Gene Hartley, of Roanoke, Ind., will best be remembered as the driver who captured USAC’s inaugural race, held January 8, 1956, at the Allen County Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind. The son of Ted Hartley, who himself competed as a Midget racer into his 70s, was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1985 and earned 31 USAC Midget victories, which still ranks among the top-10 on the all-time list and he was among the “top-three” in USAC National Midget points five straight years (1957-1961). In 1959 he was crowned the champion of the USAC National Midget Series. In addition to his Midget racing, he also competed in AAA and USAC Championship Cars and among his 10 starts in the Indianapolis 500 was a 10th in 1957 and three 11ths. At the famed Langhorne (Pa.) Speedway in 1956 he finished second behind George Amick. After retiring as a driver, he joined forces with racer Leroy Warriner as co-promoter at the Indianapolis Speedrome. In 2016 the Indiana Racing Memorial Association erected a commemorative plaque in Roanoke to Hartley’s honor. Gene passed in 1993.