Start Your Engines for April 3

Start your enginesTad Pospisil of Norfolk is planning on running a full

Super Late Model Racing (SLMR) schedule, but the 24-year-old has also targeted a handful of dates in the

Midwest Late Model Racing Association (MLRA) series, which is the highest form of dirt track auto racing in Nebraska.

For more on Pospisil, see page 3-B

Molt Larabee

Wednesday, april 3, 2013 Wednesday, april 3, 2013

�-B NORFOLK DAILY NEWS, WEDNESDAY, ApRIL 3, 2013

Editor’s note: This column was original-ly published in the Daily News on May 11, 2011. With some alterations, is being rerun with the permission of the Haase family.

* * *By JAY [email protected]

In remembering Riviera Raceway found-er Robert “Bob” Haase, I believe there were four things he loved most on earth.

His family, race night at Riviera, Husker football and . . . to talk.

Perhaps not necessarily in that order.Haase died May 9, 2011, at Golden Liv-

ing Center in Norfolk at the age of 74. And after contacting a few of his acquaintanc-es, safe to say the man touched his share of lives.

———“The fact that Bob allowed the racers to

be social after the races was huge to me,” said Brian Larson of Norfolk, the track’s announcer for the past 13 years. “He took the time to talk to the drivers and really get to know them and their families.”

For Larson, racing is only half the social aspect at Riviera.

“It’s almost like a picnic atmosphere. The kids play, the adults visit and reminisce,” Larson said. “Having been to a lot of tracks over the years, the one thing I noticed dif-ferent right away about Riviera was the

family atmosphere. The number of people who stay after the races in the pits makes it more than a night at the stock car races, it’s a night with friends.”

———And for the past 47 years, those nights

have begun with ticket-takers Betty and Gary Uttecht of Madison.

“I took the very first ticket and have been there ever since,” said Betty. “Bob was a delivery man for Clark Brothers and I was working at Van Super Service. He asked if I would take tickets at the races and the rest is history.”

Betty and her husband, Gary, who have missed just three race nights in 47 years, miss their longtime employer.

“Bob was a very positive, optimistic, cool-natured individual,” Betty said. “It didn’t matter what the weather was like, he was always upbeat and ready to go.”

———Haase will also always hold a special

place in the Todd Vollbrecht family of Stanton.

Todd raced at Riviera for many years and later served as the track’s tech inspec-tor.

“I know Bob loved his drivers and I loved him to death,” Vollbrecht said. “He always did what he thought was best for the track — even if some of the drivers disagreed with him, and I respected him for that.”

Over the years, Vollbrecht’s wife, Amy, has helped score the races. The couple also hosts the annual Riviera Raceway season-

ending banquet. Their son, Nelson, started his racing career on the eighth-mile dirt oval.

“Bob was very innovative. Whether it was wearing lime green pants so people would talk, or coming up with a new gim-mick, he would try everything to get people to come to the races,” Vollbrecht said.

———From his colorful radio advertisements,

to his sometimes emotional announcements over the public address system at the track, Bob loved to tell stories.

And perhaps nobody, besides Bob’s wife, Janet, listened to more stories than Robert Osborne of Norfolk.

Robert, who has been racing at Riviera Raceway for the past 28 years, worked for Bob at Busy B Auto Sales for 22½ years.

“I broke my arm and had to quit the job I had at the time. Bob’s son, Russ, said his dad needed help and I’ve been wrenching on stuff ever since.” said Osborne, who now owns his own auto repair business. “He was always a good guy to me and was al-ways trying to help other people out.”

———Haase was buried at Hillcrest Memorial

Park Cemetery in Norfolk and how ironic it must have been to have a moment of si-lence for a man who was never at a loss for words.

Longtime Riviera Raceway promoter remembered by friends Edition is dedicated to Haase

Robert ‘Bob’ Haase

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NORFOLK DAILY NEWS, WEDNESDAY, ApRIL 3, 2013 �-b

By JAY pRAUNER [email protected]

Tad Pospisil loves a challenge.As an 8-year-old, he jumped into a go-

cart because he wanted to beat the older boys.

At age 18, he traded the go-cart for a Late Model because he wanted to run with the big boys.

And now, at age 24, the Norfolk tax ac-countant wants to swap paint with some good ol’ boys.

As the reigning Rookie of the Year in Ne-braska’s Super Late Model Racing (SLMR) series, Pospisil is swimming to deeper wa-ters by targeting a handful of dates in the Midwest Late Model Racing Association (MLRA) series, which sanctions regional touring events in Missouri, Kansas, Ne-braska, Oklahoma and Iowa.

Coming off a 13-win, 33-top 5s season, Pospisil’s wheels are already turning with thoughts of the upcoming season.

“Last year, we expected to win the local races,” said Pospisil, who finished fourth in the SLMR points standings and won a sec-ond consecutive Late Model track title at Boone County Raceway in Albion last fall. “This year, we’re going to run full time in the SLMR series and enter a few MLRA races and see how we stack up.”

It’s not out of the question for a driver

who grew up racing against the best of the best.

In his go-carting days, Pospisil raced against current IndyCar driver A.J. Foyt IV and current NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Landon Cassill while on his way to winning three national championships.

Ironically, the highlight of Pospisil’s go-carting career came in a race he didn’t even win.

“It was in Webster City, Iowa. I got sent to the back of the pack during a 15-lap feature,” said Pospisil, the son of Shannon Pospisil and Loretta Keyes. “I ended up coming from 20th place to second, and was passing the leader as we took the check-ered flag. He beat me by a nose.”

Upon graduating from Wynot High School in 2006, Pospisil began his Late Model career.

“It got to a point where go-carting wasn’t as fun anymore and wanted to cut down on the travel and race a more local schedule,”

said Pospisil, who began racing on Friday nights at Butler County Motorplex near Rising City. “I remember going through a lot of right rear spoilers from hitting the wall coming off turn two . . . Butler is known for that.

“We won a few heats and my highest fea-ture finish was third,” Pospisil said. “It was a big learning experience. The first couple of years were frustrating. Coming from go-carting and being so successful, I car-ried over that expectation that I was going to do well and then found out it’s a whole different ballgame. It was discouraging at times, but I stayed positive and tried to keep learning and getting better.”

In 2007, Pospisil survived a serious ac-cident.

“It happened at Wagner Speedway (Wagner, S.D.). It was my second year in Late Models and I had had my car for only about six months and was passing a guy on the high side,” Pospisil said. “He hit me

in the left rear and I ended up rolling six times. They had to flip the car over just to get me out.”

The next season, he won the track’s Late Model points title.

It’s that kind of diligence that has made Pospisil the racer he is today.

“Bill Moyer, one of the top Late Model drivers in the country once said ‘You don’t win races on the track, you win them in the shop,’ ” Pospisil said. “I firmly believe that. When I get beat, I can’t wait to get back to the shop and try to figure out where I went wrong.”

Pospisil takes care of the majority of the maintenance duties with race-day help from Chad Potts, step-brother Dylan Pospi-sil and grandfather Jerry Pospisil, who serves as team manager.

With the help of multiple sponsors, includ-ing major backers Window World, Canham Maytag, GM Auto Center and Morrissey Motor Company, the team is looking to run a 42-race schedule this season.

“To become a millionaire in racing, you start with $2 million,” said Jerry Pospisil, who figures it costs about $8 a lap to race their No. 04 machine.

Highlighting the season will be the 80-lap, $27,000-to-win Silver Dollar Nationals to be held at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., on July 18-20.

SLMR Rookie of the Year to test his skills in MLRA seriesPospisil taking next step

“You don’t win races on the track, you win them in the shop.”

Bill MoYerSix-TiMe World 100 Winner

“To become a millionaire in racing, you start with $2 mil-lion.”

JerrY PoSPiSilManager for PoSPiSil race TeaM

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�-b NORFOLK DAILY NEWS, WEDNESDAY, ApRIL 3, 2013 Driver’s safety gear ‘Raceciever’ $100

A one-way radio that allows flagmen to

communicate with drivers when the race goes under caution and where to line up following a yellow flag.

Gloves$35-$150Racing gloves are specifically designed not only for increased grip and performance, but also for protection against heat and flame.

Helmet $400-$1,000Modern helmets are designed to disintegrate and dissipate energy on impact. Generally the more economically-priced helmets are made of fiberglass. Some of the more expensive helmets will have a carbon/kevlar/fiberlass composite shell, and now a few helmet manufacturers are making helmets out of car-bon fiber.

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Special to the Daily News VINTON, Iowa — The International Motor Contest As-

sociation was founded in 1915 and is the oldest active auto-mobile racing sanctioning body in the United States.

Pittsburgh, Pa., native J. Alex Sloan helped found the IMCA and became known as the “maker of champions.” He left his job as a sportswriter in St. Paul, Minn., in 1905 because of his interest in auto racing.

With partner William Pickens, Sloan staged races across the United States, featuring some of the top drivers of the era.

IMCA-sanctioned races were held at county, state and regional fair venues.

National champions were crowned in the Late Model di-vision from 1949-1977 and in the Sprint Car division from 1925-1941 and 1946-1977 (no champions were named from 1942-45 because of World War II).

Keith Knaack, editor of Hawkeye Racing News, pur-chased IMCA in the 1970s. Knaack was the racing pio-neer who helped introduce the Modified division.

Affordability and competi-tiveness were and still are foundations of that division. Knaack sought to create a class that was economical enough for the “Saturday Night Racer” to compete and have a chance of winning.

The engine claim was introduced with the idea of keep-ing the “big dollar” engine out of the division. Racers who enjoy the sport as a hobby can compete and have a fair chance of winning, rather than run against drivers with bigger budgets and (sometimes) less ability.

The first IMCA Modified national champion was Dale Fischlein of Davenport, Iowa, in 1982.

IMCA now sanctions seven other divisions. Late Model competition resumed in 1987 and Sprint Cars started again in 1989. National champions have also been named for the Stock Car class since 1988 and the Hobby Stocks since 1991.

Introduced in 2004, the SportMod division now has Northern and Southern versions, both of which crowned

national champions in 2005.The 2006 season was the first for the sanctioned Sport

Compact (four cylinder) class.IMCA will sanction Modified events in 25 states and

Canada this season.

Firsts in IMCA Modified history Rick Brinkema of Waterloo, Iowa, won the first IMCA

Modified feature, held June 2, 1979, at the Vinton, Iowa, Speedway.

Davenport, Iowa’s Dale Fischlein became the first IMCA driver to win four track titles in a single season in 1982. He was also the IMCA’s first national Modified champion.

Mike Schulte of Norway, Iowa, won both the inaugu-ral Super Nationals championship, and the IMCA National

Modified crown in 1983. Note: The checkered flag

used at the first Super Nation-als was autographed by the drivers and is now on display at the IMCA home office in Vinton.

Carla Roberts of Fayette-ville, Ark., became the first woman to win an IMCA Modi-fied feature in 1985.

Larry Schmidt of New Hampton, Iowa, won the first

IMCA Modified anniversary race, a 35-lapper held during I.M.C.A. Homecoming ‘89 at the Vinton Speedway.

Greg Pringle of Calgary, Alberta, topped the point standings in the first season of competition for IMCA Canada. Rounding out the top three were Bill Howse and Dave Martin, also from Calgary.

Regional championships were first awarded in 1993. The five regional kings were Kenny Hatfield of Phoenix, Ariz., in the Mountain Region; Scott Pounds of Bakersfield, Calif., in the Western Region; Rex Merritt of Billings, Mo., in the South Central Region; Ron Pope of Spencer, Iowa, in the North Central Region; and Dave Bice of Avilla, Indi-ana, in the Eastern Region.

International Motor Contest Association has been around since 1915A very brief history of the IMCA

Jason Wilkinson, NelighIMCA HObbY StOCK

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2012: Boone County Raceway, Albion Riviera Raceway, Norfolk U.S. 30 Speedway, Columbus2011: Dawson County Raceway, Lexington Mid-Nebraska Speedway, Doniphan U.S. 30 Speedway, Columbus2010: Boone County Raceway, Albion I-80 Speedway, Greenwood U.S. 30 Speedway, ColumbusNote: Became the first — and remains the only

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Cameron Meyer, pierceIMCA SpORt COMpACt

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�-b NORFOLK DAILY NEWS, WEDNESDAY, ApRIL 3, 2013

By BRUCE [email protected]

For some, once the sport of stock car racing gets in your blood, the thicker it gets.

The Midwest Classic Stock Car Association was born last year, and the organization is ex-cited about its second season this spring and summer.

The association is involved in restoring or building stock cars from the 1950s and ’60s all the way up to 1975.

Eric Cerny of Schuyler is the promoter of MSCA and said inter-est began at a swap meet in Co-lumbus over the winter.

“We kind of came up with a plan,’’ Cerny said. “When we had our first meeting, we had a pret-ty good response. Then in June, we held our first race at U.S. 30 Speedway in Columbus.’’

The association only had six cars at that first race but grew to 11 cars by the end of the 2012 season.

“We have cars coming from Iowa to Ord,’’ Cerny said. “We only ran in Columbus and Norfolk, but this season we’re going to expand to race on 10 different nights at

seven different tracks in the re-gion. A couple of tracks want us to come and display a couple of cars and not necessarily race.’’

Cerny said the association pat-terns itself much like the racers that compete in the coupe model of cars.

“Everybody runs for the same amount of money,’’ Cerny said. “The winner gets a trophy for the night so there is no incentive of extra money to finish higher. We stress to race hard but race clean. We try to avoid contact at all costs. It’s not like you can just

pull out old body parts from these cars at any place.’’

About half the cars that race in the association are rebuilt repli-cas and the others are originally race cars that are restored.

The response from stock car fans has been great, according to

Cerny.“We’ve had real good crowds

checking the cars out,’’ he said. “I’ve had my car in shows and they have drawn real well.’’

As far as speed goes, Cerny said the older cars can go about as fast as a street stock and have actually raced against them last summer.

“And the guys who raced the older models were pretty compet-itive,’’ Cerny said. “So we are by no means just huffing and puff-ing around the track. The guys in their late 30s and 40s like to come out and watch because those are the type of cars they remember watching while growing up. It brings back a lot of memories for them.’’

Cerny said the older models are for those racers who are get-ting older and don’t want to spend as much time or money racing during the summer but enough to satisfy their appetite.

“So this has been a good fit for those involved,’’ Cerny said. “The main goal is to go out and have fun. This isn’t a class for guys who have to win but for guys to have to race.’’

Midwest Classic Stock Car Association entering second seasonMCSA bringing back memories

Dennis Meyer/Daily news

ERIC CERNEY of schuyler, founder of the Midwest Classic stock Car association, races during a special event held at riviera raceway last season.

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�-b NORFOLK DAILY NEWS, WEDNESDAY, ApRIL 3, 2013

By JAY [email protected]

ALBION — At a certain age, upkeep becomes an issue.

So, with management changing hands at the 65-year-old dirt track located on the southeast corner of this Boone County commu-nity, the timing was right for a facelift of sorts.

A new season has spawned new enthusiasm from a new manager, who quickly put his stamp on things by unveiling a new name for the facility . . . Al-bion Speedway.

Bryan Molt of Cedar Rap-ids has taken the reins from the Krohn family, who had leased Boone County Race-way from the town’s fair board for the past 16 years.

“It was in October that the Krohn family let it be known they were retiring,” said Molt, who graduated from Cedar Rapids High School in 2006, and the Uni-versity of Nebraska-Kear-ney in 2010. “I caught wind of it and decided to attend a fair board meeting and throw my hat into the ring.”

It appears to be a perfect fit for the 24-year-old mar-keter/salesman, who is also a former track champion, having won Hobby Stock titles in 2007 and 2008.

“I’ve been around rac-ing my whole life and have a bachelor’s degree in mar-keting, advertising and pub-lic relations,” Molt said. “I thought this was a good op-portunity to use my racing background and education to help keep people from the area entertained.”

Highlighting the speed-way’s 16-night schedule will be appearances by former NASCAR drivers Kenny Wallace and Ken Schrader. Wallace will do a meet-and-greet autograph session be-fore racing against the local competition on Friday, May

31, and Schrader will do the same Friday, Aug. 9.

An added show will be the annual Boone County Fair program on Monday, July 8, featuring the Super Late Models Racing (SLMR) series and Nebraska 360 Sprint Cars.

Weekly programs will include six classifications, five of which are sanctioned by the International Motor Contest Association (IMCA). They are Sports Compact, Hobby Stock, Stock Car, Sport-Mod and Modified.

The track’s top class, Limited Late Model, is non-sanctioned. Molt has com-peted in the class the past four years but will not race in Albion in 2013. Instead he plans to run between 10 and 15 shows in the SLMR series.

For the past few weeks, a dirt-work company has been resurfacing the 3/8-mile track, readying for a Friday, April 26, practice day.

A couple of other new ad-ditions this season include announcer Jimmy Scott of Columbus and flagman Nate Canham of Norfolk.

Leading up to the season, Molt’s main priority has been getting area business-es more involved.

“I want to give them the opportunity to come and promote their products and services,” Molt said. “We want to do everything we can to incorporate the crowd with the drivers.”

The season opens on Fri-day, May 3, with a $500-to-win feature for the Sport Compacts, and closes on Friday, Aug. 30 with the Boone County Challenge/Holt County Sprints.

“We want the fans and drivers to feel appreciated,” Molt said. “The bottom line is we want to present a fun environment so everybody has a good time and wants to come back.”

Under new management, Boone County Raceway now Albion SpeedwayArea track bears new name

Darin EppErly/Daily nEws

BRYAN MOLt OF CEDAR RApIDS is the new manager of albion speedway. The track, formally known as Boone County raceway, is scheduled to open the 2013 season on Friday, May 3.



STUART — It’s a short track with a long history.

For 60 years, the ¼-mile clay oval called Stuart Raceway has entertained young and old, and in the process has allowed caretak-ers to proudly promote its claim to fame.

“We are the oldest consecutive-running track that has been in the same location with all volunteer help in the entire nation,” said Keith Larabee, president of the Stuart Stock Car Association.

Stuart Raceway was built in 1952 and hosted its first official race in 1953. The track is set to open for its 61st season of racing on Sunday, May 19.

“It’s phenomenal what goes on behind the scenes. It amazes me every day the amount of people who support the track in a very big way that most people don’t even know about,” Larabee said. “We have ranchers and farmers who not only donate their time, but also their semis, payloaders, and backhoes and don’t ask for anything in return. If it weren’t for those types of peo-ple in this community, this track wouldn’t function.”

Sandwiched between ball diamonds and a football field, with a rodeo arena at one end, the track is what it is, according to Larabee, who has been attending the facil-ity since coming with neighbors as a sev-enth-grader.

“It’s a driver’s track. You have to know where to pass and you have to stay out of trouble,” said the 47-year-old Larabee. “You just don’t run around the thing wide open. As a driver, you need some finesse, and that’s what I like about it.”

The nine-member association strives to be as good to its drivers as it is to its com-munity.

“We’re all about being family oriented. Our Sunday program runs from 7 p.m. until 10 or 10:30 p.m. If we run past 11 p.m., we’ve run into some problems,” Larabee said. “Then it’s time to break out the barbe-cue grills and walk from pit to pit and enjoy the camaraderie. There’s always food in-volved.”

Two concession stands are run by local organizations. The one behind the grand-stand is run by the Stuart Ladies Auxiliary, and the other, in the pits, by the Stuart FFA chapter.

“The neat thing is they keep most of the proceeds as their major fundraiser, but they also donate a portion back into a separate fund for end-of-the-year bonuses for drivers,” Larabee said. “Drivers with a 70 percent attendance rate are eligible for bonus money. It kind of like, you help sup-port the track and we’ll help support you.”

But, as with most tracks, it’s a double-edged sword. In its heyday, Stuart Race-way’s car count was over 100. Last season, about half that registered.

“You try to keep the price of admission down as low as you can and still be able to generate enough funds to have a good pay-out so cars will come,” said Larabee, who is a hardware manager/buyer for Krotter Home and Auto. “We like to maintain a level of funds that could sustain the track through bad times and enough to start the next season. Anything extra goes to city park improvements.”

The track runs five classes, three of which are sanctioned by IMCA (Interna-tional Motor Contest Association), North-ern Sport Mod, Sport Compact and Hobby Stock. The two non-sanctioned classes are 360 Limited Sprint and Street Stock.

“We’re leaning more to the IMCA-sanc-tioned classes because with tracks in Nor-folk and Albion, cars are already out there being built for those classes,” Larabee said. “We want to make it easier for a driver to come to our track and know he can com-pete legally.”

Larabee estimates hosting around 10 shows this season, highlighted by its popu-lar Fourth-of-July program.

“I think Norfolk and Albion going to IMCA-sanctioned classes were good moves, and it appears it will resolve some of our problems as well,” Larabee said. “The only bad thing about running on Sunday is that if a driver tears up his car on Friday or Sat-urday, we won’t see them here Sunday.”

Larabee, who grew up in Valentine, moved to Stuart with his wife, Brenda, 26 years ago. He has been associated with the track for the past 24 years, but he loves to hear stories about its prior 36 seasons.

“Volunteers come and go over the years. We’re trying hard to get some of that early history brought back before we lose it,” Larabee said. “The problem is . . . you have to find people that have been around a long time to actually know that information.”

Volunteers have always played vital role in Stuart Raceway’s rich traditionDirt track has claim to fame

Courtesy Photo

ThIS AERIAL vIEW shows stuart raceway, which was built in 1952 and hosted its first official race in 1953. the track will open for its 61st season of racing on sunday, May 19.

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MAINTENANCE, ALIGNMENTS, MAINTENANCE, ALIGNMENTS, MAINTENANCE, ALIGNMENTS, TIRES & BRAKES, COOLING & HEATING etc. TIRES & BRAKES, COOLING & HEATING etc. TIRES & BRAKES, COOLING & HEATING etc.

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10-b NORFOLK DAILY NEWS, WEDNESDAY, ApRIL 3, 2013

By LEE AcKERmANSpecial to the Daily News

Last month, at the completion of the Great American Race, the 55th running of the Daytona 500, Jimmie Johnson headed to victory lane to celebrate, receive lots of money and the Harley Earl trophy.

As for the trophies (there are two, one for the car owner and one for the driver), they had already completed a 1,400-mile journey to Daytona Beach, from Omaha.

A larger, permanent trophy resides in the Daytona 500 Experience at the Day-tona International Speedway.

Each year, two new Harley Earl trophies are created by Omaha artist John Lajba. Each weighs 54 pounds, stands 18 inches tall and is 22 inches wide and 12 inches deep. The process takes several months and involves several Omaha companies. Trophies and sculptures are nothing new to Lajba — that’s what he does.

In Omaha, he created the “Road to Omaha” sculpture that greets College World Series fans. If you go to the Dur-ham Western Heritage Museum, you will see the sculptures he created represent-ing train travelers to Omaha. There’s the World War II Memorial sculptor he cre-ated for the City of Omaha in 1995 and for NASCAR fans, the statues of Bill France, Sr., and his wife Mary, Bill France, Jr. and Dale Earnhardt that greet you when you

visit NASCAR headquarters in Daytona are all Lajba creations.

The body of the car on the Harley Earl trophy starts as a 115-pound block of bronze. Under the caring hands of John Lajba, the journey begins. It gets carved

at Herman Engraving. Along the way, many other pieces need to be made, hand finished, buffed, all of which Lajba will as-semble at a later date. During this process the trophy will go to Koley’s, Inc., on Har-ney Street to be plated.

At the same time, the acrylic base is being created by Acrylicon in Omaha. The base is shaped like a tri-oval to represent Daytona. When the lucite is heated, Acryli-con only has a short time to get it correct or they have to start over. After it’s formed, a lot of time is devoted to hand buffing the base until it’s near perfection.

“I try to make sure everything is as per-fect as it can be,” said Lajba. When Lajba has all the pieces, he will spend 1½ to 2 days assembling the trophies, wearing spe-cial gloves that do not leave marks on the trophies. After Lajba finishes assembling the trophies and making sure everything is just right, Packages Plus takes over. They place the trophies in a special crate, with special lining and then onto a special pallet. Then and only then are the trophies sent to Daytona.

“I started doing the Harley Earl trophy in 1996,” said Lajba. “Through the years the process has changed somewhat, as we strive to make the trophies as close to per-fect as possible.”

So when the checkered flag falls on the Great American Race each year, most fans wait to see a driver and his crew celebrat-ing in victory lane.

But some will see the Harley Earl trophy hosted in the air and will say to themselves, “Made in Omaha — with tender loving care.”

Great American Race’s Harley Earl trophy made in NebraskaOmaha shined at Daytona 500

Mike MeaDowS/Special to the Daily NewS

NORFOLK DAILY NEWS, WEDNESDAY, ApRIL 3, 2013 11-b


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IMCA Sportmods, Frederick Welding & Sales IMCA Hobbystocks, KISS 107 IMCA Sport Compacts August 25 - Raceway Park Weekly Racing Series w/Scout Night September 1 - Prestige Collision & Repair Season Championship Night September 8 - Z98 Weekly Racing Series/No points, Draw-Redraw (No A-mods) Mini-van Olympics September 21 (Sat.) - WinnaVegas Casino Resort presents the SD Fall Nationals: Raindate Sept 22 Schedule Subject to Change

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Wheel Racing Series

By BRUCE [email protected]

When driving on Highway 30 just south of Columbus, one can’t help but see the sign with the race car on top of it.

That, of course, would be the entrance of the U.S. 30 Speedway race track where area racers compete for prizes and money over the spring and summer.

“We’re putting on our 27th year of racing,’’ Sam Lincoln of U.S. 30 Speedway said. “It’s a family-owned operation. We race IMCA sanctioned Modified cars, Sportsman Mod-els, Hobby Stocks and Sport Compacts. And we run one added attraction each week.’’

The Speedway also has a special Late Model race on the Fourth of July weekend.

“Many of our drivers also race in Norfolk and Albion,’’ Lincoln said. “The area tracks try to accommodate each other whenever possible.’’

In fact, U.S. 30 Speedway began to race on Thursday nights, which proved to be very successful.

“They turned out to be better than our Sunday night rac-ing,’’ Lincoln said. “Columbus is a manufacturing type of town, which makes for a lot of 14-hour days so Thursday nights worked well — plus it gave drivers another chance to get points.’’

As for the car on top of the U.S. 30 Speedway sign, Lin-coln decided that the points champion that year could put up his car and number on top of it.

“As it turned out the driver that won used the No. 30 on his car as well,’’ Lincoln said. “Some things are meant to be.’’

U.S. 30 Speedway set for 27th season

How Columbus track got its name


KENNETh GANSKOW of Columbus sits in the grandstand of U.s. 30 speedway. Ganskow and sam lincoln of Columbus co-own the track located southwest of Columbus on Highway 30.


Couldn’t place ad. Use the check ads command in the Scoop menu.93299Racing Tab N/C ColorMiller Machine


Two months ago, Gage Koch of Norfolk acquired his learner’s permit to drive.

It’s a requirement that, for a kid who has been racing cars for the past two years, seems somewhat unnecessary.

Now, with Riviera Raceway in Norfolk scheduled to open for its 49th season of racing on Saturday, April 13, the 14-year-old is ready to do some serious driving.

In compliance with track rules, the Sacred Heart eighth-grader must transition out of Riviera’s beginner’s class. In claiming the 2012 Junior Hornet point champi-onship last September, Koch went out with a bang . . . and a jolt, a roll and another roll.

“It was championship night and I was going down the backstretch when I got bumped from behind and turned a little sideways,” Koch recalled. “My momentum took me off the track right where the cars normally exit, and then I hit a dirt pile and started rolling and ended up on my roof.”

For his parents, Brian and Courtney, it was a frightening ex-perience to say the least.

“A lot of family and friends were in attendance that night to see him accept his championship trophy,’’ Mrs. Koch said. “It kind of took the fun out of it.”

Thankfully, Gage escaped seri-ous injury with only minor bumps and bruises.

As for the car? “It was toast,” said Brian Koch, whose Hi-Way Service business is the race team’s main sponsor.

Fortunately, since the Junior Hornet division allows drivers ages 12 through 16 to compete for only two years, a new race car was in order anyway. This year’s Hobby Stock race car will bear the same number (96) and paint

scheme, both originating from Brian’s racing days.

“My mother, Denise, was di-agnosed with breast cancer in 2006, so we’ve had a breast can-

cer awareness paint scheme on our cars ever since,” said Koch, who won a Street Stock point title at Riviera Raceway in 2005. “My wife’s mother, Dawn, was diag-

nosed in 2011, so having pink on the car is a tribute to them.”

Denise passed away in January, while Dawn is a cancer survivor.

With the new season and class,

Gage will be going from a front-wheel-drive Honda Prelude — competing in six-car features with speeds around 60 miles per hour — to competing in 15-car features going 70 miles per hour in a rear-wheel-drive Chevy Mal-ibu.

“I know I’ve got a lot to learn, but I’m just going to go out and do the best I can,” Gage said.

It’s just the kind of humbling remark a dad likes to hear.

“I feel a lot better putting him in a Hobby Stock now that he’s got some experience,” Brian Koch said. “The Junior Hornet division is a great way to get younger kids involved, instead of just throw-ing them straight into features against men with a lot bigger car counts.”

With race-day assistance from pit crew members Shawn Lange-meier and Jordan Knudson, Gage won 10 of 15 “A” features last sea-son.

Pretty remarkable stuff for a kid who stood less than 5-feet tall and weighed less than 100 pounds when this all started.

“My dad used to race and I liked watching him and thought it would be something I’d like to do,” Gage said. “So, halfway through the 2011 season, I jumped in a car, without any practice, and it was a blast.”

So was winning his first track points title.

“Gage was very consistent last year and did a good job of finish-ing races,” his father said. “I just think it’s really neat that now we both have track titles from Riv-iera.”

The race team’s goal for 2013 is to continue learning while flying under the radar. This, according to Gage, shouldn’t be a problem.

“Most of my friends don’t real-ly know a whole lot about racing,” he said.

Defending Junior Hornet champion joins Hobby Stock divisionYoung gun Koch, moving on up


GAGE KOch of norfolk began racing at age 12. This season, the now 14-year-old sacred Heart eighth-grader will move up into riviera racway’s Hobby stock division.

Saturday, January 18, 2014 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

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past Championsat Riviera Raceway

Grand Nationals2012 Jim Johnson2011 Robert Osborne2010 Chad Jensen2009 Robert Osborne2008 Chris Johnson2007 Robert Osborne2006 Robert Osborne2005 Robert Osborne2004 Robert Osborne2003 Robert Osborne2002 Robert Osborne2001 Robert Osborne2000 Robert Osborne1999 Robert Osborne1998 Reggie Roth1997 Robert Osborne

Street Stocks2012 Troy Bruns2011 TeJay Mielke2010 Troy Bruns2009 Shawn Primrose2008 Eric Vanosdall2007 Shawn Primrose2006 Kent Behmer2005 Brian Koch2004 Shawn Primrose

2003 Kent Behmer2002 Kent Behmer2001 Ron Pettitt2000 Chris Johnson1999 Chris Johnson1998 Chris Johnson1997 Jim Johnson

Hobby Stocks2012 Jason Wilkinson2011 Matt Haase2010 Tate Weinrich2009 Jeremy Brabec2008 Sean Spann2007 Matt Kersten2006 Jim Kimmel2005 Jeremy Brabec

Sport Compact2012 Cameron Meyer2011 Cameron Meyer2010 Grant Hurlbert2009 Shannon Pospisil2008 Eric Sloan2007 Shannon Pospisil

Junior Hornets2012 Gage Koch2011 Joey Haase DaRin EPPERly/Daily nEWS

RIvIERA RACEWAY in norfolk will open for its 49th year of dirt track racing on Saturday, april 13.

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14 tracks within 200 miles of Norfolk

StuartCommunity Track

(Stuart)

Butler CountyMotorplex(Rising City)

RivieraRaceway

(Norfolk)

Junction MotorSpeedway

(McCool Junction)

State FairPark

Raceway(Lincoln)

Dawson CountyRaceway(Lexington)

Cedar CountyRaceway(Hartington)

WagnerSpeedway(Wagner, SD)

RacewayPark

(Jefferson, SD)

I-80Speedway(Greenwood)

EagleRaceway

(Eagle)

Mid-NebraskaSpeedway

(Doniphan)

U.S. 30Speedway

(Columbus)

BeatriceSpeedway

(Beatrice)

AlbionSpeedway

(Albion)

Distances from Norfolk 46 miles - U.S. 30 Speedway 50 miles - Cedar County Raceway 53 miles - Albion Speedway 66 miles - Butler County Motorplex 88 miles - Raceway Park 104 miles - Stuart Community Track 105 miles - Junction Motor Speedway 113 miles - Wagner Speedway 122 miles - I-80 Speedway 122 miles - Mid-Nebraska Speedway 134 miles - Eagle Raceway 147 miles - State Fair Park Raceway 185 miles - Beatrice Speedway 195 miles - Dawson County Raceway


204 Sherwood Rd., Norfolk - 402-371-4242 93082

KIDS FREE!

Sanctioned Sanctioned Sanctioned

Grand Nationals • IMCA Sport Mods • IMCA Hobby Stocks • IMCA Sport

Compacts • Jr. Hornets

GRANDSTAND ADMISSION: Adults: $10

Student 14-18 With ID: $7 6-13 years: $5

5 and under: FREE

Races Start at 7:30 p.m. Races Start at 7:30 p.m. Races Start at 7:30 p.m. (Gates open at 6:30 p.m.) (Gates open at 6:30 p.m.) (Gates open at 6:30 p.m.)

SCHEDULE

April 20 . . Opening Night, Sponsored by

Alter Scrap Metal

April 27 . . . Regular Night

May 4 . . . . . . Regular Night

May 11 . . . . Regular Night, GOTRA

May 18 . . . . Regular Night

May 25 . . . . Regular Night

June 1 . . . . . Regular Night, Holt County Sprints

June 8 . . . . . Regular Night

June 15 . . . Regular NIght

June 22 . . . Regular Night

June 29 . . . Regular Night, Nebraska Modified Lites

July 3 . . . . . . Wednesday Night Race

July 6 . . . . . . OFF

July 13 . . . . OFF

July 20 . . . . Regular Night

July 27 . . . . Regular Night

Aug. 3 . . . . . SLMR

Aug. 10 . . . Regular Night

Aug. 17 . . . Regular Night

Aug. 24 . . . Regular Night, MCSA

Aug. 31 . . . Championship Night

All dates subject to change

Documents

Start Your Engines for April 3