DeGRAFF — Shady Bowl Speedway will pay tribute to perhaps the most popular driver to race at the rural oval. It will be the “Neal Sceva Memorial, Remembering a Legend” night Saturday. The track will honor the memory by running twin 51-lap features paying $1,551 each. The Late Models and Street stocks will compete in the two big races.
Sceva, who called Urbana home, raced full time and owned a Sunoco Service Station on the north edge of Urbana. He won races all through the Midwest during his career. He was a NASCAR state champion in the early 1950s and went on to post over 600 feature wins. Perhaps the biggest win was at Salem Speedway (Ind.) when he and Joe Ruttman dueled for the win. The duo crashed coming to the checkered, with Sceva awarded the win.
Sceva battled cancer in the twilight of his career for a second time and passed away in June of 1985.
The pure stocks, compacts, super compacts and spectator drag cars will round out a night of speed and memories. Racing will begin at 7 p.m.
