Sege Fidanza earned the top honor of his long and illustrious racing career as he and four others were inducted into the Friends of Auto Racing (FOAR Score) Fan Club Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Along with Fidanza, others inducted at the ceremony at the Elks Club in Lancaster were race

supporters Marilyn and Don Toal; dirt Modified racing veteran Brian Stevens and racing

pioneers Dick McCrossan and the late Norm Demler.

Fidanza basically retired from asphalt Modified racing after winning his 10th Dunn Tire

Raceway Park (formerly Lancaster Speedway) Modified championship last season.

In his 40-year career, he posted 124 Modified wins at that facility, most of any driver. He

also twice won the most prestigious annual race in asphalt Modified racing, the Race of

Champions at Oswego Speedway, in 1998 and 2003.

When asked about his driving retirement, Fidanza left the door open, suggesting that the

fans may not have seen the last of this veteran campaigner.

Fidanza said DTRP's decision to run the Modifieds on a very limited basis the last few

seasons factored heavily into his decision to retire last fall. The class is scheduled for

only five races at DTRP in 2010.

"The way things are going they're not going to be racing a lot and it's too much work for

just the few times you race there," said Fidanza. "It's not worth it anymore.

"But my career was a whole lot of fun, especially the two Race of Champions victories and

I've met a lot of nice people. I'd do the same thing all over again, probably.

"I might race an SST Sportsman car a few times next season and there may be a Modified for

me to race a few times but I'm not sure yet."

The Toals are longtime race supporters as officials and fan club organizers and are best

known for the successful Race of Champions lap sponsorship program they organize, lead and

execute each season. It is estimated the couple has raised between $550,000 and $600,000 to

help the drivers in the ROC.

"We're really proud and honored that they selected us," Marilyn Toal said. "When I got the

call I was shocked, but I didn't realize until tonight that I'm the first woman to go into

this Hall. It means a lot to both Don and I and I can tell you that the sponsorship letters

for this year's Race of Champions will be going out in May, so we're still going strong."

"We've enjoyed racing for so many years and I don't know what to say," addeded Don Toal.

"It's just fabulous. I hope we can keep going for another few years."

Stevens joined his father, Ray, in the FOAR Score Hall of Fame. Brian Stevens has raced for

30 years and won over 100 races on his way to multiple Merrittville and Humberstone Speedway

Modified titles.

"I was looking at the Hall of Fame list earlier and I wanted to see how many other father

and son combinations are in there and I saw four," said Stevens, who will most likely race at

Merrittville again this year.

McCrossan was a racing pioneer who retired from driving in the mid-1950s but went on to

serve in other roles in the sport such as an administrator for the races at Buffalo's Civic

Stadium as well as promoting at Little Valley Speedway.

"It's a nice turnout tonight," said McCrossan. "I like the way this club brings local

racing history forward the way they do. I was primarily a driver. I liked it a lot better than

the promoting part because a driver doesn't have to worry about all the details that race

promoters do."

Demler was a car owner in the USAC Champ Car division and scored four top-fives in the

Indianapolis 500. He owned cars from 1958-66. His cousin Eugene Demler represented him at the

ceremony.

The club also honored last season's local champions and handed out several specialty

awards. Amy Catalano, who won the Spencer Speedway and SST Sportsman Tour championships and

three SST feature races at Holland NASCAR Motorsports Complex, became the first woman named

the club's Driver of The Year on Asphalt.

"It was an exciting night and a great year," said Catalano. "[The award] hasn't sunk in

yet."

Ryan Susice was selected Driver of the Year on Dirt.

Other award winners included: Mat Williamson, Rookie of the Year on Dirt; Patrick Emerling,

Rookie of the Year on Asphalt; Tom Kemp, Most Improved Driver on Dirt; Tim Welshans, Most

Improved Driver on Asphalt; Kevin Aube and Pete Stefanski, achievement on dirt; Bill Putney,

achievement on asphalt; Kirk Sherwood, perseverance; Zacharias Racing, sportsmanship; and

Debbie Drennan and Susan Lewis, mechanical achievement.

Also: Pete and Linda Cosco, promotions; Eric Zwirlein, media; Ken Hangauer Jr., Dick

Hammond Dedication to Auto Racing Award; Bennett family, special recognition; and the Newton,

Willard and Fleetwood families, Family in Racing awards.