This year, 26 district sporting legends are being inducted to the hall of fame, honour roll and junior honour roll categories in the Greater Shepparton Sports Hall of Fame. The News is featuring stories on each of the inductees in the lead-up to the induction ceremony on August 6. Today News reporter Tyler Maher speaks to father-son duo Dennis and Barry Myers, who are being inducted to the hall of fame and honour roll respectively.
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When it came to his enthusiasm for fast cars, Dennis Myers never had a choice — he was born to race.
Myers grew up with speedway racing in his blood, and across 35 years in the sport compiled a list of achievements that rivals the best in the business.
“I started racing in 1985 and due to my dad and my mum I was pretty much born to race,” Myers said.
“I was the first baby born into the Goulburn Valley Auto Club back in the ‘60s and I started racing in 1985 and finished racing in 2008.
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“I've won two Australian championships, six Victorian titles, a NSW championship, there's a series we run nationally I've won 10 times — just a lot of racing.
“Particularly when I was a kid it was my life, when we did art I drew race cars, when we wrote essays in English I wrote about race cars.
“When they had write ups in local newspapers and things Mum or Dad would do it and say Dennis who came third in this race and I would know it. It consumed everything I did when I was a kid.
“Like everybody I had heroes and people I wanted to be as good as. If you ask me, I'm not the best driver in my family, my dad is.”
Myers’ dominance at many levels is why he is being inducted into the Greater Shepparton Sports Hall of Fame next month.
But making the occasion even more special for the speedster is that he will join the ranks of the hall of fame alongside his father Barry.
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Barry — one of the founders of Goulburn Valley Auto Club — was a star behind the wheel as well, dominating the regional Victorian racing scene in the 1970s and snaring the prized title of Victorian Sprint Car Champion along the way.
But having his name on the Greater Shepparton Sports Hall of Fame honour roll rivals any of his achievements in the driver's seat according to Barry.
“Of all the titles I have won, all of the trophies I've got and all the good races I remember, I think to be nominated for this is probably one of the best (feelings) — it's up there with winning the state title,” Barry said.
“(I got into speedway racing) by accident.
“I went to what they called at that time hot rod racing in 1965 and a friend of mine and I decided that's easy, we can do that, that's easy.
“Between that meeting and the next, which was at Wangaratta, we bought an old stock car and we turned up at the next meeting.
“I run second last and he run last. We decided there must be something about this speedway racing that we don't know, and to be honest I think I spent the next 40 years trying to find what it was.”
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Dennis is also humbled to be named among the region's most prominent sporting stars — but initially thought he was the victim of an elaborate prank.
“It's a pretty humbling experience to be nominated,” he said.
“When we got the phone call we thought that can't be right, someone's taking the mickey out of us. We're probably known for a little bit of practical joking every now and then and we thought someone's getting back at us here no doubt about it.
“(There's) Olympians, Olympic medallists, Commonwealth Games medallists, world champions and stuff — we're just race car drivers.
“Do we deserve to be in there? We probably don't think so, but we're not going to knock it back.”
For the father-son duo the GVAC has been an extension of its family unit for decades, and both take great pride in its continued success.
“Speedway has been great to me and great to my family,” Barry said.
“It was a family thing, my wife was totally involved, she was a lap counter and time keeper for years, Dennis and his brother were my pit crew most of the time and my helpers at home when we were preparing the car or repairing the car, so it was a big part of our family life.
“It's been a great journey and I'm still a member and I've been a life member since 1977, they honoured me with legend (status) in the hall of fame and at the 50th meeting I was given a big photograph, a medal and a pass to any part of the Goulburn Valley complex for life, and I was pretty proud of that.
“I know in a lot of families their kids have followed like my kids did. You get the kids to paint it to start with and as they get older they get to panel beat it or weld this bit in here and I think it was a great family thing to do.
“I won five regional championships, a state title, a couple of our prestigious races. But it was the camaraderie (that I most enjoyed).”
Another source of pride for Dennis is the way he and his father went about their racing.
“I'm pretty proud of the fact I never got a protest flag in 35 years or even a disqualification flag, (neither) did my dad,” he said.
“Those sort of things mean you're a fair racer and if you're a fair racer that's a pretty good feeling.
“I'd much rather be known as a fair racer than someone that won by bashing people out of the road, effectively.”
The Myers’ long list of titles and championship wins is tangible proof that nice guys don't always finish last.
More on the Sports Hall of Fame
Third induction ceremony of Greater Shepparton Sports Hall of Fame stars looms large on the horizon
Sports Hall of Fame - Sam Brown
Sports Hall of Fame - Connor Holland
Sports Hall of Fame - Alan Rossignoli
Sports Hall of Fame - Xavier Russell
Shepparton News editor