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I have not seen this posted here yet, so I'll pass the info along. This show is well worth it. Might be something to do before you head to TCRP.

Columbus Speedway | 25th Street Raceway Old Timers Reunion

Saturday (Mar 20th) will be our 12th Columbus Old Timers Racing Reunion. Jerry Castor & Dave Norris started this event in 1999 at the National Guard Armory here in Columbus. This years event will again be held at the Bartholomew Cnty 4 H Frgrnds a few miles south of Columbus Ind on highway 11, from 11:00 - 5:00.

There is no charge for admission, but donations to cover expenses are accepted. The donations and our sponsors allow us to keep the event alive and free to anyone who wants to enjoy racing history and looking at some very nice vintage race cars. Each year we also have a few nice current race cars, like the Kunz & Willoughby sprinter and Frank Kimmel's ARCA stock car that were on display last year. We expect to have these cars again this year!! But like most reunions, the people are the most important element!!

This years sponsors are:
CAR QUEST AUTOMOTIVE
COLUMBUS HOSE & FITTINGS
COLUMBUS KAWASAKI
DAVE WEDDLE AUTO SALES
FRANKE'S DOWNTOWN DQ
GRAND RENTAL STATION
JERRY RUSSELL EXCAVATING & TRUCKING
JOHNNY'S COLUMBUS MUFFLER
MUELLER AUTO SALES
National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum, in Knoxville Iowa
NORM THOMAS TRUCKING
NORRIS AUTOMOTIVE
PERCIFIELD RADIATOR SHOP
PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL
RUDY'S AUTO SALES
TERRY CUMMINGS RACING ENGINES, in Bedford IN
WEBB'S RESTORATION

We are expecting about 30 vintage & current race cars to be featured again this year. Bill Spoerle from the IMS Museum is planning to bring us another super nice vintage racer. We rcvd a hint that it might be The Smokey Yunick Sidecar!! Each year one of my favorites that I always look forward to seeing is Joe Cunningham's beautiful 1929 Studebaker Indy Car!! We also have commitments from these very nice race cars: A recreation of the fantastic 1955 Sumar Streamliner Indy Car by Hammer Art in Indy; two vintage sprint cars built by Josh Shaw. Jerry & I went to Cincy a few weeks ago and saw The Ellison Special sprinter that Josh just finished painting. It is a real beauty!! The Shaw's are also planning to bring their Hilborn Fuel Injection Service 32 Ford Pickup, that many of you may have seen on display at The Lawrenceburg Speedway grandstand entrance.

For us motorcycle lovers, this year instead of Roy Caruthers driving down his roadster, he is bringing his Gene "Burritto" Romero's Triumph Flat Tracker!!!! This is the bike that Gene was featured riding, in the famous On Any Sunday movie. It is a very nice vintage racing cycle with another fantastic paint job by Josh Shaw.

A special car we are counting on this year for us drag racing fans, is Ernie Neal's newest creation. It utilizes a 2005 Chevy Cavalier body, that was originally front wheel drive. It now has a tube subframe and rollcage and it is a rear wheel drive with a Chevy V8 engine & 4 Speed Transmission. This car runs the Super Stock GTC class at the drags. The engine is a custom built 350 cubic inch, featuring Electronic Fuel Injection.

Each year we have a Hometown Hero Award that is given to a local racer that achieved stature around this area and possibly national recognition. The two most recognizable names of past winners, are Pat O'Connor(2000) and Larett (Larry) Crockett (2001). Most of you know that Pat lost his life in a horrible crash at The Speedway in 1958. But how many of you know what Jerry reminded me of? Crockett was killed @ Langhorne 55 yrs ago this coming Saturday Mar 20,1955, preparing for his 2nd Indy 500!!!! Crockett was the ROY @ Indy in 1954.

We award a nice engraved plaque to our Hometown Hero or his family. This years Hometown Hero is Johnny Simpson (Johnny's Columbus Muffler)!!!! Johnny and his son Todd have helped so many of the local racers with exhaust systems and fabrication for as many years as they have been in business. Johnny has been involved in all kinds of 4 wheeled racing projects and quite a few racing motorcycles!! Before moving to Columbus in 1956, Johnny was a bicycle racer and worked as a tester for a bicycle tire manufacture in Indy. Johnny normally won the High Mileage Award, that was given to the tire tester that accumulated the most miles each month. They just couldn't understand how it was possible for Johnny to get in so many miles during a test session. I guess they finally figured it out, when they secretly followed him one day. Johnny would ride out the the truck stops on the local highways around Indy and he would hold on to the trucks as they were getting up to speed and then let them pull him for several miles. Then he would catch another one going back toward Indy, before it was his quitting time. What they didn't realize until then, was he was also High Speed Testing their tires.

Johnny opened his first shop in 1961 in a building on 8th St near White River. Then moved to a shop on State St, before moving to their current location on South Mapleton. A fixture at each of his shops was a uni-cycle, which Johnny was a master at riding!! As my buddy Don Poore said, "Johnny was very good at everything he did"!! Unfortunately for all of us, Johnny passed away last spring and as I walked out of the funeral home, I saw a very neat old fashioned hot rod sitting in the parking lot. As I got closer, I realized it was the 32 Ford Coupe that Johnny did so much work on in the 60s. It's current owner and former sprint car driver Ron Ennis, is planning to drive the neat little 32 to our Old Timers this Saturday!!!!

Other Hometown Hero Award Winners are:
2002 Bobby Black
2003 Justin King
2004 Bobby Baker
2005 Wilbur Shaw
2007 Allen Barr
2008 Bob Nichols
2009 Marion (Shorty) Prather