Jimmy Horton had already reached the pinnacle of Dirt Modified Racing by winning at Super DIRT Week. Now, he’s been added to another elite group.
The Neshanic Station, NJ competitor was inducted into the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame earlier this month, an achievement earned after 50 years behind the wheel.
But despite his accomplishments, Horton’s career goal was simple. He just wanted to race.
“I don’t want to say it’s the ending of a great career; it’s a career that keeps on going,” Horton said. “But I’m thankful for the people that appreciate what I’ve done for the past 50 years. I never thought of it that way because I always wanted to race. It was just a race. When the checkered flag dropped, we were just thinking about the next one.
“That’s what I did, and I never thought it would ever be this good.”
“The Sensational One” earned 465 wins at 37 tracks in his Hall of Fame career. But two of his most significant wins came at the New York State Fairgrounds during Super DIRT Week.
After knocking on the door to Victory Lane, Horton finally reached the pinnacle of Northeast Modified racing in 1987—a win that he said helped his career tremendously.
“We got a big weight off our shoulders,” Horton said. “It’s a race I led so many laps in before that and just couldn’t win it. It’s almost like we won it on a race we shouldn’t’ve and lost many of them that we should’ve won.”
Horton also found success racing on pavement. He made 48 NASCAR Cup Series starts and earned eight ARCA wins.
But he loved returning to the Northeast and racing on dirt, leading to his second Super DIRT Week triumph in 1994.
“When I started running ARCA races and came back with the 87 car, I actually left (Ken) Schrader’s shop that year to come back and run for Dutchess (Overhead Doors),” Horton said. “We won Syracuse in ’94, and it was like. Wow, we can do this and keep doing it.
“That’s what made it. It was just a race; we just won the race.”
As Horton looks back on his 50-year career, there isn’t a memory he can single out as one of his favorites. However, he said he loved all of the pomp and circumstance of driver introductions, which he did 46 times before the green flag at Super DIRT Week. That includes six starts at Oswego Speedway.
“There’s a lot of favorite memories,” Horton said. “The best memory I have is probably walking across the stage at a race and hearing the cheers. That just shows me that I’m doing my job.”
While Horton joined an elite group with his Hall of Fame induction, another driver will join him as a Super DIRT Week champion during the 52nd edition of the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 on Saturday, Oct. 12.
For tickets to Racing’s Biggest Party Oct. 7-12, visit SuperDIRTweek.com.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all of the Super DIRTcar Series action on DIRTVision, either online or with the DIRTVision app.
