by Lee Ackerman
Omaha, Neb. - In modern dirt late model racing, 100 laps are
about as long a feature race as you will find. These features usually ran as
the conclusion to a two- or three-day event. Back when the International Motor
Contest Association was in its prime, 200-lap feature events were very common
and sometimes races were even longer.
One of the most famous of these races was
the Iowa 300 held at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, usually around
the Fourth of July. IMCA first sanctioned a 4th of July race at the
Iowa State Fairgrounds in 1950, a 200-lap event won by Don White. From 1951
until 1956 the distance was increased to 250 laps with two wins by Ernie Derr
and Jimmy Ward and the other two going to Shreveport’s Herschel Buchanan and
Harlan, Iowa’s Johnny Beauchamp.
Beauchamp who totally dominated IMCA in 1956
and 1957 won the 1956 Iowa 250 before 23,000 fans. In fact, the crowd was so
large that National Speedway Promoter Al Sweeney ran out of tickets. After some
anxious moments, he was saved by the promoter of a thrill show who happened to
be in the infield and had a supply of tickets.
In 1957 the race was increased to 300 laps and was often
called the Iowa International 300 as sports cars were allowed to compete
against the stock cars. The three things I find fascinating about this race was
the distance, the inclusion of sports cars, and the size of the crowds. This
story will concentrate on the years from 1957 thru 1973 when the race was 300
laps in distance. One thing that is interesting to note about the Iowa 300 is
that while he won the race twice at a shorter distance, Ernie Derr, the
dominate force in IMCA stock car racing did not win the 300 in the first nine
years of its running, however, when he finally won in 1966, he won it six years
in a row. Some of the more exciting Iowa
On July 14, 1957, the first 300-lap Iowa International was
ran at the Iowa State Fairgrounds before a crowd of 10,000 fans. Bill Chennault
driving a Chevy set a new track record in qualifying at 29 seconds flat.
Forty-one cars turned out for qualifying with the fastest 33 making the race.
Four sports cars entered the International with only 2 making the race and
neither of those would be a factor. Omaha , Nebraska ’s Bob Burdick driving his dad’s Ford won the
first Iowa
1958 saw a first, as Loyal Katskee of Omaha, Nebraska drove
his Ferrari to fast time of 28.86 seconds and went on to finish fourth in the
race. Katskee would later become the only sports car driver in IMCA stock car
history to win a series race when he drove his Ferrari to the win on the mile
at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia
The most spectacular event of the afternoon happened on lap
154, when second place runner and former IMCA champion Johnny Beauchamp’s Chevy
caught on fire after being hit by a piece of metal from the track, which
severed the gas line and caused flames to shoot up all over. Beauchamp showed
tremendous courage in bringing the car to pit lane and avoiding an incident on
the track. At the end of 300 laps and after 14 yellow flags, it was Don White
driving his Ford into victory lane. The combination of White’s driving skills and Paul Newkirk’s mechanical genius made the pair unbeatable. Defending race
champion Bob Burdick was second a lap down followed by Frank Lies of Wichita,
Kansas.
In 1959, Darrell Dake put an end to his long string of bad
luck by driving his convertible to a win before 13,500 fans. Dake gradually
worked his way through traffic from his eighth starting position and took the
lead on lap 154 from Lenny Funk who had battled Bob Kosiski for the first fifty
laps for the lead before Kosiski’s Thunderbird retired with overheating
problems. Funk held on for second and future NASCAR star Dick Hutcherson was
third. Perennial IMCA champion Ernie Derr qualified poorly and then retired on
lap 124 with a punctured oil pan.
The 1963 edition of the race proved plenty of excitement for
the more than 14,000 fans in attendance. First of all, there was the much-anticipated return to Iowa of Daytona 500 winner Tiny Lund. The brand new Zecol
63' Ford brought in for Lund , however failed to
qualify and Lund Iowa
For reasons unknown to the author, the 1965 Iowa
Ernie Derr in victory lane at Des Moines, 1969
The 1969 version of the race is most noted for the
sweltering heat, as 10,500 fans sweated their way through a nearly 2.5-hour
event. Tiny Lund
Ramo Stott breaks while leading the 71' Iowa 300
On July 11, 1971, more than 11,000 fans were treated to a
classic battle between two old rivals and members of the Keokuk Connection.
After Governor Robert Ray waved the green flag as the honorary starter, Ernie
Derr and Ramo Stott put on one of their many classic battles. For 250 laps the
two rivals ran wheel to wheel until Derr hit the wall between turns 3 and 4 and
was forced to pit to change a tire. Stott built up a four-lap lead and had the
race in hand until lap 295 when he broke the whole left front wheel assembly
and was sidelined with only four laps remaining. Ernie Derr would come back and
win his sixth straight Iowa St. Paul , Minnesota
On July 9, 1972, IMCA sanctioned its last Iowa
300 at Des Moines and it was a day Gerry
Harrison of Topeka , Kansas Marion , Iowa Harrison was not the only victim that day as
Irv Janey (who would win the 1972 IMCA championship) also had trouble while
leading. Janey was leading the race on lap 129 when his transmission gave out.
Earlier he had set fast time. Harrison was able
to recover for second and Gordon Blankenship, another Keokuk driver (who would
be the 1973 IMCA champion) ran third in the final edition of this classic race.
The final 300-lap affair was actually renamed the
Firecracker 300 and defending IMCA champion Irv Janey of Cedar Rapids won the
July 4 race, winning the event over Mike Derr (Ernie’s son) and future IMCA
champion Ferris Collier.
Like the IMCA season point battles, the Iowa
So, the next time you go to a 100-lap Dirt Late Model feature
and think it’s a long race, just remember the days of the Iowa
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