WEEDSPORT, N.Y. Pennsylvania powerhouse and 34-time titleholder Duane Howard, the late New York pro Dale Planck, a multi-time NASCAR and DIRTcar Series champion and Twin Tier titan Billy Van Pelt, who rewrote every record at Woodhull Raceway, will officially be inducted into the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame in July.

These three racing legends add their names to a stellar list of Modified standouts that was started in 1992 when the Hall of Fame was established on the Cayuga County Fairgrounds.

The 33rd annual induction ceremonies honoring the Class of 2025 will take place on July 24 at 7 p.m. in the Northeast Dirt Modified Museum and Hall of Fame, on the grounds of the state-of-the-art Weedsport Speedway.

Two days later, Weedsport Speedway will kick off a blockbuster weekend featuring the Super DIRTcar Series Hall of Fame 100 and World of Outlaws Sprint Cars.

Duane Howard

For anyone from Central Pa., it always starts at Reading. Howards family had box seats at the old Fairgrounds Speedway so he got to see Hall of Famers named Chamberlain, Brightbill and Tobias mix it up each week as a kid.

At 18 he started racing Go-Karts, with help from Alan Finch who worked alongside Duane at the Howard family farm. In 1983, the pair procured a Late Modeland promptly won at Grandview. They made the move to the headlining small-block Modifieds in 1985 and found out fast just how big a jump that was. Putting finances together, learning the ropes, the team went winless for almost three seasons. But once Howard scored that first one, at Big Diamond in 87, there was no stopping him.

Local car owners took notice: by 1989, first Dick then Buddy Biever hired both Howard and Finch. Through 1993, Howard won 25 races and five championships for Buddy, including a Penn National 100 and his first Freedom 76 at Grandview. Exhausted, Howard sat out 1994, returning in 95 driving for Craig Hirthler, then Cary Duncan before landing a pro-level ride with Hall of Fame car owner Glenn Hyneman in late 1997.  Hyneman wanted to race big-blocks so Howard became a regular at Bridgeport Speedway, notching three Modified titles in the No. 126. When Glenn stepped back after the 2005 season, Howard smoothly switched to another high-profile ridethe Chad Sinon No. 4, with his old friend Al Finch as crew chief.

They won right away and kept on winning through 2013. Rides with the Petruska team, Norm Hansell and Hyneman again followed. Since 2021, Howard drives for Butch Getz on a more limited basis. Known as The Diamond Cutter for his mastery of Big Diamond, Howard pulled seven Coalcracker victories and nine championships out of that track.  Hes won the Freedom 76 five times, as well as six titles at Grandview, one at Penn National and four at Bridgeport. Howard is a four-time champion in both the PA Tri-Track/Dual-Track Series and American Racer Cup Modified Series.

He was named NASCAR PA State Champion five times and was third in the country in 2010. His career win list stands at 277 at 14 tracks in Pa., N.J., Del. and N.Y.

Dale Planck

Scheduled for Hall of Fame induction in the Class of 2025, Cortland, N.Y.s Dale Planck tragically didnt make it: at the age of 53, he died suddenly on his way home from Brewerton Speedway on June 22, 2024. Prior to his passing, he made his mark.

A second-generation driver, Dale watched his dad Denny wheel to small-block championships at Weedsport, Brewerton and Skyline in the 1970s. He was born into ita natural, as they say, earning that fitting nickname. Planck started young, a little kid running Karts against the adults in the four-stroke classand winning regularly.

At 14, he graduated to a 4-cylinder Mini-Mod; the following year, 1985, he was standing in victory lane at Five Mile Point and Dundee. The move up to small-block Modifieds, in 86, didnt produce results right away. For two years, Dale didnt even qualify for a feature event. It wasnt until the team towed into Fulton in 1989 that things began to click. And Planck found his home: on the Fulton high-banks he took down 61 victories in his career, four track championships and the 1994 Victoria 200.

The Outlaw Circuitconsisting of Fulton, Brewerton and Utica-Rome in the 80s and 90swas Dales playground. He was a 42-time winner and five-time champion at Utica-Rome. Competing under NASCAR sanction at Fulton and U-R, Planck was regional champion in NASCARs Winston Racing Series three years running, from 199496. Later on, he stormed the rival DIRTcar ranks with equal success, claiming Mr. DIRTcar 358 Series titles in both 2009 and 2012. Dale was a rare entity: with one foot on the Outlaw Circuit and the other planted on DIRT turf, he deftly straddled that deep divide. He showed well everywhere he went: across the Northern border, he was a star at Cornwall Speedway, a three-time track champ. At PAs Grandview Speedway, he outright stole a $6,000 special from the regulars.

Ultimately, Planck is credited with 203 certified wins at 21 tracks in three states and two Canadian provinces. He gave up the wheel to launch Dig Race Products in 2016 with his son Brandon, specializing in shock absorbers and suspension tuning for the Modified trade.

Billy Van Pelt

Following in his older brother Curts footsteps, Westfield, Pa.s Van Pelt got into a big car in 1987. Van Pelt had been racing three-wheelers and snowmobiles until then; Curt poised to win a Mr. DIRT 358 Series title for the Sherwood teamhad left the family car. So Dad Jim tapped the younger son for the seat. The venue was Woodhull Raceway. In the ensuing 35 years, Billy not only dominated at the little third-mile bullring straddling the N.Y.-Pa. border he trashed every track record for all time.

Driving for his father, Ted White, Kevin Chilson, Grant Hilfiger and finally for Chilson again, Van Pelt racked up 198 documented wins and an incredible 23 championships at Woodhull alone. He absolutely understood every nuance of the track: where it could get slickwhere there was bitethe color of the claythe shadows off the wallwhere the room was to complete a pass. No other driver came close.

Fans remember a Man or Mouse challenge instituted by former track promoter Vern Wasson in the mid 2000s: Van Pelt could choose to be a man and elect to start last; or be a mouse and draw for starting position. Billy opted to fall in at the tail of the featureand collected a publicized bonus for the win. But BVPs success wasnt confined to Woodhull. All total, he holds 30 championship titlesin addition to the 23 at Woodhull, Van Pelt won two titles at Black Rock (now Outlaw Speedway) in 1995 and 1997; one at Freedom Motorsports Park in 2018; and four championships in the T3 All-Star Series for 358 Modifieds which took him to eight tracks in Pa. and N.Y.

He has 242 confirmed career victories at eight raceways in N.Y. and Pa., with probably another dozen outliers still unverified. Following a big $5,500 win at Woodhull, his final for Chilson on August 6, 2022, Van Pelt retired on the spot. If I go out on top, then they never beat me, was his thinking. Billy still helps upcoming drivers with setups, which he loves doing, and took over as race director at Freedom Motorsports Park in 2024.

Also being honored at the July 24 induction ceremonies are Vinny Salerno (Gene DeWitt Car Owner Award), Tommy Conroy (Mechanic/Engineering Award), Charlie and Joyce Cathell (Leonard J. Sammons Jr. Award for Outstanding Contributions to Auto Racing), Fred Voorhees (Andrew S. Fusco Award for Media Excellence) and Jane Cella (Outstanding Woman in Racing Award).