Bob Trostle
(Des Moines, IA) – Bob Trostle was born March 20, 1933 and passed away November 21, 2015 at the age of 82. That’s the briefest of brief ways to describe the life of Bob, who parlayed a love of speed into a legendary life of sprint car racing. Trostle’s story is impossible to tell in just
Dale Swanson
(Harlan, IA) – In many ways, Dale Swanson was an engineer before his time. When many drivers raced with little help, it was Swanson who arranged for what many consider to be the first factory backed racing to Iowa. That was in the 1950’s when Chevrolet offered factory support for Swanson’s IMCA
Bob Harris
(Story City, IA) – Bob Harris, owner of Bob Harris Enterprises, began his long involvement with the sport of automobile racing as a crew member for Hall of Fame driver Bob Shryock. He later became a driver in his native Estherville. He soon began building late model race cars at his first shop,
Larry Clement
(Fort Dodge, IA) – Long-time Fort Dodge resident Larry Clement is known as a race car owner, driver and car, truck and airplane dealer who always helped a fellow racer. Larry co-owned the dirt late model that Bob Hill drove to many feature wins across the Midwest. The team won the 1993
Larry & Penny Ekrich
(Cosgrove, IA) – No car owners have ever dominated NASCAR racing in Iowa and the Midwest like Larry and Penny Eckrich of Cosgrove. Owners of the famous Precision Performance No. 50, the Eckrich’s car won the NASCAR Central Region championship with both Roger Dolan and Ray Guss Jr. behind the wheel. Dolan won titles in 1984, 1985
Ronnie Weedon
(Pleasant Valley, IA) – Few drivers live to realize they had become legends. Ron Weedon of Pleasant Valley was one of the exceptions. He won more than 500 feature races in a career that began in 1948 – he was just 16 at the time – and he was still racing when
Denny Hovinga
(Laurens, IA) – Upon his induction into the Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame, Denny Hovinga was described by Chad Meyer as “One of the hardest chargers to ever grace the racing surfaces across the Midwest.” In a 40-year racing career, Denny Hovinga raced hobby stocks, late models and sprint cars before finishing his career in
Verlin Eaker
(Mechanicsville, IA) – Mechanicsville’s Verlin Eaker was the first Iowan to win the prestigious World 100, winning the event in 1972. That same year he won the inaugural Cornhusker Hawkeye Challenge. Verlin did try his hand at USAC and ARCA and even ran in a Daytona 125 qualifier. In 1971, he won the USAC 100-mile stock car event
Red Droste
(Waterloo, IA) – Drivers who competed at Tunis Speedway in Waterloo learned quickly that you didn’t mess with Red. The dirt oval, carved out in Jud Tunis’ beloved horse-racing track, could have been named “Droste Speedway” rather than Tunis Speedway. During his long career, Droste made a habit of taking home the lion’s share of
Darrell Dake
(Cedar Rapids, IA) – Cedar Rapids has produced a bevy of top-notch Iowa race car drivers through the years and one of the best was certainly the late Darrell Dake. Dake, who began racing in the 1950’s became a top IMCA Stock Car driver in the 1950’s, finishing among the point leaders numerous times. He won a 200-lap
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