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The champions from the inaugural SPORTSnationals in 1974 have been named grand marshals of the JEGS NHRA SPORTSnationals, which returns to Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Ky., May 27-29. Longtime North Central Division Starter Bill “Redman” Floyd will be honored as the honorary starter.

All of the five 1974 champions -- Jimmy Scott (Pro Comp), Dick Krieger (Comp), Paul Mercure (Modified), Bobby Warren (Super Stock), and Joe Moore (Stock) -- remain active in NHRA Drag Racing in some form, and Mercure and Warren are Hall of Famers.

Mercure was inducted into the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1998, and Warren was the first Sportsman racer to be inducted into Don Garlits’ International Drag Racing Hall of Fame, in 2010.

Floyd began working at his local dragstrip, Edgewater Sports Park, in 1971 and worked on the starting line in 1978 at the Springnationals in Columbus and at the U.S. Nationals. He became the Division 3 starter in 1983 and has continued to be an integral part of the North Central Division’s Certification Team. He also works in pit control at several NHRA national events.

“JEGS is proud to recognize the 1974 champions and NHRA Division 3’s Bill Floyd at this year’s event,” said Scott Woodruff of JEGS. “Recognizing the 1974 champions like this is a great way to show how important the heritage of this event is at Beech Bend Raceway. Honoring ‘Redman’ is well-deserved and was a natural choice. He has flipped the switch for all three generations of the Coughlin family and several other racing families, for that matter, and we are pleased to recognize him for his years of service to NHRA, its racers, and its families.”
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