DeGRAFF – Shady Bowl Speedway will honor the memory of car builder Denny Shatto this Saturday night.
The race is held annually to honor the memory of the late Shatto, who built some of the fastest cars to take to Midwest ovals, both dirt and pavement.
In 1958, he built his first car. He piloted this car one time at Shady Bowl before finding out that driving wasn’t for him.
The trend started with this car and produced almost 300 feature wins over the years. His cars always carried the #79 and the #10 until a trip to Baerfield Speedway (Ind.). The track already had a car #10 running and told Shatto to pick another number.
That was when the #110 was placed on the car. The highlight of his racing was when he and fellow Sidney resident Wayne Watercutter teamed up and won a 100-lap feature, stopping a win streak of Robbie Dean on a last-lap pass at Shady Bowl. The duo went on to win several track championships.
Shatto told folks that Shady Bowl Speedway was his favorite track, with Watercutter at the top of the list of drivers who drove his cars. Shatto passed away in 2006, leaving the racing operation to his son Kevin and wife Chris. Kevin has continued the winning tradition with Jim Lewis Jr. of Fairborn behind the wheel. Lewis has posted several feature wins since the team was formed.
This year’s memorial will be for the Dave Nagel Excavating Series Late Models. A 110-lap feature for the race will pay $3,110 to win.
The Wooten Modifieds, Noble Armor Coating Mini Stocks and a 100-lap enduro will also be held. Racing will start at 7 p.m.
