SOMERSET, Ky. — Officials with the Iron-Man Northern Late Model Series have announced the addition of Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville, Ohio, to the series schedule.
The Moran family-promoted track has scheduled the 39th annual Jim Dunn Memorial for May 29. The event will pay $10,000-to-win and $500-to-start.
The event honors driver Jim Dunn, who won the first Dirt Track World Championship race at Pennsboro (W.Va.) Speedway in 1981. Dunn was from Roseville, Ohio, a school teacher by day and racer widely known around the Ohio-West Virginia area.
A memorable moment in the sport was when Dunn started 23rd in the 1981 Dirt Track World Championship and charged his way to the front of the field, passing Rodney Combs with 12 laps to go to take home the $30,000 prize from promoter Carl Short.
Dunn backed up his big payday with the 1982 All Star Circuit of Champions title and started off a strong 1983 Speedweeks with a win right out of the gate. Dunn’s life was cut short on May 8, 1983 at Paducah Int’l Raceway during an NDRA event when his car caught on fire after a multi-car accident.
When the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame started in 2001, Dunn was inducted into the inaugural class.