Local Racer Inducted Into Hall of Fame

Local legend, David Sisco, was selected as one of the six inductees for the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway Hall of Fame for 2023, alongside Richard Petty, Tom Roberts, Ellis Cook, Preacher Hamilton, and Alton Jones.

The NFSHF is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to recognize individuals who have distinguished themselves in the field of auto stock car racing via on-the-track performance or by meritorious service. Sisco is one of 94 total members of the Hall of Fame. To be inducted, honorees are first selected by fan submissions and ratified by a blue ribbon committee vote. The 2023 six were officially inducted on Tuesday, November 14th, 2023.

David Sisco, a native of Hohenwald, ventured to Nashville for the betterment of his career. He was the 1969 Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway Late Model Sportsman Champion, which was the last year the half-mile asphalt track was in existence. Sisco claimed three wins at the Fairgrounds, then proceeded to compete for seven season in the NASCAR Cup Series.

"David was the hardest worker I ever knew," says his brother Jerry, also a Fairgrounds Hall of Famer, Class of '83. "Many a time, we'd run a race somewhere on Sunday, drive all night, and get home around seven or eight the next morning. David would haul the car straight into the garage, jack it up, and got to work, getting ready for the next race."

Hard work came naturally to the Sisco brothers long before racing. “We were born in Hohenwald and our father, a county road superintendent, died when I was 14,” Jerry said. “David was five years older, and left home to work in Michigan. He sent money home to help our mother support me and our two younger sisters.”

David volunteered to help his race-driver neighbor Bobby Hargrove, and from there, he took off. One of his proudest moments came amid a season in which Winston published a poster of the top drivers in the Cup standing. It shows David Sisco standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Richard Petty, Bobby Allison and Buddy Baker. “I framed the poster,” says Jerry, who idolized his big brother.

* Excerpts from Hall of Fame Ceremonies Magazine