DIVERSE FOURSOME ELECTED TO NYSSCA HALL OF FAME

Clifton Park, NY A trio of terrific drivers with diverse backgrounds and an outstanding starter have been elected to the New York State Stock Car Association’s Hall of Fame, with induction set for NYSSCA’s annual banquet on January 20th at the Turf Inn in Albany, NY. Western New York superstar Merv Treichler actually had two Hall of Fame careers, one on asphalt and the other as a DIRT kingpin. On asphalt, he won the Race of Champions on the treacherous Langhorne, PA mile in 1970 and later took his unique Monza to Victory Lane at Daytona International Speedway and Watkins Glen. Along the way, he claimed countless short track wins and track championships, including four at Lancaster Speedway. Equally fast on the dirt, Treichler topped a great short track career with three New York State Fair wins and back-to-back Super DIRT Week triumphs on the treacherous Syracuse mile in 1981 and ’82. Dirt bullring specialist Chuck Akulis dominated the competition at Southern Tier tracks such as Five Mile Point, where he notched nine straight modified championships (‘77-’85) on his way to a career total of fourteen. In one eight-year span late in his career, 1989 to 1996, Akulis claimed an amazing 51 wins at Five Mile Point alone. At nearby Penn-Can, he added another ten titles, with two more in the record book at Afton. Akulis also ventured to central New York, where he tied another DIRT legend, Alan Johnson, for the ’88 Canandaigua championship and won numerous events at Cayuga County and Rolling Wheels. Ageless Jim Langenback becomes the first NYSSCA Hall of Fame member from the Pro-Stock ranks as he winds down an incomparable career on the high banks of the Lebanon Valley Speedway, where he recently completed his 45th season of competition. Langenback’s resume shows over 130 wins, three Pro-Stock titles at the Valley and one at Accord. He was also the first winner of his division at Syracuse (’97) and despite staying close to home in recent seasons, still ranks in the top ten in DIRT Pro-Stock wins. Langenback is also held in high regard for his mechanical and fabrication skills, as he is one of the few racers today who builds rather than buys his equipment. John Tallini, known to many fans as "The NASCAR starter" for his years atop the flag stand at Utica-Rome, Albany-Saratoga and Riverside Park during asphalt modified racing’s "golden years", completes the class of 2006. Tallini started his 25-year career as assistant starter at Hudson, NH but moved to New York when Joe Lesik opened the Utica-Rome Speedway in 1961 and flagged there for 18 years as well as ten seasons at Lesik’s second venture, the Albany-Saratoga Speedway. Tallini was the Riverside Park starter from ’76 to ’84 and also flagged for NASCAR at such diverse facilities as St. Eustauche, Quebec, Wasilla, Alaska, Rochester’s Monroe County Fairgrounds and with the legendary Johnny Bruner at Fonda and Daytona. Tallini cites "the Champ", Rene Charland, as the biggest "character" he dealt with while lauding the Richie Evans/Geoff Bodine "crash at the checkers" at Martinsville, VA as his greatest racing memory. After induction at the NYSSCA banquet, the four new Hall of Fame members will be added to the permanent Hall of Fame display in the Racing in New York gallery at the Saratoga Automobile Museum in Saratoga Springs, NY.