Remembering: Red Dralle

Red Dralle of Evansdale, Iowa flashes a winning smile in victory lane in Independence, Iowa in 1977.

Lester "Red" Dralle of Waterloo, Iowa passed away on October 25, 2010. Dralle was a regular competitor at Hawkeye Downs Speedway, Independence Motor Speedway and Tunis Speedway in addition to competing at special events throughout the Midwest during the 60's and 70's. He will be remembered as a hard-nosed competitor who gave it his all every time his rolled his #4 onto the track. Our condolences to the Dralle family on their loss.

Champ vs. Champ; the Tri-State 100 at Boone

By Kyle Ealy
Boone, Iowa – It was an event that was short-lived; only running for four years (1969 to 1972). But for season-ending races, it was as unique as they came. Before parking their rides for a long winter's nap, it was one more opportunity for the cars and stars of the Midwest to shine and that’s exactly what they did.

It was billed as the Tri-State 100 and only the very best stock car drivers from Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota were invited each year. In order to be invited by Boone Speedway owner and promoter Vern Carmen, you had to finish in the top two in points at your respective track or had won a feature at some point during the season. No back markers or middle of the pack pilots in this event; only the best of the best were eligible.

That first year, Carmen put together an impressive purse, with the winner receiving $500 to win the 100-lap championship feature. As promised, the very best stock car drivers in the Midwest showed up including such drivers as Mel Morris of West Liberty, Iowa, the Columbus Junction champ, Don Hoffman of Des Moines, the Iowa State Speedway sportsman champion, Gene Schattschneider of Algona, the Kossuth County champion, Ed Sanger of Waterloo, the Marshalltown Speedway champion, Paul Fitzpatrick of Rochester, Minn., the Tri-Oval season titlists and Del Stokke, Ames, the season point champion at Boone. Another driver entered who was no stranger to Boone was recently-crowned Grand National winner George Barton of Ankeny.

Mike Keen of Marshalltown, Del McDowall of Des Moines, Arlo Dorenbush of Boone, Don “Shiney” Hilbert of Algona, Jerry LeCroy of Des Moines, Greg Davis of Boone, Perry Beckler of Tiffin, Arnie Braland of Boone, Stan Crooks of Wilton Junction and Billy “The Kid” Geil were among drivers who had won a feature at their respective track at some point in the 1969 season.

Another invitee was a driver not as familiar to area dirt track fans but was just as accomplished as those already listed. In fact, when Bob Jusola of Minneapolis, Minn., pulled into Boone, Iowa on October 4th, 1969, he was on a hot streak. Jusola competed the majority of the time on asphalt tracks in the Twin City area such as Elko Speedway and Raceway Park in Phil Stewart’s Tri-Circuit Association in Minnesota.

He had recently claimed the season point’s title at Raceway, located in Shakopee, Minn., thus earning himself an invitation from Carmen. Earlier in the month, Jusola had competed at the Minnesota State Fair, fairing well against the IMCA stock car drivers such as Ernie Derr. Just the week before the Boone race, Jusola competed at Rockford Speedway in the National Short Track Championships, where he shattered the track qualifying record with a time of 14.613 seconds on the high-banked quarter-mile and followed that up with a second place showing in the 200-lap marathon finishing behind winner Ramo Stott of Keokuk, Iowa.

When you’re hot, you’re hot and to Jusola, it didn’t seem to matter what type of racing surface he drove on. Sure enough, Jusola turned heads at Boone, claiming the pole position with a qualifying mark of 18.87 seconds on the 3/8-mile dirt oval.

The night ended on a happy note for Jusola...but for George Barton, the veteran driver from Des Moines, the story had a different ending.

Barton, winner of three Grand National titles at Boone and the season point champion in '69, was driving one of his better races, holding down the lead for some 70 plus laps. Just as the white flag waved, Barton's Chevy went sour; the quick change rear end breaking. Barton could do nothing as Jusola sailed by on the back stretch and then took the checkered flag before a stunned crowd.

Jerry LeCroy of Des Moines got second, just nipping a coasting Barton at the finish line. An Ames, Iowa driver, Curt Houge finished fourth and Bob Bonzer of Liscomb, Iowa took fifth.

The second annual event took place on a Sunday afternoon, October 11, 1970 but this time however, instead of an unknown outsider leaving town with the winner’s share, one of Boone Speedway’s very own walked off with the trophy and the Tri-State 100 title.

In fact, several well-known pilots who competed weekly at Boone, dominated the 100-lap affair, with three drivers, at one time or another, holding the lead during the race in which 24 cars started. Arlo Dorenbush was the first of the locals, grabbing the lead at the onset and holding it for 29 circuits. Arnie Braland, riding bumper-to-bumper with Dorenbush from the beginning of the race, slipped around Dorenbush to take the point on lap 30. Braland sped off and hid for the next 15 laps until a water hose broke, sending him and his Chevy to the sidelines.

This gave Greg Davis, who had won the season championship at Boone just two weeks before, the break he was looking for and he slipped into the driver’s seat and led the final 56 laps to victory and the $400 pay day. The win was not a given, however, as Pokey West of West Chester, Iowa, made a race of it and was on Davis’ bumper the last 10 laps but couldn't muster a pass and had to settle for runner-up honors. A blanket finish among the next three competitors saw Stan Stover of Reinbeck, Ed Sanger and Darreld Bunkofske of Algona round out the top five. Denny Hovinga of Laurens set fast time with a clocking of 17.68 seconds.

The 1971 edition of the Tri-State 100 was as star-studded as they came with newly crowned ARCA national champion Ramo Stott of Keokuk, Iowa, headlining an all-star field of late model drivers. Stott, wheeling a Roadrunner with a 426 Hemi engine topped the national circuit and won the series’ premier event, the Dayton 500 in Ohio, for the third straight year in a row.

Other notables invited included Dave Noble, Blooming Prairie, Minn., points champion at Tri-Oval in Fountain City, Wis., Denny Hovinga, Laurens, who won the point championship at the Boone oval as well as the crown at Kossuth Speedway in Algona and Mike Chapman of Whiting, the top point man at Alta. Del McDowall, Ames, was the point champion at Stuart Speedway and Arlo Dorenbush, Boone, was the Webster City track point champion. Phil Reece and Joe Merryfield, both from Des Moines, were the top two finishers at the State Fairgrounds track during the 1971 season, as well another Des Moines driver, Glenn Woodard, the sportsman point champion at the Boone Speedway.

With all the heavy hitters in the field, 52 in all, it was the Marshalltown Speedway season champion, Curt Hansen of Dike, who swept all of the events he entered, including the 100-lapper. The youthful driver picked up not only the trophy for the feature win, but also took the "Race of Champions" - the event which pitted point champions from various tracks against each other and picked the win in the third heat.

Stott ran away from the field in the second heat, but couldn't stay with Hansen in the feature or the “Race of Champions”. Stott went to a different rear end gear ration for the feature after spinning his wheels through most of the early events, but still didn't come up with a combination that could keep up with Hansen. While Hansen ran away from the rest of the field and put his car in cruise control, Stott struggled and was set back by an early spin-out, but steadily gained ground to finish a fairly distant second.

Fast qualifier (17.35) Denny Hovinga finished third and Glenn Woodard, who was slated to start on the pole but was late in making the call and had to start at the rear of the field, battled through the 24-car field to grab fourth. Kenny Farrell of New Hampton rounded out the top five.

The fourth and final Tri-State 100, slate for Saturday evening, September 31st, had a stellar line-up of late model pilots including Joe Merryfield of Des Moines, the recent winner of the 1972 Grand Nationals at Boone.

Along with Merryfield was last year’s Tri-State 100 winner, Curt Hansen of Dike and also the point champion of three tracks that year; Marshalltown, Independence and Tunis Speedway in Waterloo.

Ron Weedon, Pleasant Valley, champion at Quad City Raceway in East Moline, Ill, was entered as well as Bob Kosiski of Omaha representing the Cornhusker state as the champion of his hometown track, Sunset Speedway.

Another top champion entered was Ed Sanger of Waterloo. He earned titles at both Cedar Rapids and Oskaloosa that year. Other entries included Stan Stover of Reinbeck and Gene Schattschneider of Algona, point champion at that track. Denny Hovinga of Laurens, point champion at Alta, Webster City and Boone was entered as well and the overwhelming favorite to win.

But fittingly, the winner was a driver whose name was most associated with Boone Speedway, George Barton of Ankeny, Iowa.

Denny Hovinga, as good as advertised, set fast time for the evening with a clocking of 17.15, a new track record. Starting on the pole, Hovinga took off and appeared to be the class of the field until lap 15 when a problem with his right front wheel made the Laurens speedster retire to the infield.

Barton, who started on the front row alongside Hovinga, took over from there and won the 100-lapper two car lengths ahead of Weedon at the checkers. Joe Merryfield, who held the third spot for the first 92 laps, experienced engine woes, allowing Karl Sanger and his brother Ed to slip by for third and fourth, respectively. Ron Tilley of Council Bluffs, Iowa settled for the fifth spot.

For four years, the Tri-State 100 at Boone Speedway signified the end of another Midwest racing season but more importantly, it pitted the best drivers, champion versus champion, from tracks all over the region. And only one driver got to brag that he was the very best among them all.

1966 - End over end to the finish for Dake

From the Cedar Rapids Gazette - June 3, 1966

Darrell Dake recalled the time he flipped his car while racing in Jacksonville, Ill. "The track was in terrible shape," he said. "and there were such big, deep holes in the corners, you couldn't pass there.

"However, I was running third with a good chance to still win the race so I decided to try and pass on this one curve. I hit the hole and it was so deep in, my bumper caught on the front of the hole and dug in. It flipped me perfectly end over end."

"I lit right-side up and kept on driving, never losing my position. I ended up taking third-place money that evening. At the pay shack, I told the promoter I ought to collect double for finishing the race and providing the fans a thrill show."

1967- IMCA Stock Car point standings (Final)

Final point standings -

1. Ernie Derr, Keokuk, Iowa - 4,990 (26 feature wins)
2. Ramo Stott, Keokuk, Iowa - 4,105 (9 wins)
3. Ole Brua, Albert Lea, Minn. - 3,053
4. Lennie Funk, Otis, Kan. - 2,209 (3 wins)
5. Lewis Taylor, Shawnee, Kan. - 1,709
6 Dale Keeling, Dixon, Mo. - 1,267
7. Butch Hall, Russell, Minn. - 1,069
8. Dick Johnson, St. Paul, Minn. - 871
9. Leon Bowman, Wichita, Kan. - 780
10. John Mickey, Columbus Junction, Iowa - 745
11. Willie Crane, Springfield, Mo. - 733
12. Vince Rizzo, Downers Grove, Ill. - 628
13. Bob Perry, Springfield, Mo. - 593
14. Bob Malechek, Marshalltown, Iowa - 565
15. Roger Carlson, Hibbing, Minn. - 535
16. Paul Feldner, Colgate, Wis. - 516
17. Wally Christensen, Minneapolis, Minn. - 506
18. Vic Elson, Ash Grove, Minn. - 503
19. Roland Wilson, Bedford, Iowa - 456
20. Elmer Walton, Liberty, Mo. - 451

Notes: This was Derr's 8th national chapionship (and 3rd in a row) tying Gus Schrader for most IMCA national championships. He would earn $20, 040 in total prize money for the year. Bob Malechek was named Rookie of the Year.

Remembering Midwest Speedway

Lloyd Beckman is the all-time leader at Midwest Speedway with 39 feature wins in addition to winning three track titles.


by Lee Ackerman

Omaha, Neb. - Omaha, Neb. — Today the site is just another of the countless Wal-Mart shopping centers that dot the land. But for the race fans of the Lincoln area, from 1963 until it closed its gates in 1987, 4600 North 27th Street in Northeast Lincoln was the home of Midwest Speedway.

With the close of Lincoln Speedway at Capital Beach, three new tracks would spring up in the Lincoln area. A new Lincoln Speedway was opened just north of the current State Fairgrounds Raceway, Eagle Raceway opened just east of Lincoln and Jerry Biskup and Jerry Gerdes built a new track on North 27th Street called Midwest Speedway. Midwest debuted on Independence Day 1963 running the high-powered Coupes and Sedans of the Nebraska Modified Racing Association (NMRA).

One of the greatest races ever witnessed at Midwest was held on Labor Day of 1963 when the NMRA staged a special 50-lap feature. The race pitted two of the greatest names in Nebraska racing history. Lloyd Beckman, who would go on to be the winningest driver in Midwest history, against Omaha native Bob Burdick, who had won the 1961 Atlanta Winston Cup event. The two waged a war and literally drove away from the rest of the field. In fact they lapped the rest of the field. Burdick held the lead coming to the white flag when, he was hit by a lapped car that swerved out and ran into him. Burdick hit the guardrail and crashed, and the race was stopped and Beckman awarded the win. Alabama Roy McCain ended up winning the 1963 NMRA Championship, edging out Beckman.

Over the years the Coupes and Sedans evolved through the Hoodoos, Sportsmen and Super Modifieds to full fledged Sprint Cars. In 1969 Pete Leikam took over the reigns and would remain at the helm of Midwest Speedway until the end with the exception of a period of time when he turned the reigns over to Don Droud after suffering a serious injury during track prep. That first year, Leikam had to replace the Super Modifieds of the NMRA with a weekly Stock Car show. Periodically during the next few years the Sprint Cars would share the spotlight with the Stock Cars, which involved into Late Models.


Doug Wolfgang provided many thrills for the fans of Midwest Speedway driving Bill Smith's Speedway Motors 4x.

Pete Leikam had a number of 410 Sprint Car specials at Midwest, starting in 1975 and ending in 1980. One of my favorite memories of those races was in 1978. Doug Wolfgang was driving the famous 4X sprinter for Bill Smith and Speedway Motors based out of Lincoln. On May 14, 1978, Wolfgang won the feature at Midwest. Pete had booked a return engagement for the 410’s to be held on Wednesday, June 21. I can remember thinking to myself, Wolfgang is running the “Northwest Dirt Classic” at Skagit, Wash., the weekend before the event, he will have plenty of time to get back for the Wednesday night show. So with great anticipation, I headed to Midwest Speedway that night. No Wolfgang, I was informed that he had been through Lincoln on Monday and was racing in Orrville, Ohio, this night. That may have been my first big lesson in just how far Outlaws will go to race.


Shane Carson, Lonnie Jensen and Don Maxwell won heats that night. Carson the trophy dash, with Maxwell taking the feature over Don Weyrich in his $1.98 and Randy Smith.


Lonnie Jenson was a long-time competitor at Midwest Speedway who claimed the track championship in 1981. - Joe Orth Photo

Another of those great 410 shows at Midwest occurred on June 1, 1980. Steve Kinser came to Midwest. Kinser, Tim Green in the Jensen No. 55 and John Stevenson in his familiar No. 31 won heats, Kinser the dash and of course the feature. The “King” had to beat a stout field that night as second thru fifth were, Lee James, Doug Wolfgang in the No. 20, John Anderson and Tim Green.

The Late Models ran regularly at Midwest from 1969 thru 1980. Track champions during those years were, Norm Bruner (twice), Don Styskal (twice), Terry Richards (twice), Dick Jensen (twice), along with single titles for Kent Tucker, Don Droud Sr., Jerry Wancewicz and Bill Martin. Also in 1978, the “Cornhusker-Hawkeye Challenge” was made a two-day show, one day at Shelby County Speedway in Harlan, Iowa, and the other at Midwest Speedway. Curt Hansen (a three time winner of the event at Sunset Speedway) won the Midwest portion with Joe Merryfield second and Clayton Peterson Jr. third. Gary Crawford of Independence, Iowa, was the overall winner of the event.

In 1981 things changed again, as the 360 cubic inch Sprint Car division was created. Starting with a small field of cars, the class eventually grew and would once again put Lincoln on the map as a Sprint Car haven. I remember being in the pits one night in the first or second year of the 360s and an official telling me, if we can get to 24 cars we will have it made. Well, after the track closed and the 360s were at Eagle, the fields of cars would be as high as 50 some nights. 360 track champions at Midwest included, Lonnie Jensen, Lloyd Beckman, J.J. Riggins, Don Droud Sr., Ray Lipsey (twice) and John Gerloff.

Unfortunately, Lincoln had grown out to the track, and Leikam had to battle every year with the city council to keep the track open. Finally after the 1987 season he decided that it was an uphill battle and closed the track.

Over the years many great drivers had scored wins at Midwest Speedway. From the legendary Lloyd Beckman who would have by far the most wins, 39 along with his three track champions, to other local aces such as Lonnie Jensen, J.J. Riggins, John Gerloff and Kent Tucker (in Late Models). Two local drivers who raced and won at Midwest, Lincoln’s Joe Saldana and Jan Opperman (who called Beaver Crossing home for a couple of years) would go on to each race twice in the Indy 500. National Sprint Car legends Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Dick Sutcliffe and Ray Lee Goodwin also won at Midwest.

Special Thanks to Ryan Tunks and his website “The Midwest Speedway Preservation Society.”

1969 - "Stub" Kunzman tops New Bremen midgets

Lee Kunzman

New Bremen, Ohio (October 12, 1969) - Lee "Stub" Kunzman of Guttenberg, Iowa leaped several notches in the USAC midget point race on Sunday afternoon, when he captured the 30-lap feature on the half-mile paved oval. 

Bob Wente of St. Louis, Mo., finished second while Gary Bettenhausen of Tinley Park, Ill., was third. Mel Kenyon of Lebanon, Ind., (formerly of Davenport, Iowa) notched a fourth place finish and sliced USAC midget points leader Bob Tattersall's spread to 27 points with only five appearances remaining. 

The feature was a real thriller. Kunzman led for the first 10 laps but Gary Bettenhausen, driving his new Montag chassis Chevy II powered midget, came from the 7th spot to take the lead on the 11th circuit. 

Bettenhausen moved into a 10-car length lead by the 19th lap but a blistered tire slowed him down on the 20th lap and Kunzman scooted by him for the lead and headed the stellar pack to the checkered flag. Tattersall, running third at the time, went out on the 24th lap with a broken timing gear and dropped to 18th by the end of the race. 

Bobby Grim of Indianapolis, Ind., notched the fast time for the day, setting a new track record with a clocking of 18.35 seconds, which was .12 seconds better than the old mark set by Wente when he toured the half in 18.47 seconds. Kenyon picked up a pair of wins, taking top honors in the trophy dash and followed that with a victory in the first heat. Other heat wins went to Tattersall, Cy Fairchild and Grim. Dick Pole won the semi-main. 

Results - 

1. Lee Kunzman 

2. Bob Wente 

3. Gary Bettenhausen 

4. Mel Kenyon 

5. Sonny Ates 

6. Mike McGreevy 

7. Johnny Parsons Jr. 

8. Dave Strickland 

9. Bill Renshaw 

10. Bobby Grim 

11. Jigger Sirois 

12. Merle Bettenhausen 

13. Don Brown 

14. Gary Ervin 

15. Larry Rice 

16. Dick Pole 

17. Charles Master 

18. Bob Tattersall

1972 – Trickle dominates Midwest asphalt with 67 victories

Dick Trickle 

Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. – In 1972, not all the top name drivers competed in NASCAR – the Midwest wanted everyone to know that in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., resided a young man named Dick Trickle that would give any driver in the nation a good run on a half-mile asphalt racetrack.

Out of 102 starts on the year, Trickle won an amazing 67 features, a new all-time record for one year. In 1971, he won “only” 57 features and set six new track records on asphalt tracks in the area.

Among his many accomplishments in 1972 were victories in a 100-lap feature, a 200-lap feature and a 500-lap win at the Minnesota State Fair. He also won the 300-lap national championship as well as the 300-lap MASCAR championship at I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Mo. Another track record fell as he blistered the 1/-2-mile high-bank in Rolla, Mo., with a time of 17:09 seconds.

Trickle entered 102 events in which he finished 93. Of these he won 67 features; finished second 15 times; scored third in four features. He set fast time 47 times; won 37 fast heats and nine trophy dashes. His total wins, including time trials, were 160.

He won 11 features on the third-mile asphalt at Golden Sands Speedway near Plover, Wis., including one special 50 lapper and the season championship race of 100 laps. He won 12 features at Dells Motor Speedway in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., also a third-mile asphalt track. Three of these wins were 100-lap invitationals and the other a 200-lap invitational.

On the quarter-mile North LaCrosse Speedway in LaCrosse, Wis., Trickle won three events. At the quarter-mile State Park Speedway in Wausau, Wis., he scored 13 feature wins including the 75-lap season championship. At Columbus Speedway in Columbus, Wis., he won one feature event. Even when he ventured out of state to Elko Speedway in Elko, Minn., he won. Trickle won the 100-lap invitational on the third-mile in September.

The larger half-mile asphalt tracks presented no problem for Mr. Trickle. At Capital Speedway in Madison, Wis., he won 14 features including a 100-lap invitational and the 100-lap season championships. On the Rolla, Mo., half-mile asphalt he won the 100-lap invitational in late July and at the other Missouri oval, he won the 300-lap national championship race in July and the 300-lap MASCAR invitational in mid-September.

He also won the 50-lap Red Race at Wisconsin International Speedway in Kaukauna, Wis., in June as well as the Blue Race in July. On the 5/8-mile LaCrosse Interstate Speedway he won four 30-lap features.

He held qualifying records at Golden Sands Speedway (13:08), North LaCrosse Speedway ((13:84), State Park Speedway (14:41), Capital Speedway (19:20), Dells Motor Speedway (14:57), LaCrosse Interstate Speedway (20:75), Rolla Speedway (17:09) and Rockford Speedway (14:25).

Trickle won the Rockford National Short Track Championship in 1966. In 1967 he won 38 features. In 1968 he was named USAC stock car rookie-of-the-year. In 1969 he was awarded the Wisconsin Achievement award for sports. In 1970 he was crowned champion of Central Wisconsin short tracks. In 1971 he won 57 features and set track records at six different tracks. As you just read, 1972 was his best year to date.

And Dick Trickle was just getting started…

This Week in History

1993 - Ron Shuman (Silver Crown), Tony Elliott (Sprint), Jack Hewitt (Midget) and Freddie Smith (Late Model) won their respective features to highlight the 13th annual USAC 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, on October 3. Shuman piloted the M & L Plumbing Company machine into the lead on the first lap and held off Chuck Gurney in the 50-lap main event. Elliott won the 30-lap sprint main after Jack Hewitt, fresh off his midget victory, was injured in a crash while leading the event. Elliott inherited the lead and went on to claim the $10,000 first prize. Hewitt had opened the day by winning the midget main with a turn two pass of Page Jones on the final circuit. Smith, of Baton Rouge, La., won the 40-lap late model main after taking the lead from Kris Patterson on the eighth circuit.

Rusty Wallace of St. Louis, Mo., scored the biggest win of his young career in the ASA-sanctioned Winchester 400 on October 3, 1982.

1982 - The number 13 was lucky for Rusty Wallace as he came from the 13th starting berth to win the crash-punctured 13th annual Winchester 400 ASA Circuit of Champions event at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway on Sunday, October 3. The $8,900 win marked the biggest payday in the Missouri driver's ASA career and was his first win on the circuit since a rain-shortened 4-lap affair in Fort Wayne, Ind., in 1978. Mike Eddy dominated the affair, leading 273 of the 400 laps but got caught in a crash with two lap cars eliminating any chance of visiting the winner's circle. Eddy crashed on lap 326 allowing the second-place Wallace to inherit the lead and eventually score the victory.

1976 - Don Hoffman of Des Moines, Iowa won the National Dirt Track Championships at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport, Iowa, on Friday night, October 2. Hoffman held off a determined Joe Merryfield, also of Des Moines, to bring home the six-foot tall trophy and a check for $1,000. Merryfield, who had been running second most of the race behind Hoffman, spun on the final lap trying to pass Hoffman and was unable to recover in time to take the checkers. Ron Weedon of Pleasant Valley, Iowa, Roger Dolan of Lisbon, Iowa and Tom Stueding of Altoona, Wis., rounded out the top five finishers.

Virgil Webb of Des Moines, Iowa, won the season championships at Stuart (Iowa) Speedway on October 2, 1971. Promoter Ted Hiscocks (left) congratulates Webb as flagman Gail Miller looks on.

1971 - Virgil Webb of Des Moines, Iowa capped off a solid season of racing by winning two season championship events at Stuart and Newton and clinching point titles at both tracks as well. He easily won the super stock feature and point's championship at Stuart on Saturday, October 2nd but had a tremendous duel with Des Moines' Archie Ergenbright at Newton on October 3rd before prevailing in that main event, thus clinching the title by just a few points.