If you’ve lived in Republic for any length of time, you know the Mooneyham name. On Thursday, the rest of Missouri got a formal introduction. The Mooneyham Racing Family was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame at its Outdoor Sports Luncheon in Springfield, honored for a legacy in dirt track racing that stretches back more than 60 years. Brothers Darrell, Glen, Terry, and Randy Mooneyham are at the center of a family that has racked up an estimated 450 racing wins across three generations, with sons, daughters, in-laws, and grandchildren all contributing to the family’s legacy at the track.
Randy Mooneyham, who delivered the acceptance speech for the family, spent 38 years operating Monett Speedway, a 3/8-mile oval built in 1970 that became known as the Grand Ol’ Lady. He purchased it in 1980 and ran it for all but three seasons before selling in 2017. Over the course of his career, he promoted more than 2,500 races at 54 tracks across 10 states.
Monett Speedway is believed to be the longest-running continuous weekly racing dirt track in Missouri and one of the longest-enduring weekly tracks in the country…