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Hot Shoe Hall of Fame Welcomes Flat Track Stars
National AMA Race Winners Join Two-Wheel Legends in Free Las Vegas Event
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (Jan. 12, 2024) – Led by AMA Grand National race winners Chuck Joyner, Larry Palmgren, Keith Mashburn and Darryl Hurst, a group of top flat track racers will be inducted in the 2024 “Hot Shoe” Hall of Fame Museum when the popular 2024 “Hot Shoe” Hall of Fame and Motorcycle Industry Celebration takes place on Saturday, Jan. 27, at the Las Vegas’ Notoriety Theatre on the famed Las Vegas Fremont Street Experience (450 E. Fremont St., 3rd Floor). The event is free to attendees.
Joyner, Palmgren, Mashburn and Hurst were top challengers in the AMA Grand National flat track national tour in the 1960s and 1970s and produced some of the most exciting dirt track racing of that era including winning features on Mile, Half-Mile, TT and Short Track national races.
“Each year we receive top riders’ ‘Hot Shoes’ and their racing records and there was little doubt about the top flat trackers this year with Chuck, Larry, Keith and Darryl,” said Gene Woods, founder and curator of the “Hot Shoe “Hall of Fame and Museum at Las Vegas’ Fremont Street. “This foursome leads a great group of dirt track racers into the ‘Hot Shoe’ Hall of Fame this year. Not only were these guys great racers but they also helped advance the sport behind the scenes in a variety of ways. We are excited to honor our 2024 inductees here in Las Vegas on Jan. 27.”
Joyner, a TT Steeplechase specialist, was a dominant force in the Northwest at tracks like Castle Rock, Wash., and Clackamas, Ore., and rode his Triumph to AMA Grand National wins in 1973, 1975, 1976 at the fast Washington track and at the famed Peoria, Ill., TT Grand National in 1978. Known for his popular National Number 60, the Oregon City, Ore., racer was the 1974-1976 Eastern Conference Expert Champion and 1976 Western Conference Expert Champion. He was named to the Washington State Hall of Fame in 2017.
Palmgren, one of the famed Palmgren brothers racing lineup, was a factory Triumph and Harley-Davidson rider who recorded AMA Grand National features in 1969 at the prestigious Indianapolis Mile and the Reading Half-Mile. He also captured the 1969 “Race of Champions” at Louisville for the ABC-TV “Wide World of Sports’ telecast. The three-time Pikes Peak Hill Climb champion was also a famed engine builder and tuner in the AMA tour.
Mashburn, former Simi Valley mayor, was a phenom in Southern California motocross, TT and flat track action in the 1960s with variety of victories at Ascot Park and other SoCal dirt tracks. Riding a factory Bultaco, Keith put his name on map by defeating the likes of Roger DeCoster, Joel Robert, Dave Bickers and other European stars in a 125cc motocross race at Castic Park. He moved to the Ascot oval and TT where he was the top Novice rider and later rode the factory Yamahas on the AMA Grand National circuit.
Mashburn, a 31-year firefighter, later helped serve as an official for several motorcycle museums and federations and currently is the president of the “Hot Shoe” Hall of Fame in Las Vegas.
Hurst, a Houston, Tex., racer, scored a popular hometown AMA Grand National short track win over Kenny Roberts, Gary Scott, Mert Lawwill and other stars in the 1975 season opener. Hurst earned his AMA National Number and competed on the national circuit for several years before working at the family’s Yamaha and Ossa dealership in Katy, Tex. Hurst Supply has become a top national motorsports part dealer and continues to be a popular destination for motorcycle riders across the country. Hurst’s nephew was former world road racing champion Kevin Schwantz.
Over 70 new inductees will be honored at the Jan. 27 Las Vegas affair as part of the 2024 class for the “Hot Shoe” Hall of Fame and Motorcycle Celebration in the popular “meet and greet” event at 6 p.m.
Woods, “Hot Shoe” Hall of Fame president Mashburn, the “Hot Shoe” Hall of Fame Board of Directors and the event staff have worked hard to produce the “Hot Shoe” Hall of Fame Museum Celebrations attended by a star-studded list of motorcycle legends. The “Hot Shoe” Hall of Fame Museum, full of steel shoes from numerous motorcycle icons, is located at the Gene Woods Racing Experience karting track in the Fremont St. Experience in Las Vegas.
The “Hot Shoe” is the symbol that recognizes the cream of the crop of motorcycle racing stars who used a very specialized tool, the steel shoe, to assist them in navigating the dirt track corners.
For more information on the 2024 “Hot Shoe” Hall of Fame celebration, visit the website at www.hotshoehof.com or on Facebook at “Hot Shoe” Hall of Fame. For Las Vegas hotel discounts, please visit the website at www.hotshoehof.com for these hotels or call El Cortez Hotel, Code – HSHFO124, 800.634.6703 and The “D” Hotel, Code – DCHS24, 702.388.2400
Contact: Tom Blattler, TB Communications, tomblattlercomm@gmail.com, 317.525.5692
