Klamfoth, Jones get call from Dirt Track Hall of Fame
11 July 2000
Dick Klamfoth, who is more widely known for his three Daytona 200 victories
than his dirt track racing prowess, and Maldwyn Jones, the legendary racer
who dominated half-mile dirt track racing during the early part of this
century, have been selected for induction into the Dirt Track Hall of Fame.
The induction ceremonies will take place during the September 1-3 Hall of
Fame Labor Day Weekend Classic at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in
Springfield.
Klamfoth stunned the motorcycle racing community when he won the 1949
Daytona 200 in his first-ever participation in the race. The rookie Expert
Norton rider from Ohio not only won the race, he set a new average speed
record on the old beach/road course. Klamfoth would go on to win the Daytona
200 two more times, scoring back-to-back wins in 1951 and 1952 after placing
second in 1950.
Klamfoth never won the AMA Grand National Championship title (the series
was instituted in 1954, but he finished in the top 10 in all but two of the
years during the period from 1954 to 1961. All of his seven Grand National
Championship victories came on half-mile ovals. He scored his dirt track
wins on Norton and BSA motorcycles.
Maldwyn Jones began his professional career in 1910 riding a Flying
Merkel. He was the dominant racer on half-mile tracks for the next 12 years
and he scored National Championship wins while a Merkel, Harley-Davidson and
Excelsior factory team rider.
In addition to dirt track races, Jones competed in board track, road race
and hillclimb events. Although motorcycle racing history is sketchy at best
for the early part of this century, it is known that during the 1915 racing
season, Jones won 24 of the 42 races he entered up to August.
Klamfoth and Jones join fellow inductees Dick O'Brien and Sammy Tanner in
the Dirt Track Hall of Fame Class of 2000. Two additional inductees will be
announced shortly.
Tickets for the triple-header Labor Day weekend of racing in Springfield
are available now. The three weekend races are all point-paying rounds of
the AMA/Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championships. The weekend
opener is a National Short Track on Friday night at an all new track at the
fairgrounds. Saturday will feature the 3rd Annual Dirt Track Hall of Fame
race on the world's fastest dirt track mile oval at the fairgrounds. Led by
Grand National Champion Chris Carr, the stars of the Rolling Thunder Show
return to the mile oval on Sunday for the final race of the weekend. Tickets
for each of the three races are available for $20 per race. In addition, a
limited number of $125 VIP package tickets remain. Call 217-753-8866 for
tickets and VIP information.
