David Hobbs
One of the things that’s really cool about racing is that it believes in its halls of fame, which by extension means that it really honors those who built its past. One of the longer-established institutions is the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America, originally based in Novi, Michigan (for which the legendary Indy car was named), but now located in the Detroit Science Museum. One of its inductees is David Hobbs, the British racer, 2009 inductee into the hall, and current Speed TV play-by-play co-host for F1, who has also contributed commentary to Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car.
Hobbs will emcee the induction of the hall’s newest members (chosen, in part, by yours truly) on August 24 at the Fillmore Theater in Detroit. Seven new stars of racing will be enshrined: Donnie Allison, the Alabama Gang stalwart in NASCAR and former Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year; Sid Collins, a legendary radio voice of Indy from the early 1950s through the 1970s; Roger McCluskey, who won championships in USAC sprint cars, stock cars and Indy cars; Augie Pabst, a fabled American sports car driver, particularly in the early Scarabs; Ed “The Ace” McCulloch, a prolific drag winner in both Top Fuel and Funny Cars; Bruce Penhall, the greatest Speedway motorcycle racer the United States has ever produced; and Ed Winfield, a genius-level machinist and carburetor builder of the 1920s who likely invented the aftermarket speed business.
Ed Winfield