Mechanicsburg – This Friday’s Lynn Paxton Tribute race at Williams Grove Speedway will honor the driving career of one of the oval and areas most iconic sprint car drivers, Lynn Paxton of Dillsburg.
Area 410 sprint car stars will come together to honor the now 75-year old former driving ace and current historian in a 25-lap main event paying $4,771 to win.
The winner’s share on Friday night is meant to honor two of Paxton’s most iconic rides in the 1970s and 1980s, the Maynard Boop No. 1 and the Al Hamilton No. 77.
Across Paxton’s entire career he recorded 225 career sprint car wins including 43 at Williams Grove alone to go along with the 1979, 1981 and 1982 track titles.
In addition, Paxton owns two super modified wins at Williams Grove Speedway.
Other notable highlights of his driving career at the oval including a trouncing of the World of Outlaws in 1979 and a pair of victories in the prestigious season opener.
In what was indeed a rarity, Paxton tied Dave Blaney for the win in an All Stars race at Williams Grove in 1982.
Paxton scored the prestigious Williams Grove National Open twice in his career, in 1982 and in 1983.
And then at the height of his career upon claiming the 1983 event, the prolific pilot announced his immediate retirement from the sport at age 39, in victory lane.
The veteran will meet and greet fans in the infield of the speedway on Friday night from 6 – 7 pm where a live Facebook broadcast will also take place during the same time on BeerHill Gang TV.
Other notable guests slated to appear include Paxton car owner Al Hamilton and Paxton mechanics Dave Brown Sr. and Bob Moore plus representatives of the Boop’s No. 1 team.
Several restored Lynn Paxton sprint cars will also be on display for the special event.
During the decades of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, the popular pilot wheeled for cars owners such as Harold Hank, Ree Smith, Roy “Shorty†Emerich, Al Hamilton, Bob Benchoff, Maynard Boop, Roy Morral, Bob Weikert and for himself as an owner/driver for a brief period.
Adult general admission for the show is set at $18 with youth ages 13 – 20 priced at $10. Kids ages 12 and under are always admitted for FREE at Williams Grove Speedway.
Gates will open at 5:30 pm with time trials slated for 7:30 pm.
The 358 sprints are also on the program.
Keep up to all the latest speedway news and information by visiting the oval’s official website at www.williamsgrove.com or by following the track on Facebook and Twitter
