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2007 DIRTCAR Hall of fame induction

Modified veteran Dave Heaslip has been selected as a
2007 inductee into the DIRT MotorSports NorthEast
Hall of Fame. Induction ceremonies are scheduled for
Sunday, May 27 on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds in
conjunction with the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar
Series event at the adjacent speedway.

Forty-Seven years. That almost covers the entire post-
World War II history of motorsports; a time when
returning GI’s were cutting up pre-War cars and taking
them to tracks located in fairgrounds all across the U.
S. and Canada to today’s ground pounding manufactured
cars and engines. Dave Heaslip is one of the few still
active drivers that has not only traded paint with many
of the best drivers in Modified racing history ---many
during their prime years--- but competed successfully
against them.

Beginning his driving career at the old Kingston (Ont.)
Speedway in 1962, Dave has collected over 300
checkered flags behind the wheel of a race car.
Including 121 DIRTcar-sanctioned 358-Modified feature
victories and 4 DIRTcar Big-Block Modified wins,
Heaslip has registered nine track titles on the DIRTcar
circuit having won season championships at Cornwall
Motor Speedway (1983, 1984, 1995), Autodrome
Edelweiss (1995, 1996, 2003), Can-Am (1993) and
Frogtown (1998, 2004). While chasing track titles has
always been important and a prime motivator to his
career, the father of five grown children and a
grandfather has never really chased the small block
series except in 1983 and 1984 when he placed third
each year in the Mr. DIRT 358 title hunts. The “Slip” is
also the only driver to win at least one Small-Block
main event every season since the first Mr. DIRTcar 358-
Modified champion was crowned in 1983 (and already
copped the ’07 Edelweiss opener to extend the streak to
25 straight years!).

Dave got his start in motorsports in 1954 when as a 9-
year old he accompanied his father Ken to the old
Edgewood Speedway in Alexandria Bay, NY. While never
a driver himself, Ken Heaslip fielded a car that was
driven by Doug Battams and numbered “GO”, for
Gananoque, Ont., where the family home was then
located. While never a big name team and scoring no
wins at either Edgewood on Sunday afternoons or on an
occasional Friday night foray to Kingston, Ont.
Speedway, the experience did whet the appetite of Dave
who started his own driving career in 1960 at ripe
young age of 15 piloting an old Pontiac Coupe at the
now closed ¼-mile Kingston oval.

Friday nights at Kingston and Saturday nights at
Watertown (NY) Speedway comprised a two-track circuit
that featured the toughest competition on either side of
the St. Lawrence River. Dave cut his teeth competing
against such area legends as Woody VanOrder, Tony
Blake, Freddy Gibson, who was inducted into the
Greater Kingston Hall of Fame in 2005, and DIRTcar
Hall of Fame charter member Frank Andre; all drivers
who scored hundreds of wins and garnered dozens of
track championships during their careers.

Painting his father’s car number of “GO” on the door of
that first car, Dave surprisingly doesn’t remember much
about his first win although it came at the Kingston
Speedway sometime in the 1960’s. By the 1970’s, as he
started racking up wins on both sides of the St.
Lawrence River, Dave’s car number changed to R-70.
Owning his own auto recycling center, Falls Iron &
Metal, in his long-time hometown of Smith Falls, Ont.
provided David with his current number 84. “It was
during the time that Gremlin bodies were all the rage
for Modifieds,” Dave recalled. “Auto recyclers always
number their parts when they dismantle a car. And when
I acquired a Gremlin body for my race car it had part
number 84 painted on the sides so I kept that number.”

Truly an international driver, Dave didn’t limit his
racing activities to just the United States and Canada
but also raced a BriSCA F-1 in England in BriSCA World
Finals at Coventry Speedway in September 2003. The
car is tubular chassis that looks somewhat like a
Modified of the 1970’s but has a wing on top of the
roof, small tires and massive side rails and bumpers
because of the high contact nature of that style of dirt
track racing. Ten other foreign drivers were entered in
the race, including experienced Dutch and New Zealand
drivers who regularly raced in England. Each driver
was given two timed laps, the times were added together
and the driver with the quickest total times started up
front. Dave’s total time of 34 seconds allowed him to
start on the inside of the third row. But with the
contact racing style of that type of racing only 10 of
the 33 starters finished the race and Dave was one of
the ones who retired early. Asked if he had any other
memorable wins and of all the top drivers he had
competed against on a weekly basis during his 47 years
of racing Dave thought that his 1993 Championship win
at Can-Am was certainly on top of that list. For much of
the 1993 racing season at Can-Am Dave had been locked
in a three-way season-long points battle with Dave
Camara and Tim Fuller.

The week before the final points race of the season,
Fuller had mechanical trouble and dropped from
contention in the point title chase leaving the final
night of racing to determine if the championship was
going to Camara or himself. Things looked bleak for
Dave on that final points night after he came out on the
loosing side of a run-in with the front stretch wall
during the heat. “Ricky Wilson loaned me his car for the
feature that night,” Dave recalled. Driving a strange
car and starting scratch Dave had motored his way to
second-place but it wouldn’t be good enough because
all Camara needed was a top-five position, which is
where he was running when the field received the
white flag. Then suddenly, coming out of the second
turn on that last lap, Camara tangled with a lapped car
and spun out, thus dashing his hopes for the
championship and allowing Dave to capture the
championship crown. After that race the trade press
gave Dave the moniker of “Mr. October” because it
seemed that many of his wins and success came in the
year end races.

As far as a driver who is probably the best and offers
the toughest competition that I have had on a weekly
basis that is hard to say because I have run against a lot
of great drivers, some of whom are already in the Hall
of Fame,” Dave commented. “But if I would have to pick
anybody I would say that in my 46 years of racing Pat
and Danny O’Brien are hands down probably the best
drivers that I have ever raced against, or seen, on a
weekly basis.”

Now 62 years-old and beginning his 47th year of racing
the “Slip” plans on campaigning for “at least one more
year” with Autodrome Edelweiss, Frogtown and
Cornwall Motor Speedway once again making up his
weekend venues, just as they have for much of this
decade. As for any thought of retirement, “we will see
what happens at the end this season,” Dave offered.
“After 47 years of doing this each and every weekend
there hasn’t been a lot of time left to do other things
and there are still a lot of other things that I would
like to do.” A big part of that decision will come from
how competitive he feels that he is. “I would not still be
doing this if I was not competitive and if I am not
competitive or don’t feel like I can continue to be
competitive then I will retire.”

The DIRTcar Advance Auto Parts Modified Series is
brought to fans across the Northeast by several
sponsors and partners, including series sponsors
Advance Auto Parts, Hoosier Racing Tire and Sunoco
Race Fuels. Promotional partners include AMB i.t., F.X.
Caprara Car Companies and the University of
Northwestern Ohio and the contingency sponsors are
Bert Transmission, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein
Shocks, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Integra Shocks, MSD
Ignitions, Miller Electric Manufacturing Company and
Wrisco Industries.

Hall Of Fame