Inducted 2000 – Competitor – Stock Car Racing
Like car racer Greg Moore and motorcycle racer Yvon Duhamel, Junior Hanley does not need a lot of introduction. He started racing in 1961 as a drag racer. By 1970 he was the Maritime Champion of stock car racing. He moved to Oakville, Ont., in 1975 where he raced and won championships in southern Ontario and the United States. He has won Copper World titles in Arizona and the World Series of Asphalt Racing series at New Smyrna Beach, Fla., during Daytona Speedweeks. He has won CASCAR championships ACT Tour championships and competed on the ASA and Busch Grand National circuits. A master car builder, he has build short-track cars for, among others, Bill Elliot, Alan Kulwicki, Mark Martin, Kyle Petty, Dick Trickle and Darrell Waltrip. One very interesting thing about Junior is that he only delivers a car to a customer after he has test-driven it in racing conditions. A legend in his own time, Junior continues to race and win today, primarily in the Kendall Oil Series for late models in Ohio and Indiana. He is one of the last of a breed: the short-track racer who races for a living.