Sep 25, 2023 04:56 PM EST
8TH ANNUAL DUTCH HOAG MEMORIAL AT OUTLAW SPEEDWAY TO HAVE A NAME CHANGE FOR 2023 EVENT
Track owner, Tyler Siri announces the two- day season ending show will be renamed “Hoag Memorial” in honor of both Dutch and Dean Hoag.
Story by Kenny Shupp Jr.
(Dundee, NY) When taking ownership of the Black Rock Speedway from then owner, Dean Hoag some eight years ago, Tyler Siri changed the name of the track to Outlaw Speedway, put a new logo into place, brought back the headline Modified Division, added tower space, brought Victory Lane to the fans, included a pit side Tavern known as the Outlaw Speedway Saloon and put various other improvements into motion including a complete re-claying of the 4/10 of a mile oval as well as a convenient Hot Pit area.
He set out to put traditional events onto his yearly schedule including the Spring, Summer and Fall Nationals as well as the season ending Dutch Hoag Memorial.
Siri also booked high profile traveling series including the TEZOS All Star Circuit of Champions, The World of Outlaw Late Model Series along with the Brett Deyo Short Track Super Series.
Some subtle changes have been made over that time with perhaps the most major coming up this October when the Dutch Hoag Tribute Weekend will have a name change as it will now be called the Hoag Memorial to honor both the legendary Donald Dutch Hoag along with his son, Dean.
“Dutch was a wonderful man and a legend in this region as a Modified driver. Dean also had a great driving career primarily in pavement Modifieds, Super Modifieds and Limited Super’s. He purchased this track from Lin and Cindy Hough somewhere around 2005 and ran it for ten seasons before I bought the facility from him eight years ago. Unfortunately, Dean passed away this summer and I want to honor both he and his father in this year’s event by re-naming the weekend to the Hoag Memorial.” That is according to Tyler Siri.
Dutch Hoag passed away on May 11, 2016 and with that Siri set out to name his season ending show in late October, Dutch Hoag Memorial Weekend.
After a battle with Cancer which was diagnosed less than five months prior to his death on March 2, 2023, Dean Hoag passed away and like his father before him, he too left a legacy in the local Motorsports community as a driver, track owner and successful business- person.
After Dean Hoag purchased the infamous Black Rock Speedway from the Hough’s he was able to overcome some insurmountable obstacles including an economic recession which led to a decline in car counts as well as fan- base. Hoag had to make some serious changes to his weekly agenda and season long schedule which included dropping the headline 358 Modified Division and making the Crate Sportsman the new premier class. He opened early in the season (prior to April 1 and ran late (after Thanksgiving) and ended the year with an unheard of $10,000 to win Front Wheel Drive Mini Stock Event which was a huge success and his philosophy of “Start Early and End Late” forced other track promoters to follow suite and take a hard look at season ending back gate programs.
“Dean did some risky things when he owned this place, stated Siri and most of the time he pulled it off. Even though he didn’t run Modifieds weekly, he would bring them back in November for a season ending special and just pack the place after every other track had long shut down for the year. I still like to come out of the gate in early April and end late in October, so a lot of this I owe to Dean who set the bar at this facility.”
For those like me that were close and personal friends with the Hoag Family this is truly an eventful moment.
Having grown up in the Dutch Hoag era when he ran rough shod over the Modified competition in this region on both asphalt and dirt, it was a kids dream to spend time at places like Shangri-la, Fulton, Lancaster, Langhorne, Monroe Fairgrounds, Lebanon Valley, and others.
Dutch even piloted my dad’s 6 Cylinder coupe on occasion at Dundee Speedway in the early to mid- 1960’s.
Dean and I attended school together at Bath/Haverling, graduated in the same 1970 class, fought over the same girls and I spend many years after high school working on his pavement modifieds. It goes without saying I had a close relationship with Dean, his mom Doris, dad Dutch and sister, Donna.
As a journalist, broadcaster and most importantly a fan of racing, I am thrilled to see Tyler make the name change to include Dean Hoag as well as his father Dutch for this season’s Outlaw Speedway October event.
The 8th Annual Hoag Memorial is set for Friday and Saturday, October 20 and 21 which will feature no less than eight different classes that will see competition over the two-day affair.
In the upcoming weeks, more details regarding the Hoag Memorial Event at Outlaw Speedway will be forthcoming in press release form as well as postings on www.Facebook.com/OutlawSpeedwayLLC/ as well as www.outlawspeedwayllc.com.
