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HALL OF FAME
WESTERN SPRINGS SPEEDWAY
HALL of FAME
The Western Springs Speedway Hall of Fame is established to honour and applaud the achievements and contributions made by individuals who have enhanced the rich heritage of Speedway at Western Springs with iconic dedication and performance.
It is not an alternative to any other hall of fame or award. It is expressly to pay tribute to the people who have excelled by contribution or as a competitor at Western Springs Speedway.
The inductee process will be as close as we can to chronological order starting with the founding of Western Springs Speedway and progressing stage by stage through the years a group at a time.
The first inductees
About 1926 two men recognised that the Western Springs waste land could be converted to a high international standard venue for speedway. They travelled abroad on a fact finding mission and put a proposal plan to residents and council for development and construction of the stadium.
Work commenced in 1927. Volunteers, residents, relief workers and council all in a joint effort had the speedway completed in November 1929 and the first speedway meeting was held on the 30th December 1929. Western Springs Speedway was acclaimed as the finest quarter mile Speedway Stadium ever made and through its rich heritage, still holds that reputation today.
The two men who had the foresight and drive to instigate and complete this project are our first inductees.
They are:
Messrs: Jack Kay and A.J. Roycroft
Speedway commenced at Western Springs in the form of motorcycle broad-siding. (Speedway Bikes)
Instantly one rider showed he was a cut above the bunch and excelled as a motorbike racer for many years. He was our first New Zealand Speedway Bike champion.
Inductee:
Alf Mattson
In 1937 the first ever midget meeting in New Zealand was held at Western Springs. There were five Americans, Three Australians who brought cars and two New Zealanders had built cars to compete at the meeting. One New Zealander had mechanical problems and didn’t compete but the other did race his car. Not only did he build the car here in New Zealand but he actually won the second race against the overseas drivers. This made him the first New Zealander to win a midget race. He continued racing midgets for a while winning four features. As a lover of motor sport he ventured into other forms of car racing. A great personality and campaigner of motor racing.
Inductee:
Gerry Mathieson
He was amongst the first midget car racers. An icon racer in every sense of the word. He was a successful pioneer of overseas midget racing where he competed in America, Europe and Australia. Although he spent a large amount of his racing career overseas, he returned to compete in New Zealand as regularly as he could and enthralled the crowds with masterful driving. He was our first midget champion. He won three New Zealand midget titles, 27 feature races at Western Springs, 5 seconds and 2 thirds.
Inductee:
Frank (Satan) Brewer.
Our next inductee is also an iconic legend of speedway racing at Western Springs. This inductee is extra special to us because he is a living legend. His midget racing career started in 1944-45 season. He is the only driver to have won both the Junior New Zealand and New Zealand midget titles in the same year 1945. He proved that was no fluke by winning the New Zealand title the next year in 1946. He won it again in 1952. He won 24 feature races at Western Springs 15 seconds and 14 thirds. He was also Australasian champion.
Inductee
Roly Crowther.
To present the trophy to Roly is our current highest international points winner and current New Zealand champion: Michael Pickens.
These hall of fame awards were done at short notice. All inductees will be recorded and their names placed on a Hall Of Fame trophy yet to be designed and constructed.
Pictures of these great icons of Western Springs Speedway will be placed on the walls of our clubrooms and a full account of each inductee’s contribution to the heritage of our speedway will be documented and displayed. 
Western Springs Speedway Icon Roly Crowther is presented with his trophy award for being inducted into the Western Springs Speedway “Hall of Fame” by two times New Zealand midget champion Michael pickens. Roly, our most senior speedway icon and living legend, won four New Zealand midget titles and also the Australasian title. He is a sprightly, cheerful gentleman who at the age of 85 still goes to work every day where he runs his business Lotus Manufacturing. It is wonderful to see Roly turn up to speedway. He is precious to us and a great example and ambassador for our sport. Roly was inducted into the hall of fame on the 7th of February 2008 in our clubroom at Western Springs when we held a celebration to mark 70 years of midgets at the stadium. Michael pickens presented the trophy on the 15th March 2008 which was the night of the New Zealand midget championship. On Saturday evening 2nd May 2009 marked the second presentation of inductees into the Western Springs Hall of Fame. The inductees are as follows. Inductee 1.
This inductee was hailed as one of the cleverest speedway mechanics of the late thirties to late fifties area.
Initially a motorcycle enthusiast he finished second in the 1935 Ixion 1000 mile motorcycle trial.
Becoming involved with speedway racing and helping competitors at Western Springs, he soon became recognised for his outstanding mechanical ability. In 1939 he accompanied Frank Satan Brewer to the USA where the combination of his mechanical ability and Frank Brewers driving skills were a force to be reckoned with. This combination saw Frank Brewer win several Features in the USA.
Returning to New Zealand in 1941 he assisted Frank when he raced at the Springs and other drivers.
In 1952 he decided he could build a car which would compete with the then superior American midgets and in 1954 the car, bright red with white detail and numbered 4 made its début initially driven by Max Hughes. The car was revolutionary with torsion bar suspension and a handful for drivers until Roly Crowther drove it to its first feature win.
The car was modified after Roly had recognised the cause of the problem and Ross Goonan then won the New Zealand midget title in it that first year. Ross Goonan went on to Win a total of 5 New Zealand championships in the car, 19 feature race wins 17 seconds and 12 thirds.
This outstanding mechanic was crew chief for no less than 9 New Zealand championship winners and in 1957 he took the No.4 car to Australia where Ross Goonan drove it to win the Australasian Championship.
At one time he owned No.4 and the Ron Hogan built No.7 and in 1956 he was mechanic for the first second and third place getters in the New Zealand midget car title.
A truly outstanding performer for the sport and mechanic extraordinaire.
Cyril Goldfinch
To date we have not been able to locate a representative of the Goldfinch family to accept this award although we know he has a son living somewhere in Sydney Australia so Gordon McIsaac came forward and accepted care of the trophy to be exhibited in his museum. Presenting the trophy to the safe keeping of Gordon was Shayne Alach the current New Zealand Champion. 
Shayne Alach the 2009 NZ Midget Champion presenting the Hall of Fame trophy to Gordon McIsaac who will hold it in safe keeping on behalf of the Cyril Goldfinch Family
Inductee 2.
This driver started his speedway racing at Blandford Park in 1945. Initially dubbed as a timid driver, he proved to be anything but that. His first success came in the 47-48 season when in the No.38 car he won 3 successive features, he won two features in the 48-49 season and one in 49-50. In 1950 at Palmerston North Speedway he won the 20 lap midget championship. In the 51-52 season driving the No.9 car he won three more features and highest points for the season. In1953 driving the No.2 car won his first Auckland Midget title and in the same year won the New Zealand midget title. In the 1953-54 season, driving the No.2 car he won 4 more features and the Australasian title. He was a thinking and astute driver with canny skills. In 1954 Gordon Watson imported the famous 76 Kurtis Kraft V/8-60. By then this driver was raising eyebrows and selected to drive the car. In 1957 he won the New Zealand midget title and in 1959 he was Auckland champion, New Zealand New Zealand Champion and won 8 feature races. He won the New Zealand title again in 1960. In 1961 he was New Zealand Champion and Australasian Champion. He won the Auckland midget title in 1964 and the New Zealand midget title again in 1967. His midget racing career spanned almost 2 ½ decades starting in 1954 and his last drive was in 1968 when he won the final feature of the season and overall points for that year. He won 40 features at Western Springs, 37 seconds and 21 thirds and was highest overall points getter in a season no less than 6 times. He was 6 times New Zealand Champion and 4 times Auckland Champion. He was a fierce competitor who during his racing career was always the one to beat. After his retirement from driving, he continued to contribute to the sport of speedway and became the ACU referee for midgets at Western Springs.
A competitor of the highest calibre and contributor to the sport.
Ian Holden
To receive this award on behalf of his father Brent, Ian Holden’s son came forward and the presenter of the trophy to him was Michael Pickens this seasons NMCS champion and two times NZ Midget champion.
Michael Pickens presents the Western Springs Speedway Hall of Fame to Ians son Brent Holden Inductee 3.
This inductee, competed in midgets, starting his involvement with speedway in 1966 when he purchased his first midget. It was an older semi junker but it was a start and wasn’t long before he was updating and trying a variety of combinations with his cars. He had Holden, Vauxhall, Chevy 2, V/W, and other engines in his cars. As visiting drivers brought new ideas and chassis configurations like high bar, low bar, coil over etc. this person was trying them all. He became noted for his energy and effort, so much so that at any time you could go to his garage behind his house and there would be at least two or more other cars there with owners working on them using the facilities there. He could be rated as a constantly competitive driver and did win 3 three feature races at Western Springs 5 seconds and 10 thirds. He also won a New Zealand Midget title. Although he was a good competitor with pristine looking cars, it is the effort he put into providing race-cars, equipment, back-up and repairs to the competitors of speedway that is what makes this man an icon in speedway racing. Having built a new car to race in the 1980-81 season, he was approached sell it at the first meeting which he did and from that time on he diverted his energy to building race cars and making parts for them. You have to understand that in those days parts for speedway race cars were just unobtainable. To build a car here in New Zealand normally meant trips to the car wreckers, tube benders, engineering shops and scavenging anything that could be converted to form a component for a race car. Equipment normally used was a gas axe, gas welder, grinder, file and in some cases a drill press. You couldn’t get steering boxes so he made them, front stub axels he made them, rear-ends, front ends, wheels, torsion bars, stops and arms, bumpers, accessories, chassis, bodies and tail tanks, complete cars, repairs and anything needed for midgets or sprint cars became available. He changed our speedway from a bunch of do-it your-selfers to get it of the shelfers and this inductee is where you got it from. He built an incredible 600 race cars in various stages of completion. Some of which were exported to Australia and while doing all of this, he was running his main business. You could say that it was this through this mans effort that speedway had some of its golden years of racing with cars, equipment and back-up to challenge the American and Australian visitors in fact he kept those visiting internationals on the track as well. He helped so many people, it’s almost unbelievable. The racing heroes, the stars, the wannabees, the glamour boys and car owners during those years were all to be seen at his race car shop. At any day or night till sometimes the early hours of the morning, you could go to his place and it was a buzz of speedway activity. In those years right up till 1997 he was dedicated to developing, building and repairing race-cars.
He owned cars that Ted Tracey and Graham Standring drove, then his son and others. His cars won feature after feature, championship after championship and an incredible 40 plus years on from when he started, he still supports his son Shayne who is our current New Zealand midget Champion. You all know who we are talking about.
Ray Alach
Ray came forward, accepted his trophy award and become an inductee into the Western Springs Speedway Hall of Fame.
Presenter of the award to Ray, was former national champion Ted Tracey. 
Seven times NZ Midget champion Ted Tracey presents the Western Springs Speedway Hall of Fame trophy to his friend Ray Alach.
Inductee. 4.
A fresh face kid arrived at speedway with a Holden powered midget in the year 1974. His father was still racing during that season. He was keen and dedicated, so much so that he owned a midget but didn’t own a car to get it to the track. In that first year of racing, he won the last two feature events of the season. This spurred him on to become a competitor with a burning desire to succeed at speedway. He only opted for the best equipment he could get and he imported cars from the USA, built modified and researched every possibility to have combinations that he could win races with. He did win races and championships. Throughout his racing career, he had lady luck on and off his shoulder. He had his share of tumbles and expensive mechanical failures but every-time he came bouncing back determined that he would continue to win races. He visited the USA and showed his speed there but a blown tyre, engine failure and a nasty crash that injured his wrist deprived him of major success in the USA although the Americans and Australians when they visited New Zealand certainly had no doubt of his driving ability. His successes were never handed to him on a plate. He worked for, paid for and earned every inch of success he achieved. His incredible record as a midget racer tells the story.
49 feature wins at Western Springs, 34 seconds, 26 thirds. He won his first New Zealand midget championship in 1977, he won the title again in 1978, then for a third time in a row won the New Zealand title in 1979, He won the new Zealand Midget Grand Prix in 1981 and also the New Zealand Midget title in that same year. He was top points scorer in the International series 1982, Coca-Cola grand national winner 1983, world 30 lap champion 1983, New Zealand midget champion 1984, New Zealand Midget Champion 1987, CTRA champion 1988, Highest points scorer in the International series 1990 Auckland Champion 1992, highest points scorer in the International Series 1992, and in his last year of racing 1993 he was captain of the New Zealand Test team and in that same year, he won the 50 lap world derby, and the New Zealand Midget title for un unprecedented 7th time. He was an international team member 4 times and if silly politics of speedway didn’t intervene allowing less deserving drivers into the teams he would have appeared more times but of the four times he was a team member he was highest points scorer 3 times.
In his final season, 1993 he won 5 features at Western Springs including the last feature of the season and he retired winning the final race of his career and reigning New Zealand Champion.
We are so pleased to have him join us tonight.
Ted Tracey
Ted came forward and accepted his trophy award and became an inductee into the Western Springs Speedway Hall of Fame.
Presenter of the award to Ted was former champion Graham Standring.
Two Champions together. Graham Standring presents the Western Springs Speedway Hall of Fame trophy to Ted Tracey | 
