CHICAGO — Chicagoland stock car champion Larry Middleton died Jan. 10 at the age of 80. Middleton was a two-time late model champion at Blue Island’s Raceway Park and captured one late model title at Illiana Motor Speedway in Schererville, Ind. Returning to racing, various years and models of Chevrolets were Middleton’s race cars. He was the 10th ranking driver at Raceway Park in 1970 but was still looking for his first feature win. In 1977, Middleton won 20 features en route to the track championship aboard a 1975 Camaro. He scored feature wins at both Grundy and Illiana, including Illiana’s 40-lap Spring Championship in 1984. Middleton and the Skarupinski gang as they won the late model title at Illiana in 1985. Middleton was fourth in the points at Illiana in 1986 and seventh in 1987, driving for Marv Hixon. Middleton was inducted into the Illinois Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2018.

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