Shaver celebrates with track...
Shaver celebrates with track personnel who donned tuxedos for the event.
It should be noted that there were other classes for this prestigious three-day dirt weekend. In addition to the Dirt Late Models, there were 24 Pure Stock Cars, 24 Super Dirt Stocks, and 32 UMP Modifieds. That provided a pit-filling total of 172 cars.
Through the years, the money to win has continued to rise with the prestige of the event-all the way to its current handsome $50,000-to-win figure.
But before the war on the track began this year, it was time for the Hall of Fame's fourth induction ceremony, carried out at the starting line of the track in front of a full grandstand.
Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame...
Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame inductees included retired competitors Rodney Franklin, Floyd Gilbert, and the late Butch Hartman; active drivers Ed Dixon, Ed Sanger, Chub Frank, and Ronnie Johnson; and Major Contributor honorees Bob Miller, Bob Newton, and Larry Shaw. The Sportsman Award went to Mike Balzano.
And what a class it was. In the Retired category, there were Rodney Franklin, Floyd Gilbert, and the late Butch Hartman, with Active Drivers including Ed Dixon, Ed Sanger, Chub Frank, and Ronnie Johnson. Major Contributor honorees included Bob Miller, Bob Newton, and Larry Shaw. The Sportsman Award went to Mike Balzano.
And then it was time to race. But there is also an interesting Hall of Fame connection to the race. In the 21 North/South 100s before this year's show, 15 of the races have been won by Hall of Fame inductees. The late Jack Boggs won it three times, with Pat Patrick, Donnie Moran, Scott Bloomquist, and former NASCAR driver Jeff Purvis each winning it twice. Single-race winners include Rodney Combs, Bob Pierce, Chub Frank, and John Mason.
The trend, however, didn't continue for the 2004 North/South 100. Steve Shaver, from Vienna, West Virginia, showed the way to the checkered this year.
On an extremely fast track, Shaver took the lead on the 47th rotation and was never headed. The field contained several Hall of Famers, but the night belonged to Shaver. The West Virginian, $50,000 richer, probably didn't mind sharing the night with the retired drivers who were inducted into the Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame.
1. Steve Shaver
2. Jimmy Mars
3. Brian Birkhofer
4. Shane Clanton
5. Earl Pearson Jr.
6. Darren Miller
7. Tim Hitt
8. Davey Johnson
9. Wendell Wallace
10. Jerry Rice
11. Mark Vineyard
12. Greg Johnson
13. RJ Conley
14. Josh Williams
15. Eric Myers
16. Victor Lee
17. Billy Drake
18. Ted Nobbe
19. Jack Sullivan
20. Mike Marlar
21. Rick Corbin
22. Freddy Smith
23. Steve Landrum
24. Chad Smith
25. Donnie Mor