Inducted February 21, 2002

Born in Vernon, Texas and a resident of Bakersfield for over sixty years, COollins was a successful stock car racer in the 1960s and early 1970s before breaking ground on the Mesa Marin Raceway in the 1976. The track opened in 1977 and by 1981, Mesa Marin was considered the No. 1 short track facility in the Western United States. Under Collin’s direction, Mesa Marin became a sanctioned NASCAR race track in 1995. In recent years, Mesa Marin has attracted the NASCAR Craftsmen Truck Series races, the first of which was televised on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, which brought positive exposure to the facility and to Bakersfield.