WEEDSPORT, N.Y. — Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame inductee Ralph Quarterson died June 23. Quarterson was 80 years old.
Quarterson was inducted into the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame in 2010 and is well known for his sprint car and modified racing exploits particularly in western Pennsylvania.
Starting in 1959 in a cutdown No. 66 coupe owned by his father, Ralph Quarterson scored his first win in his rookie year, at the long-gone Ashtabula County Fairgrounds in Ohio.
Equally proficient in both sprint cars and modifieds, Quarterson decisively stamped his mark on both, pulling double duty for much of his career, many times sweeping the night.
Quarterson will go down in history as “The Master of Mercer,” for his success at Mercer Raceway Park. No other driver could ever get around that tricky egg-shaped track like he did. From 1965-’80, Quarterson racked up 149 wins at Mercer — 97 in sprint cars, 48 in  modifieds and another four in a late model in the sole year that class ran weekly at the track.
His 14 championships in three divisions solidify his standing as Mercer’s most accomplished driver of all time.
Quarterson’s resume also includes four titles at Lernerville Speedwayand a pair at Butler Speedway. He won the Western PA Sprint Championship five times, twice topped the #1 Cochran Cavalcade Sprint Car Series and claimed the inaugural All-Star Circuit of Champions title in 1970.
In addition to his election to the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame, Quarterson was also inducted into the Pittsburgh Circle Track Club Hall of Fame in 1993, the Lernerville Speedway Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Mercer County Hall of Fame in 2012.