VALLEJO SPORTS HALL OF FAME
NOMINATION OF PAT HUGHES
CRITERIA
Pat Hughes is a born and raised Vallejoan, schooled at St. Vincent's, Hogan High School and Salano College. He played football (all city and league), basketball and baseball. As he was growing up, he worked for the Vallejo Times Herald (paper boy), GVRD, the Mare Island Ferry Co., and used car lots. After school, he worked at Mare Island in the sheet metal trade and started a race career at Vallejo Speedway. He married wife Debbie in 1977 and has been married for 33+ years. They have two grown daughters.
CREDENTIALS
1972 and 1973 - Raced stock cars and Super Stocks at Vallejo and Petaluma speedways.
1974 - Raced a Vallejo Modified Hardtop that he built and owned and won Rookie of the Year honors.
1975 - Raced a Vallejo Modified Hardtop for owner Vern Kornbrust with Pat at 22 years old and Vern at 21, they easily made the youngest team at the track. He won most improved driver and one main event.
1976 - Raced to the Vallejo Winged Super Modified track championship, at 23 years old, the youngest to ever do it, even though they missed three point races. He won 11 main events in 23 starts. Held the track records for 1 lap, 4 lap, 10 lap, 25 lap and 50 lap events. In 3 double point 50 lap races he won 2 and placed second in the other.
1977 to 1980 - Raced Sacramento Super Modifieds and Sprint Cars against some of the best drivers in the country running as high as third in points. Ran with the Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) sprint cars all over California. Pat was severely injured in a bad wreck at Calistoga Speedway.
1980 to 1985 - Raced amateur motocross for therapy and trophies.
1985 - Raced San Jose Fairgrounds Sprint Cars. Set track record and retired as a driver.
1990, 1991 and 2004 - Pat was the head sprint car official at Marysville and Grass Valley Speedways.
1995 to 2004 - Worked as an instructor at Jimmy Sills Sprint Car Driving School
2000 - At Vallejo Speedway Reunion was top vote getter for their one time Hall of Fame "Legends of Vallejo Speedway". He owned a midget race car that was raced with BCRA and USAC.
Named as one of the most exciting drivers in NARC's 40 year yearbook.
I STARTED DRIVING STOCK CAR #0 WHEN A BUDDY TOLD ME IF I MAINTAINED IT I COULD DRIVE. AFTER ABOUT FIVE RACES IN IT I WAS HOOKED. THEN HARDTOPS WENT TO PETALUMA AND I GOT A RIDE IN A SUPER STOCK ON FRI. NIGHTS AT VALLEJO WHILE I WAS BUILDING A HARDTOP TO OWN AND DRIVE. I WAS ABLE TO RUN THE LAST 5 RACES AT PETALUMA (1973) AND WON MY FIRST TROPHY DASH. NOW REALLY HOOKED! RAN 1974 FULL SEASON AT VALLEJO AND REALIZED I COULDN'T AFFORD TO GO AS FAST AS I WANTED FOR FEAR OF WHAT IT WOULD COST IF I CRASHED. SO I QUIT. LUCKILY VERN KORNBRUST BUILT A HARDTOP #99 AND HIRED ME (1975). WE CLICKED AND I DROVE THREE YEARS IN THREE CARS FOR HIM WITH LOTS OF SUCCESS AT VALLEJO, WEST SAC, AND NARC, BEFORE MY BAD CRASH AT STOGA.
PAT
NOMINATION OF PAT HUGHES
CRITERIA
Pat Hughes is a born and raised Vallejoan, schooled at St. Vincent's, Hogan High School and Salano College. He played football (all city and league), basketball and baseball. As he was growing up, he worked for the Vallejo Times Herald (paper boy), GVRD, the Mare Island Ferry Co., and used car lots. After school, he worked at Mare Island in the sheet metal trade and started a race career at Vallejo Speedway. He married wife Debbie in 1977 and has been married for 33+ years. They have two grown daughters.
CREDENTIALS
1972 and 1973 - Raced stock cars and Super Stocks at Vallejo and Petaluma speedways.
1974 - Raced a Vallejo Modified Hardtop that he built and owned and won Rookie of the Year honors.
1975 - Raced a Vallejo Modified Hardtop for owner Vern Kornbrust with Pat at 22 years old and Vern at 21, they easily made the youngest team at the track. He won most improved driver and one main event.
1976 - Raced to the Vallejo Winged Super Modified track championship, at 23 years old, the youngest to ever do it, even though they missed three point races. He won 11 main events in 23 starts. Held the track records for 1 lap, 4 lap, 10 lap, 25 lap and 50 lap events. In 3 double point 50 lap races he won 2 and placed second in the other.
1977 to 1980 - Raced Sacramento Super Modifieds and Sprint Cars against some of the best drivers in the country running as high as third in points. Ran with the Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) sprint cars all over California. Pat was severely injured in a bad wreck at Calistoga Speedway.
1980 to 1985 - Raced amateur motocross for therapy and trophies.
1985 - Raced San Jose Fairgrounds Sprint Cars. Set track record and retired as a driver.
1990, 1991 and 2004 - Pat was the head sprint car official at Marysville and Grass Valley Speedways.
1995 to 2004 - Worked as an instructor at Jimmy Sills Sprint Car Driving School
2000 - At Vallejo Speedway Reunion was top vote getter for their one time Hall of Fame "Legends of Vallejo Speedway". He owned a midget race car that was raced with BCRA and USAC.
Named as one of the most exciting drivers in NARC's 40 year yearbook.
I STARTED DRIVING STOCK CAR #0 WHEN A BUDDY TOLD ME IF I MAINTAINED IT I COULD DRIVE. AFTER ABOUT FIVE RACES IN IT I WAS HOOKED. THEN HARDTOPS WENT TO PETALUMA AND I GOT A RIDE IN A SUPER STOCK ON FRI. NIGHTS AT VALLEJO WHILE I WAS BUILDING A HARDTOP TO OWN AND DRIVE. I WAS ABLE TO RUN THE LAST 5 RACES AT PETALUMA (1973) AND WON MY FIRST TROPHY DASH. NOW REALLY HOOKED! RAN 1974 FULL SEASON AT VALLEJO AND REALIZED I COULDN'T AFFORD TO GO AS FAST AS I WANTED FOR FEAR OF WHAT IT WOULD COST IF I CRASHED. SO I QUIT. LUCKILY VERN KORNBRUST BUILT A HARDTOP #99 AND HIRED ME (1975). WE CLICKED AND I DROVE THREE YEARS IN THREE CARS FOR HIM WITH LOTS OF SUCCESS AT VALLEJO, WEST SAC, AND NARC, BEFORE MY BAD CRASH AT STOGA.
PAT
Click on photo to enlarge
PAT'S INDUCTION CEREMONY March 15, 2014
SOME PICTURES FROM MY INDUCTION TO THE VALLEJO SPORTS HALL OF FAME.
IT WAS A CLASSY AFFAIR ATTENDED BY 500 PEOPLE PLUS STANDING ROOM ONLY PROBABLY 100. PROUD TO REPRESENT MY HOME TOWN AND TRACK.
IT WAS A CLASSY AFFAIR ATTENDED BY 500 PEOPLE PLUS STANDING ROOM ONLY PROBABLY 100. PROUD TO REPRESENT MY HOME TOWN AND TRACK.
HERE'S AN AWARD THAT I PRESENTED TO MY CAR OWNER AT VALLEJO,
VERN KORNBRUST FOR ALL HE DID TO HELP PUT ME IN THIS HOF.
MODEL WAS BUILT BY ROB EMMONS.
VERN KORNBRUST FOR ALL HE DID TO HELP PUT ME IN THIS HOF.
MODEL WAS BUILT BY ROB EMMONS.
Pat Hughes: "I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT THERE WERE MANY DRIVERS WHO RACED AT VALLEJO SPEEDWAY THAT LIVED IN VALLEJO, LIKE LARRY DAMITZ AND PHIL PEDLAR. SOME WERE MY HEROES. THIS HOF WAS LOOKING FOR A NATIVE BORN, RAISED AND SCHOOLED ATHELETE (?), SO THAT PUT ME AT THE TOP OF THEIR LIST. I FELT THAT WITH THE LONG HISTORY OF THE SPEEDWAY THAT SOMEONE SHOULD REPRESENT ALL THE GREATS. I'M HONORED THEY CHOSE ME."
Thanks Pat for this contribution.
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