career total of 179 wins and 14 Track Championships, pretty good for a guy who didn’t think he would ever win a race. When asked what his biggest accomplishment in racing was, Gibbs said getting sponsors and taking care of them. After 42 years of racing, Gibbs retired due to issues with his back.
“It has been since 2006 since I’ve been here to Fonda,” Gibbs said. “Fonda is a historical place, there are a lot of big names that raced here along with some of my heroes, and they are in the NYSSCA Hall of Fame. And now I’m on the list with them.