Ivey removes, replaces entire Motor Sports board after disastrous audit

In a rare move, Gov. Kay Ivey recently dismissed and replaced the entire appointed Motor Sports Hall of Fame Commission after a problematic 35-issue state audit last month.

The dismissals include board chairman and former state senator Gerald Dial, who has been connected to the museum for more than four decades.

“I am writing to inform you that Governor Ivey has decided to remove all current members of the Motor Sports Hall of Fame Commission, for cause, effective immediately,” the letter from the governor’s office to Dial read. “For various reasons, Governor Ivey believes this is the right time for a fresh start at the Hall of Fame.”

Ivey is responsible for ensuring all state entities are operating effectively with transparency, spokeswoman Gina Maiola told Alabama Daily News.

“After the governor reviewed the audit on the Motor Sports Hall of Fame, she made the decision to remove all members of the Commission and appoint new membership to carry out the mission,” Maiola said. “The governor takes accountability very seriously and she felt difficult action was necessary.”

Dial on Monday said hasn’t been able to talk directly with Ivey, but that every issue in the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts audit has an explanation. He said he’d be releasing a statement about it next week.

“There’s a lot of moving parts behind this thing,” he said.

In September, and in advance of the audit’s release, Dial issued a statement blaming a former employee who he said worked for the commission about two years on a contract basis for financial issues at the attraction, saying she took an “appreciable” amount of money from the board.

The audit did say that Karen Lakey should payback $236,600 in misspent funds. But there were several other issues unrelated to her, including the mishandling by Dial and others, of two donated vehicles,  a 2001 Pontiac Firebird Firehawk 10th Anniversary Convertible and a 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona.

The cars were never received by the museum, according to records, but there was a $150,750 ledger entry for the commission “to book cars sold.”

Another significant finding in the audit said the museum’s former executive director, Mike Raita, purchased a 1968 Camaro Convertible Pace Car from the commission for $15,000 after the commission had spent more than $22,000 on repairs to the car. Raita’s wife purchased a 1998 F-150 from the commission for $1,000, the audit said.

Raita left the museum in spring of 2024 and was replaced by Adam Stocks.

Last week, Stocks resigned, telling the governor in a written letter, “I believe my vision for the future of the IMHOF does not align with the vision of the new Board of directors therefore it would be in the best interests of both parties for me to resign.”

Stocks’ wife, Karen Stocks, resigned as bookkeeper the same day. 

Raita, has also been a regional director for Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., since 2021. He worked for the museum on a contract basis, Dial said.

In a recent Anniston Star article, both Raita and Stocks said they had no authority over the museum’s finances or spending during their tenures.

The new board includes local elected officials, judges and community leaders. They are: Dr. George Booker; Talladega County Circuit Court Judge Scott Brewer; Jimmy Creed, Gerald Creel Jr.; Ricky Goodwin; Talladega County Commissioner Darrell Ingram; Talladega County Probate Judge Chad Joiner; Lincoln City Council member Jennie Jones; Scott Pierce; Bruce Ramey Sr.; Stanley Ruffin; Tammie Williams; former state representative Randall Shedd; and Zach Wilson, who is in the governor’s legal office.