Minnesota Dirt Track Racing
Home | Register | Contact | Verify Email | FAQ |
Blogs | Photo Gallery | Press Release | Results | HoseheadsClassifieds.com


Welcome Guest. Already registered? Please Login

 

Forum: Minnesota Dirt Track Racing Forum (go)
Moderators: StanM


Records per page
 
Topic: Who was Minnesota's best sprint car racer? Email this topic to a friend | Subscribe to this TopicReport this Topic to Moderator
Page 1 of 3   of  42 replies
Murphy
March 07, 2011 at 07:54:20 PM
Joined: 05/26/2005
Posts: 3262
Reply

Before WoO. Before wings. Before big budgets. Before TV coverage ?




Wingman
March 08, 2011 at 12:22:52 PM
Joined: 11/30/2004
Posts: 63
Reply

The "Flyin Farmer" - Don Mack



Terry Enter
March 08, 2011 at 03:14:27 PM
Joined: 02/10/2005
Posts: 42
Reply

Hands down Jan Opperman




PorschePeteTx
March 08, 2011 at 05:44:05 PM
Joined: 07/22/2008
Posts: 807
Reply

I agree....my childhood hero, Don Mack



sprntr
March 08, 2011 at 05:52:25 PM
Joined: 12/05/2004
Posts: 465
Reply
Reply to:
Posted By: Terry Enter on March 08 2011 at 03:14:27 PM

Hands down Jan Opperman



Nice try, but Jan Opperman wasn't from Minnesota



StanM
MyResults MyPressRelease
March 08, 2011 at 07:05:00 PM
Joined: 11/07/2006
Posts: 5548
Reply

Jerry Richert Sr.


Stan Meissner


Murphy
March 08, 2011 at 08:24:56 PM
Joined: 05/26/2005
Posts: 3262
Reply
Reply to:
Posted By: StanM on March 08 2011 at 07:05:00 PM

Jerry Richert Sr.



Hmmmm....Myself, I would have picked Jerry Richert. But then, I guess I had forgotten that Don Mack lives in East Grand Forks. I always thought of him as being from Noooorrrt! Uh-kota. One thing is for sure, the Mack family is probably the most prolific as far as members who raced sprints.

Jan Opperman? You almost had me there for a second.



jah42
March 09, 2011 at 07:55:44 AM
Joined: 11/26/2004
Posts: 1841
Reply

A top 5 and my favorite, Johnny Stevenson.



apprentice
March 09, 2011 at 08:06:57 AM
Joined: 08/19/2007
Posts: 116
Reply

I can't really narrow it down to just one driver, so I'll give a top five. In no particular order I would have to say :

John Stevenson(the "pumpkin eater" special)

Jerry Richert

Jerry Richert Jr.

Barry Kettering

Don Mack




ddca4
March 09, 2011 at 09:50:40 AM
Joined: 12/02/2004
Posts: 75
Reply

How about Roger Rager



PorschePeteTx
March 09, 2011 at 01:15:54 PM
Joined: 07/22/2008
Posts: 807
Reply
This message was edited on March 09, 2011 at 03:32:28 PM by PorschePeteTx

Some of my fondest racing memories was of my Dad and I going to Grand Forks Speedway and watching Don Mack run against Buck Peterson, the Swangler brothers, Don Guida, Denny Sather and the rest of the locals.

Don was the big fish in the small pond up in Grand Forks area. It is hard to believe that Don and Doug Howells could compete against some of the best in the country on both dirt and pavement from a place so far from the big sprint car tracks. Whether it was IMCA, the Minnesota State fair, the Little 500 or the winter tracks in Florida, they would win. And this was in the day where you may have bought a chassis, but everything else was home built including the Plymouth engine that was under the hood for many years.




Ken#9
March 09, 2011 at 01:52:46 PM
Joined: 12/03/2004
Posts: 375
Reply

I can remember Don Mack in the Howell #4 kicking azz at a WoO show in Hartford, SD. Don't remember the year, mid to late 70's. Think there was an intermission for heavy snow reducing visibility during the event. Steve in the white #11, Sammy in the Fed-X car.




Murphy
March 09, 2011 at 09:45:04 PM
Joined: 05/26/2005
Posts: 3262
Reply
Reply to:
Posted By: jah42 on March 09 2011 at 07:55:44 AM

A top 5 and my favorite, Johnny Stevenson.



John Stevenson !!!

I can remember him coming out to Black Hills Speedway near Rapid City, South Dakota every fall for their end of the year race. That guy was incredible on dryslick tracks.



56sprint
March 10, 2011 at 12:21:40 PM
Joined: 12/17/2006
Posts: 46
Reply

Bobby Geldner gets my vote



rocky22
March 10, 2011 at 05:44:57 PM
Joined: 01/12/2005
Posts: 5
Reply

Scratch Danials get my vote.




jake99
March 10, 2011 at 09:10:04 PM
Joined: 12/24/2008
Posts: 41
Reply

Marv Dewall



Murphy
March 10, 2011 at 09:52:29 PM
Joined: 05/26/2005
Posts: 3262
Reply
Reply to:
Posted By: 56sprint on March 10 2011 at 12:21:40 PM

Bobby Geldner gets my vote



I only saw Bobby Geldner race once, but it was memorable. In the spring of 1981, NSCA(?) had a daytime race at the old, big, 1/2 mile track at Hartford,S.D. . This was back in the pre-wing days. The weather was kind of drizzly, and the track was fast. We were sitting on the wet grass, down near turn one. There was a big crash. The front axle of Geldner's car, complete with tires, came over the fence and landed about 30 feet from us. We moved up the hill a ways. Shane Carson won.



StanM
MyResults MyPressRelease
March 11, 2011 at 05:59:39 AM
Joined: 11/07/2006
Posts: 5548
Reply

All of the drivers named were outstanding but in terms of career accomplishments none of them come close to Richert. Jerry Richert Sr. and Daniels were team mates in the Rose Plumbing cars so Scratch ran basically the same circuit as Richert but never had the same success. Mack, Geldner, and others never came close either.

Read GRP's tribute to the career of Jerry Richert Sr. to get an idea of his accomplishments:

http://www.gotomn.com/racing/history/jr%20project/jr-history.html


Stan Meissner


StanM
MyResults MyPressRelease
March 11, 2011 at 06:00:59 AM
Joined: 11/07/2006
Posts: 5548
Reply

P.S. GRP's tribute was published some years back in the Knoxville Nationals program. Jerry Richert Sr. won the Nationals in 1962.


Stan Meissner

sprint85
MyWebsite
March 11, 2011 at 10:14:00 AM
Joined: 11/11/2006
Posts: 190
Reply

Yeah,,, but can you imagine if you could put all of these guys on the track for an A-main?? Who would out brave who trying to get to the cushion first?? Rager or Richert?? Would Kettering or Stevenson finesse their way to the front first?? I'd pay money to see that race...





Post Reply
You must be logged in to Post a Message.
Not a member register Here.
Already registered? Please Login





If you have a website and would like to set up a forum here at HoseHeadForums.com
please contact us by using the contact link at the top of the page.

© 2024 HoseHeadForums.com Privacy Policy