Story by David Sink of Little 500 Hall of Fame
Columbus, Indiana native and former Little 500 competitor Butch Wilkerson will be the guest speaker at the May 23 Little 500 Induction Ceremony Luncheon. The ceremony will take place the afternoon of the 67th annual Pay Less Little 500 at Anderson Speedway.
Wilkerson was a force to be reckoned with during his Little 500 tenure. He competed in eleven events from 1967-79. He drove for some of the most prolific car owners in Little 500 history including: Dizz Wilson, Karl Kinser, and Jack French among others. He set on the front row on three different occasions.
His best finish in the Little 500 was second place in 1972. It is a race Wilkerson to this day feels he should have won. Wilkerson contends a scoring error robbed him of the win in his finest Little 500 effort. Wilkerson returned in 1973 to finish third and complete back-to-back podium finishes. Wilkerson led four different event for a total of 525 laps.
Wilkerson will talk about past Little 500 events as well as the transformation of the event over the years while serving as guest speaker. This year will mark the 26th anniversary of the Little 500 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony which will be sponsored by Bell Helmets and Big Joe’s Event Services.
The “Class of 2015” is in the final stages of being finalized and will be announced in the coming days. For ticket info please call Pat Hellis (765) 288-4587. Fans are welcome to attend this event.
