Big Car Racing Association & Hall of Fame, LLC BCRA ESTABLISHED 1958, COLORADO SPRINGS CO

July August September 2017

BCRA Staff. Dave Tyson(Mo) Ray Cunningham(Ks)Boyd Adams(Tx)Bruce Budy(C0)Gerry Miller(Tx) Tom Davey(Co)Wayne Panter(Tx)Gary Wolfe(Ne)

Welcome, to the July August September 2017 Big Car Racing the feature. He sold the car at the end of the season. 1981 was the Association and Hall of Fame Newsletter. The voting for the year Lincoln started running sprinters in a 360 class of 2017 class of Inductees has been finalized and brief Bios are competition, here Mike drove a sprint car for Dean Orth included in this Newsletter. Once again the selectors have done numbered 30D . He drove a couple years for Dean then went into a great job with the process at hand. Keith Barker, Mike Cacak, ¾ midgets, built his own car and raced for a number of years, Fred Bower, Ron Williams and RH Farms are the 2017 winning dozens of races with the 750 Honda powered mini. Inductees at the BCRA Hall of Fame at the Speedway Mike Cacak drove his last race on 4th of july 1991 and won the Motors,”Collection of American Speed” Museum in Lincoln feature. The next day a guy showed up from Tampa Florida and th Nebraska ,on Friday, September 15 at 6PM. took the car home. “First time at Belleville was like going to Daytona”. Cacak finished about 6th with drivers like Dick Sutcliffe, Ray Lee, Roy Bryant and it was a great experience. Another highlight was his first year in sprints winning rookie of the year with BCRA and finished 7th in points and 10th with Neb Mod Racing Association. In later years Beatrice set up a hall of fame and Mike was the first inductee. Mike Cacak was also honored by the Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame with 2008 Gordy Shuck Sportsmanship Award . No longer driving Mike became the Sprint car tech inspector at Midwest Speedway until it closed and then moved to Eagle Raceway in the same capacity. An Accident in pits changed Mike’s duties at Eagle when he was hit by an IMCA Modified and spent 3 and a half months in the hospital. Mike still helps out at Eagle Raceway where you are likely to see him on race nights. Mike Cacak in the seat of the “Belle of Belleville” and crew.

Mike Cacak started racing in 1963’ running 6 cyl Modified Stock open wheelers at Fairbury, Beatrice and Lincoln Ne, driving his own creation. By 1968 Mike ran with a new class of V-8 modified s and won a feature at Belleville Ks. 1971 was his first full year in Sprinters and was BCRA rookie of the year. He also ran at Eagle Raceway and won Rookie of the Year honors with Nebraska Modified Racing Assoc . With the BCRA Cacak traveled out to McCook and ran nearly every race at Erie Colorado and Belleville Ks, driving for Fred Bowers. In 1972 the team ran IMCA at the Nebraska state fair and Topeka Ks. In 1972 Mike also drove for the Goodrich family at Belleville and ran IMCA at Topeka Ks and State fair at Lincoln Ne. In 1973 Mike was driving the 5X for Bower again with the BCRA and Nebraska Modified assoc and ran Belleville, Ks. “We always 30 year competitor, Fred Bower on left raced IMCA, UMCA ran Belleville” . After that Mike got busy and would pick up a and BCRA for nearly 30 years in the Midwest. ride on occasion. In 1978 he built a Late Model and went to Beatrice and won first time out. He also ran at Lincoln on Pete Fred Bower was born at Fairbury Ne in 1905, worked on the Liekams N 27th Street speedway and at Eagle at first ever late family farm and attended school until the 8th grade. He was Model race, and Cacak won needed on the farm at the time and this began a career in hard work and…. mechanics. Fred later married Verna Gudgel in 1926 and they lived on the farm relishing a new commodity in Keith Barker was originally from Alamosa Colorado, born in Electricity in 1934 and living was enhanced with a brand new 1943 , he started driving the family tractor at age 5 and refrigerator. In 1941 Fred opened his own shop at the corner of took in his first auto race at Spencer Iowa in 1951, and has been Hwy 136 and 15 in Fairbury. His early success yielded a new hooked ever since. The family later moved to Southwest brick Garage. In 1951 Fairbury started racing Hot Rods and Fred Missouri in ’53 and in 1957 and he lost his right leg in a tractor wrenched for local drivers before he and son Bob went to accident. He was fitted with a wooden leg and thus the nickname Lincoln and bought a chassis and Ranger motor from Bob Rager. of “Woody”. In 1962 he moved to Lincoln Ne and bought a 32’ Bob Nelson of Inland Ne and Lloyd Beckman would drive the Ford from Bill Smith and teamed with Lonnie Jensen running #43 roadster. The Bower’s ran the last race at Capital Beach with Eagle, Capital Beach, Midwest, Beatrice, Knoxville Iowa and Frankie Brennfoerder who set a track record. And reportedly, Belleville Ks. In 64’ Barker teamed with Bob Coulter and began this was the car little Joe got his first ride in. And….. running IMCA. By 65’ Keith had made it to Anderson Indiana Fred would begin in the Sprint cars with a stretched midget and the “Little 500”. He also continued running the Super and driver Bob Nelson around 1955. He also teamed with a Modified with Lonnie Jensen, sold cars and did mechanic work young Paul James who was the Driver/owner of the Lloyd and fabrication. In late’65 Keith relocated to Long Beach Wilander Wayne Chevy. Fred Wrenched the team as they ran the California where he ran a Used Car Lot and repair UMCA and IMCA in the area. In 1958 James suffered a shop. He worked with Don Brown during the evenings while he horrendous wreck at Sedalia Missouri in which he was killed. was building the Mechanical Rabbits. He later moved back to New son-in-law, Dan McCown began in the modifieds in 1959 Southwest Missouri took up farming and soon opened a Speed at Wichita Ks while stationed in the Air Force. The Wilander Shop and Muffler shop in Pittsburg Ks. In 1968 Keith bought the sprinter set in the trees for a couple of years as the family Don Brown Sprinter from Tom Corbin who would drive the car continued racing.. When a new club came on the horizon in the for Keith in 68’, winning races at Granite City, Marshall Midwest, Bowers revived the historic Wilander car and enlisted Missouri and Jefferson City. 1969 had Keith and Jay Woodside driver Bob Nelson to engage the Big Car Racing Association. at the Winter Nationals in Tampa and 96 races later they finished With Nelson’s retirement in 1963, Bower would continue with the season at the Western World Championship at Manzanita drivers like Lloyd Beckman, Frank Brennfoerder , Wayne Holz Az. Wins included Boone Ia, Knoxville, Des Moines Ia and the and Tom Root of Colorado. With the purchase of the John first race at I-70 Speedway, the success earned the team a 2nd in Leverance 5x sprinter , Mike Cacak of Lincoln would drive from the final IMCA standings. Barker would then hire Eddie Leavitt ‘71 to ‘76. Fred built an Orange #5 Modified that son in law, for the 70’ season. They stormed Tampa in the Winter and won Dan drove from ‘68-‘72. Fred would retire from racing in 1977 the 50 lap Main event and back in the Mid-west ripped a hole in with the termination of the two premier Sprint clubs in the the competition winning the Missouri State Championship at the Midwest. Fred Bower competed for 26 years throughout the state fair, the race at Topeka, Oklahoma City, Marshall Mo and Midwest, running with the Nebraska Racing Assoc, The UMCA, Granite City Illinois before moving on to Manzy, the Phoenix the BCRA and IMCA. Fred passed away in 1990 and Sacramento Miles. They finished 5th on the IMCA. In 1971 the team began the season winning Tampa, Eagle, the Missouri State Championship at Sedalia and the Iowa State Fair. In one weekend in August they won the Jayhawk Nationals in Topeka, a clean sweep at Knoxville and the National Short Track Championship at Olympic Stadium and finished 3rd on the IMCA. In 1972 the team continued where they left off winning races throughout the Midwest region. In his career Keith Barker and the Don Brown Sprinter won 54 Main events with drivers in Tom Corbin, Jay Woodside, Eddie Leavitt, Ralph Parkinson, Billy Thrasher, Lonnie Jensen and Dick Sutcliffe. The Don Brown car ran throughout 4 Decades with the CRA, IMCA, BCRA and USAC. Barker then started hauling Sam Schmidts Indy car teams and has provided excellent service for other teams including Treadway Racing with , Tony Stewart’s Tri-Star Racing, Beck Racing with Billy Boat, PDM and Hemelgarn with . Keith has also worked with Dave Darland, and Kasey Kahne. Keith while residing in Indy, working with Indy teams also had a small trucking firm, Team Indy Transport Service, that specializes in general freight throughout the Midwest, Colorado and New Mexico And…. He has since acquired

Keith Barker standing next to the Don Brown Sprinter that Keith first the Don Brown Sprinter his team terrorized the Sprint Ranks seen in California while working with Don in California in the ‘60’s. with, it’s always good to hear and old friend makes it’s way back home! Keith now lives in Walsenberg Colorado. 2

R and H Farms* RC In 1970 Gary Hannah would sell his black #29 sprint car to 3 Colfax, Iowa, farmers in John Ricke, and brothers, Stan, and Ron Williams, North Platte Ne Tom Hill, Dick Sutcliffe would be the driver . In 1970, the race Ron was born at North Platte Ne in April of 1941. His Summer team raced on dirt, and pavement, in BCRA, IMCA, and the time interest was enhanced by the local Nascar drivers in the super modified circuits in the car now known as the R&H Farms area. With drivers in Cal Fisher, Don Ostendorf , The Mann sprinter, #40. The team would race in BCRA competition at Brothers, the Wolfe brothers, Bob Courtney , Leroy”Punch” Belleville, and would win at Erie, Colorado. Sutcliffe, and the Pounder and Billy Eacker. Ron was involved in racing first with R&H team would finish 2nd place in the final BCRA standings, Dragsters and then Go-Carts, competing in different venues behind Champion Lonnie Jensen. In IMCA, the Iowa race team including Kearney and Julesburg Colorado where he eventually won a pavement race at I-70, and finishing 4th in the final became an official. The Williams moved to Colorado in 1961. standings. While in Colorado he continued in the drag competition before By 1972 Sutcliffe had moved on to the Corrnbelt Racing team . moving back to North Platte in 64’. Once in Nebraska, Ron The R&H team would hire Thad Dosher, and mechanical wizard, began working with ‘55 Nascar Sportsman Champ Mearl Miller Wayne House as chief mechanic. A list of some of the greatest of North Platte, on Miller’s Chevy Stock Car. He and good sprint car pilots of the time would race different versions of their friend Marty Thomsen built a Ford Stock Car in ‘65 and the #6 black beauty over the years, including Roger Rager, Thad was first driven by Don Ostendorf of North Platte. Ostendorf Dosher, Eddie Leavitt, Bob Williams, and Ron Shuman. The would nearly total the car in its first outing at the historic North R&H Farms car, with a Roger Beck Chassis would win the Platte oval. Williams would soon engage the construction of IMCA title in 1973 with Dosher behind the wheel. Thad would what would become the 6-2 Modified Stocker. He would run this also race at Belleville, and Wakeeney in BCRA competition, car at North Platte and Kearney in Nebraska and Norton and winning at Wakeeney over BCRA Hall Of Famer Grady Wade. Oberlin in Kansas. The competition was tough on the circuit Their IMCA campaign included wins at 81-Speedway in with such drivers as Bob Oneil, Wayne Carpenter, Phil Wichita, Lincoln Nebraska, and Spencer Iowa. Thad also Simmons, Stan Hack and Willie Hecke. The Kansas contingent finished in the top five eleven times, including a incredible run at was represented by Bob Salem, Tony Malsom and a host of Tampa, where in the five race winter series, Thad finished others and Williams won the first of many championships. In second twice, and a third, over drivers that included Jan 1966 Williams began building and driving Sprinters and Opperman, Kenny Weld, and Rick Ferkel. At the end of the Modifieds on the local circuit which included North Platte, IMCA campaign, Thad would take the title over Gene Kearney, Broken Bow, Lexington and again at Oberlin, Gennetten, Bill Utz, Ray Lee Goodwin, and Buzz Rose. In 1975 Wakeeney and Norton in Kansas. At this time Ron and Marty the R&H Farms team would win at the Knoxville Nationals, with went to Pennsylvania and with the help of Jan Opperman were Eddie Leavitt behind the wheel. With a new coil over sprinter able to buy a Lloyd Sprinter and hauled it to Nebraska. This car built and designed by House, the black #40 race team would was raced in central Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota and Iowa have a outstanding season in 1977 as well. With Arizona's Ron at Knoxville. At Knoxville Williams was in the chase for the Shuman at the controls, the R&H Farms team would win the lead when he hooked the Left Front and survived a horrendous Western World at Manzy, and the Pacific title at Ascot Park! In flipping, barrel rolling crash. An Opperman Maxwell sprint was the 1970's whether racing in outlaw races, BCRA, IMCA, CRA, purchased and Williams continued to rack up Championships in WOO, or USAC among others, the R&H Farms team was a the area but he also branched out to Eagle Raceway , Erie force to be reckoned with. Colorado, State Fair Park in Lincoln while running Norton, Oberlin, Oxford and Wakeeney. The Modified ranks of Kansas were evolving into one of the toughest circuits in the country. With Dale Reed, Grady Wade, Herb Copeland, Harold Leep and 3 others. His pit crew consisted of Stoney Burk, Carl Fare, Art Saathoff and Jim Ellet the motor man . 1970 was the first year with the Central Nebraska Racing Association and Ron won a championship at North Platte with North Platte Modified divison , with the North Platte Stock Car association and repeated in ’71 running with Jim Adler, Wilbur Hecke, Dean Ward and Phil Simmons . Ron would win the 1973 and 1974 modified pts championship at Mid Continent in Donipan Ne. Racked up another Championship in 1974 at Hastings , Ne and the Triple Crown at Doniphan while finishing 4th at Black Hills Speedway in the Black Hills Championship race at Rapid. In 1975 William’s Racing built a new car out of a Speedway Motors Roger Beck Kit with a spring front. And the # 29 was 3rd in points at Doniphan Ne. and finished 4th in the Triple Crown Championship. In 1978 Williams ran the Hartford track at Souix Falls with Jim The Blanot Rear engine at Belleville 1964(Blanot) Goettsche, Sam Liebig , Don Mack, Jerry Franzen, Don Weyrich and others.

In 1979 Williams returned to Erie Colorado and the highlight of the night was a close race with Jr in which Ron was able to Pass Al in the late stages of the race for the win. 1985 and ‘86 Williams teamed with Gary Herbst and was Points champ at North Platte Ne. Ron and DeAnn were lifelong friends and were engaged their Senior year in High School and married soon after. The couple was married for ‘53 years before Ron’s passing. Son Tommy began racing in 1986, running McCook, North Platte, Lexington and Oberlin in Kansas winning 2 Championships. From 1965 to 1986 Williams raced throughout the Heartland at venues in Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, South Dakota, Kansas and Iowa and his career continued with son Tom in the 305 Sprints in Nebraska and Kansas until 2013, marking 5 The Blanot Rear Engine at Pikes Peak(Blanot) decades of successful competition. Ron passed in 2014.

Mike Cacak in the #69 and New Mexico’s Jerry Miller

Joe Lehman started racing in 1955 at Englewood Speedway. Over the next 30 years he would drive Midgets, Sprints and even a stock car at the Pike Peak Hill Climb from ’68 to 71 finishing

second twice. Joe won Championships with the ERA in 1966,’72,’75 and ’77. He also ran the last Offenhauser (shown below)with the Big Car Racing Association

4 in ‘71. Lehman was a 2005 Colorado Motorsports Hall of Fame The Good Ol’ Days at Norton Ks, 2004. Inductee. The Colorado Vintage Racers, The Kansas Antique Racers and the first attendance of the revived BCRA Clubs Sprint and Champ Cars.

The last Offy to run BCRA driven by Joe Lehman and owned by Roger Mauro. Joe ran from 1955 to 1979 in Stock Cars , Modifieds and Sprinters. Joe is still active in Vintage acing with the CVOR and KAR.(Byers)

The Dave Andre restored “Pig Iron Special” out of Wilsonville Ne. now living with son, Dan Andre of Lincoln, who managed the fine restoration.

Joe Lehman(Colorado Motorsports Hall of Fame)

The Jack Houseman Black Duece Replic-Car

5

The Famed, Chet Wilson, “Offy Killer”.

Pictured here are the two Ramrods of the event in Don McMullen, in Red and Jerry Bantam on the phone

Don McMullen in the Bantam restored, Francis Schults rear engine

Joe Morosic in the Lonnie Morosic Rear Engine creation

Jerry Bantam in the seat of the restored Nash Sprinter. Bantam built body on this car out of aluminum, an exact replica of the original early 50’s UMCA car.

6

Speedway Motors, Lincoln Ne. 2005

Skip Roberts in the “Flashback Racing “ Sprinter

The Joe Haag Roadster in background with the Pius Selenke #43 as restored by Kansan Duane Wolff of Kansas.

Jerry Wilson in the “Offy Killer” and Skip Roberts in the #27

Bill Smith and Joe Haag at “Joe’s Speed Shop” . Lincoln Ne 2017 Hall of Fame Weekend. The Knights Inn Motel has th th Dick Surratt and CVOR Pres. Skip Roberts, at Norton 2004 rooms for the 14 and 15 of September (Thursday and Friday, Saturday is Football), for the BCRA Hall of Fame. After an incredible run at the Belleville Vintage show, it was mentioned to The Thursday rate is 60.00 for single bed, 70.00 for 2 beds. me that some had never seen a “Wilson V-4”. Here is the best photo I’ve Friday is 78.00 for single 103.00 for 2 beds. Phone Number Got. for the Knights Inn is 402-477-4488 and located at 2001 W. O street and not far from Speedway Motors with restaurants nearby We have a new venue for the BCRA and HOF Saturday Meeting in Lincoln, and not far from our previous location at the Haag Museum. As usual we will start here around noon on Saturday. Plenty of room to park for those bringing cars and this event will highlight the career of Joe Haag with his contributions to the Hot Rods, Vintage exhibitions, The Big Car Racing Association Hall of Fame and the History of Open Wheel Racing in general. More to come at the Web Site bcrasprints.com

7

Big Car Racing Association and Hall of Fame 306 Montrose Ave Bertrand Ne 68927

8