Every year that Ralph Sheheen attends Iowa’s Knoxville Nationals, he pays a visit to the nearby National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum.
Many of his racing heroes have already earned their place in the prestigious facility — including Steve Kinser, A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti — and paying homage to their legacies is one of the many reasons he regularly walks the halls.
He just never thought he’d join them.
“You dream of it,” Sheheen said. “You think, ‘Wow, it would be amazing if that could happen, but what are the odds?’ Then you kind of laugh at yourself and walk away.”
On Friday morning, National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Executive Director Bob Baker announced on Facebook Live that Sheheen was one of 13 inductees in the Hall of Fame’s class of 2023. The motorsports broadcaster was selected in the promoter-official-media-sponsor category.
“This one is really special,” Sheheen said. “It’s one of the most prestigious Halls of Fame in the world. If you’re into that part of motorsports, which I’m extremely passionate about, you can’t get any more prestigious than that.”
While Sheheen’s connection to Knoxville dates back 30 years, his passion for sprint car racing began even earlier in life. A native of Northern California, he was raised on sprint car, motorcycle and drag racing action.
When he was five years old, he witnessed Andretti, Foyt, Bobby Unser and Johnny Rutherford battling on dirt in a USAC Championship Car race at the California State Fairgrounds in Sacramento.
“Now I’m going into the Hall of Fame with all four of them,” Sheheen said, audibly stunned at the thought.
Over the decades of his storied career in motorsports media, Sheheen has taken on roles in various industries through his work at ESPN, TNN, SPEED Channel and FOX, among others.
He announced World of Outlaws Sprint Car races on TNN alongside fellow Hall of Famer Brad Doty. He earned a national following as a pit reporter during a 10-week stint at the Slick 50 Sprint Car Series in Arizona — a winter race series that debuted on TNN in 1992.
As a broadcaster, one of his career highlights was calling the first Knoxville Nationals that was televised live. And now, his ties to Knoxville will remain permanent following his induction into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame on June 3. The co-owner and president of SPEED SPORT, Sheheen will join longtime National Speed Sport News editor Chris Economaki as an honored media member in the Hall of Fame.