This message was edited on
September 06, 2010 at
10:42:26 PM by jalopy11
Thought this might be of interest to some of you. The Elma Auto Racing Hall of Fame in the state of Washington held its 2nd Annual Induction Ceremony on Sunday, September 5th. One of the inductees was Albert "Barney" Peetz. The reason this might be of interest to you in Southern California is a fact we discovered shortly before the ceremony. Barney was the brother of Evelyn Pratt. Sometimes the racing world can be a very small place.
Here is a very short bio on a man that was very important to racing at what is today Grays Harbor Raceway.
Albert "Barney" Peetz
There are those who proclaim that auto racing owes its existence in Grays Harbor to Barney. No not the dinosaur, but one Albert "Barney" Peetz of Aberdeen.
Barney had a vision that auto racing could be a viable activity in Grays Harbor and on March 31, 1955, he signed the papers that incorporating the Evergreen Stock Car Racing Association. This was the birth of what eventually became the Evergreen Auto Racing Association and lead to car racing at the Grays Harbor Fairgrounds.
The first two seasons for this fledgling group were spent at Evergreen Speedway on Clemons Hill in Central Park and then with the support of Peetz among others, the group was able to sign an agreement to race at the Grays Harbor Fairgrounds beginning in 1957.
As in any new venture it takes a dedication and love of what you are doing for growth to occur. Barney exhibited these traits through the hundreds of hours and money invested to make sure the Evergreen Stock Car Racing Association was on solid footing.
Peetz raced his #81 sponsored by Crowell Bros into the 1960s and although he never won a track championship, he was always a top contender on the track. Barney’s championship claim may be the fact that he convinced a group of men to follow his vision and bring auto racing to Grays Harbor.
Albert W. "Barney" Peetz passed away in 1969, leaving auto racing well on the way to becoming the exciting activity we know today.
The Elma Auto Racing Hall of Fame is honored to have the man who helped start it all as a 2010 Inductee.
http://elmaautoracinghalloffame.webs.com
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