dFresno race fans love to talk about the good old days such as when three generations of the Vukovich family made headlines at the Indianapolis 500.

But the truth is, the glory days are here again as the World of Outlaws sprint car team owned by Dennis and Teresa Roth has already racked up 17 victories in 2026 with The Finals in Charlotte, North Carolina, left on the schedule.

In addition, Corey Day of Clovis — who cut his teeth as a teenager notching prestigious sprint car titles — is third in the NASCAR’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series standings with two races remaining.

Day’s ability to cut through traffic and find the fastest line on a variety of tracks has produced four O’Reilly victories this season, and earned him a part-time schedule on NASCAR’s premiere Cup Series next season.

Day is just 20 years old and represents the future for Hendrick Motorsports, the team that developed Jeff Gordon and Kyle Larsen into NASCAR legends.

Roths Have Made More Than 140 Appearances in Victory Lane

However, this coming Thursday night will belong to the Roths as they’ll be inducted into the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame at Valdez Hall downtown. And, a couple of decades from now, Day will likely honored by the FAHOF as well.

The Roths’ love of sprint-car racing is unmatched and so is their success. Wherever the No. 83 appears in America, it draws widespread fan interest because of the skilled drivers the Roths employ, as well as their dedication to building fast sprint cars.

Michael “Buddy” Kofoid is the team’s latest star driver, succeeding legends such as Danny “the Dude” Lasoski, Tim Kaeding, and James McFadden. The Dude not only delivered the Roths their first World of Outlaws victory, but also took the checkered flag at the Knoxville Nationals in 1998.

Because of ill health, the Roths won’t attend Thursday’s induction. Instead, team manager Todd Ventura will represent his aunt and uncle at the ceremony.

“She (Teresa) keeps me going,” Dennis Roth said upon his induction into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2022.

Said Teresa: “I just go along with the program. … to support whomever is racing at the time, more of being a moral support. I don’t go to the pits or do any work on the car.”

For Dennis Roth, from when he started the venture in the early 1990s with the “Beef Packers” car until now — more than 140 victories later — sometimes feels like a blur.

“It’s gone by fast, but it’s been a great career,” said Roth. “I want to thank my drivers and the fans. We have met a lot of very nice people along the way.”

Derek Carr Headlines Class as FAHOF Returns to Convention Center

The return to the Convention Center Hall also celebrates the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame’s rebound from COVID-19 challenges that forced the nonprofit to reduce the scope of the event.

And with Derek Carr, the record-setting Fresno State and Las Vegas Raiders quarterback, headlining the inductees, a large crowd is expected. Carr will join his brother David Carr, a 2017 inductee, in the FAHOF.

Derek Carr played for the Raiders for nine years in Oakland and Las Vegas. With the Raiders, Carr accumulated 35,222 passing yards and a passer rating of 91.8. Selected in 2014 with the 26th pick in the NFL Draft, Carr holds many Raiders franchise records, including:

• 35,222 passing yards, well ahead of runner-up Ken Stabler (19,078)
• 217 passing touchdowns. Stabler again is the runner-up with 150.
• The single-season passing yardage mark of 4,804 yards in 2021.

At Fresno State, he was the 2014 recipient of the Sammy Baugh Award as college football’s best quarterback.

Carr retired before the 2025 season due to shoulder injuries suffered with the New Orleans Saints.

“My motivation was to leave a legacy, to impact generations, especially my family, and I believe that doing that work on the field has led to being able to bless people off the field,” Carr told The Business Journal.

A Look at the Inductees

In addition to Carr and the Roths, these are the other FAHOF Hall of Fame inductees for 2026:

— Kerman native Ruth Barcus, a 25-time national sailing champion. Barcus earned her first national title in Seattle in 1973. Over the next 30 years, she became the dominant figure in San Juan 21 racing, amassing more national championships than anyone else in the sport.

— Longtime Caruthers High School football coach Tom Casanova. When Casanova retired in 2014 after 28 seasons at Caruthers, he had amassed 203 wins, second all-time in Fresno County. In 2015, Casanova was among 12 coaches named a model coach by the California Interscholastic Federation.

— The late Bill Tatham, a Fresno businessman and sports magnate who who owned teams in the World Football League and U.S. Football League, and was part-owner of the NBA’s Utah Jazz. He also founded Fresno’s Copper River Country Club.

— The 1958 Coalinga College baseball team. That season the Falcons became the first community college baseball team from Fresno County to win the state championship. The team’s ace pitcher, LeRoy Gregory, starred at Fresno State and had a long pro career that included a season with the Chicago Cubs.

“We are excited about this class,” said Dan Taylor, the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame’s executive director. “They are an inspiring group of achievers who reaffirm that Fresno truly is a cradle of greatness.”

(Disclosure: GV Wire News Director Bill McEwen is a board member of the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame.)