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Forum: Minnesota Dirt Track Racing Forum (go)
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Topic: Does anyone remember?
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SprintsONLY
December 27, 2008 at 08:38:53 PM
Joined: 03/17/2008
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I vaguely remember either during the late 1960's or the very early 1970's that where the former Twin City Speedway sat, there was an asphalt track that ran on Sunday afternoons. Does anyone remember this? If I remember right When Dale Maloney bought the property, he had the asphalt dug up. And he started North Starr Speedway.

I do remember on a Sunday morning my sister had her first communion, we had a very quick Sunday Dinner and towed the race car to this track. I don't remember if it was known as Twin City Speedway then or not. Can anyone add any information to what I vaguely recall? Thanks Jim L



StanM
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December 28, 2008 at 03:53:03 PM
Joined: 11/07/2006
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This message was edited on December 28, 2008 at 03:57:57 PM by StanM

Twin City Speedway was the first place I attended a dirt track race at. GRP wrote this about Twin City/North Starr in the gotomn.com history section:

The track was originally built in 1950 by Don Voge and named Twin City Speedway. It was a 1/2 mile dirt oval located near New Brighton and Blaine. Don owned and operated the facility from 1950 through about 1964. The track ran the California-type hotrods, the super modifieds (which eventually evolved into sprint cars) and various stock car classes under Voge's guidance and direction. Don claimed to have the fastest 1/2 mile dirt track in the Upper Midwest. Of course, there were those who disagreed with his opinion. Don had and on again-off again relationship with several name drivers, and many of the top guns from that era would stop by on occasion and run a race or two at his open (unsanctioned) track. A host of local area warriors also frequented the track.

When Voge got into hot water with the IRS, the track was eventually sold. Bill Larson promoted the track for one year (I believe 1965). Voge's archrival Frank Winkley came in to promote races under a Regional IMCA sanction in the years 1966-1968. Winkley tragically lost his life in an automobile accident in early 1968. Phil Steward finished out the decade of the 1960s by hosting racing in the latter half of 1968 and 1969. A 1/4 mile track was built on the site, but it only lasted a few years. A drag strip was also constructed, and numerous local ET bracket drag races were held for many years. The dragway was called North Star Dragway in the 1970s.

With Twin City Speedway in a state of financial difficulty, the track sat dormant during the 1970 and 1971 seasons. Dayle Maloney decided to pump life back into the joint in 1972. He reopened the track to winged super modified (sprint car) racing. The first race was held on a Sunday afternoon. A large crowd was on hand and a decent field of cars sat in the pits. To say there was problems would be an understatement. It was dusty, it was rocky, it was rough. The debut did not go well at all. Dayle plugged along though. Racing was changed to Sunday nights, but the crowds and race cars never returned to the level of the opener. By the end of the season, the financial woes mounted and it looked like the place would sit idle again. Then along came Neil Larson and his Pace Inc. promotion. Neil operated the Fairmont Raceway, and he decided to give Twin City Speedway a try. He renamed the track North Star Speedway. The wings were done away with on the sprints, and the late models and hobby stocks were added to the race program. Neil often paid some appearance money to top name Midwestern sprint car drivers to appear at his race tracks. Neil promoted the track for two years (1973-1974). Many top name drivers passed through North Star's pit gate and turned laps on the 1/2 mile oval under the watchful eye of flagman Ron Fox. Since the MSA had just been formed in 1973, North Star became their home track. This meant that many of the local area hot shoes would run North Star on a regular basis. Financially, Neil Larson never really turned the corner, and at the end of the 1974 season he decided not to renew his lease.

Along came Marion (Buz) Beck. Buz had been a local racer for several years, and just prior to his taking over the promotional reigns at North Star, he had owned and operated the Stillwater Speedway. Buz changed the name to North Starr International Speedway (the word International was eventually dropped but the extra "r" stayed). Buz continued with the sprint car and hobby stock classes. The MSA and Buz sometimes did not see eye to eye, but for the most part, the two parties would reconcile their differences and the MSA would still call North Starr their home track (most of the time anyways). Plenty of great racing took place during Buz' tenure (1975-1979). Like all good things, the storied existence of the speedway came to an end at the close of the 1979 season. The trucking company that owned the land on which North Starr Speedway was located decided to sell the property. Beck's remaining year (or two) on his contract was bought out. The property actually sat idle for a few years, but ultimately an industrial park was built where race cars once sped around a 1/2 mile dirt track. Unknown at the time, the World of Outlaws race of August 12, 1979 would see the final checkered flag wave, leaving only the memories. The drag strip did continue to operate for another year until it also fell victim to what some term as progress.


Stan Meissner

StanM
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December 28, 2008 at 04:03:11 PM
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P.S. You are correct, the Speedway was paved for a few years and ran as a tri-circuit with Elko and Raceway. The pavement was removed and the track went back to dirt until it's demise in 1979. Some of the very first World of Outlaws Sprint shows were held at North Starr. You can read more about it in GRP's History project in the gotomn history section.
Stan Meissner

PorschePeteTx
December 29, 2008 at 11:42:17 PM
Joined: 07/22/2008
Posts: 807
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Reply to:
Posted By: StanM on December 28 2008 at 04:03:11 PM
P.S. You are correct, the Speedway was paved for a few years and ran as a tri-circuit with Elko and Raceway. The pavement was removed and the track went back to dirt until it's demise in 1979. Some of the very first World of Outlaws Sprint shows were held at North Starr. You can read more about it in GRP's History project in the gotomn history section.


I spent many Sunday evenings at North Starr and it was great racing when Sutcliffe, Jensen, and a few of the Knoxville regulars towed up for those shows and took on Skari, Mack and the MSA regulars.

On Saturday nights I either went to Cedar Lake or down to Elko for a pavement fix.

Great times all around...

Lee




grp
December 30, 2008 at 11:40:43 PM
Joined: 12/06/2004
Posts: 713
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Many fond memories for me on Sunday nights at North Star Speedway in Blaine. I attended my first race there on a Sunday night in late August 1972 (after we had been to the Owatonna IMCA Fair race in the afternoon) and seldom missed a night of racing after that. I certainly do remember Dick Sutcliffe, Lonnie Jensen, Bullet Butch Bahr, Don Maxwell and later on drivers like Doug Wolfgang and Shane Carson stopping by to race on Sunday nights. The two years that Neil Larson ran the joint, it was not uncommon to see several Knoxville drivers appear on various nights in addition to drivers like Don Mack, Darryl Dawley and Dave Skari (until his untimely death). We however had some very talented local drivers as well. I would stack Barry Kettering up against any of those drivers on his "home dirt" at North Star.

One of the best memories came during a two night July 4th special back in 1976. Doug Wolfgang had been dominating at Knoxville that year and had also been doing pretty well in his appearances at North Star. Dick Sutcliffe, who had not made an appearance at the track for several years, decided to come up for the second night of the special. "Mr. Excitement" schooled Wolfgang that night enroute to victory!

 



PorschePeteTx
December 31, 2008 at 08:33:07 AM
Joined: 07/22/2008
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Posted By: grp on December 30 2008 at 11:40:43 PM

Many fond memories for me on Sunday nights at North Star Speedway in Blaine. I attended my first race there on a Sunday night in late August 1972 (after we had been to the Owatonna IMCA Fair race in the afternoon) and seldom missed a night of racing after that. I certainly do remember Dick Sutcliffe, Lonnie Jensen, Bullet Butch Bahr, Don Maxwell and later on drivers like Doug Wolfgang and Shane Carson stopping by to race on Sunday nights. The two years that Neil Larson ran the joint, it was not uncommon to see several Knoxville drivers appear on various nights in addition to drivers like Don Mack, Darryl Dawley and Dave Skari (until his untimely death). We however had some very talented local drivers as well. I would stack Barry Kettering up against any of those drivers on his "home dirt" at North Star.

One of the best memories came during a two night July 4th special back in 1976. Doug Wolfgang had been dominating at Knoxville that year and had also been doing pretty well in his appearances at North Star. Dick Sutcliffe, who had not made an appearance at the track for several years, decided to come up for the second night of the special. "Mr. Excitement" schooled Wolfgang that night enroute to victory!

 



I agree with you on Barry Kettering...he ran tough with anyone in the upper midwest. He looked more like a pipe smoking professor than a race driver.

I was at a couple of those races in 1974 at Fairmont where he ran second to Ray Lee and then to Opperman.

Did Barry ever run at Knoxville?



sprint85
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December 31, 2008 at 09:31:36 AM
Joined: 11/11/2006
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This message was edited on December 31, 2008 at 09:32:52 AM by sprint85

Hey GRP,, just a little bit of "What ever happened to that car" for you,,, The car that Doug was in that day, the Trostle house car, ended up winning 21 feature wins in it's carrer. Bob sold that car after the 1977 season where they used it as a back up car with Shane Carson wheeling it for a few shows, (77 K-ville Nats I believe was one) and Joe Saldana filled in driving for Doug when he broke his shoulder in it.. The car was sold to Chris Maurer out of Colfax IA who ran it for a few years when my brother Mike and I purchased it from him.. It was our first sprint car and we've been hooked ever since. I had planned on restoring the old girl but after way too many years of it just sitting out in my shed collecting dust I finally figured out that I wasn't ever going to get around to doing anything with it and sold it to Larry Weeks from Montezuma, IA who is restoring it the way that it should be.... The car has had many different drivers and some history behind it,,, Some of the wheel men were Dick Morris, Doug Wolgang, Shane Carson,Joe Saldana (Trostle drivers) Rocky Hodges, Mackie Heimbaugh, Chris Maurer,(when Chris Maurer owned it), Chris was also driving it and was involved in the wreck in Knoxville that took Darrel Dawley and Roger Larsons lives,, It was also the only sprint car that I ever got upside down in when I tried to drive through one of Owatonna's cement walls,,,, The entire time that the car was raced, it never had power steering.....

You just don't see sprints having that type of pedigree anymore unfortunately,,,,

Have a Happy New Year!!

Brian



sprntr
December 31, 2008 at 08:45:09 PM
Joined: 12/05/2004
Posts: 465
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Posted By: SprintsONLY on December 27 2008 at 08:38:53 PM

I vaguely remember either during the late 1960's or the very early 1970's that where the former Twin City Speedway sat, there was an asphalt track that ran on Sunday afternoons. Does anyone remember this? If I remember right When Dale Maloney bought the property, he had the asphalt dug up. And he started North Starr Speedway.

I do remember on a Sunday morning my sister had her first communion, we had a very quick Sunday Dinner and towed the race car to this track. I don't remember if it was known as Twin City Speedway then or not. Can anyone add any information to what I vaguely recall? Thanks Jim L



The track was located at approximately 82nd St N & I-35 in Blaine. The area is now an industrial park, just north of the golf course that is northwest of the I35 -US10 interchange.

A great website for historic aerial photos is: http://www.historicaerials.com/default.aspx

Type in:

Latitude: 45.1206

Longitude: -93.1964 (Don't forget the minus sign)

Pick a year at the right or pick "compare two years" to view in split screen.



SprintsONLY
December 31, 2008 at 09:37:16 PM
Joined: 03/17/2008
Posts: 36
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I am still curious if anyone else attended the races at the Asphalt track? Any memories of the racing?

The dirt track was fun. You never knew what drivers would show up on any given Sunday. If you sat on the top row of the bleachers you could watch the drag races also.

Barry Kettering was not only a great driver, he was one of the nicest men ever. He was my hero on and off the track. He drove my Dad's car a few times late one season, after he had wrecked his car.

Jim L.



StanM
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January 01, 2009 at 03:48:46 PM
Joined: 11/07/2006
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This message was edited on January 01, 2009 at 03:59:30 PM by StanM
Reply to:
Posted By: SprintsONLY on December 31 2008 at 09:37:16 PM

I am still curious if anyone else attended the races at the Asphalt track? Any memories of the racing?

The dirt track was fun. You never knew what drivers would show up on any given Sunday. If you sat on the top row of the bleachers you could watch the drag races also.

Barry Kettering was not only a great driver, he was one of the nicest men ever. He was my hero on and off the track. He drove my Dad's car a few times late one season, after he had wrecked his car.

Jim L.



We used to go there every weekend when I was a kid from around 1960 through '65 but I'm dating myself because at that time it was still Twin City Speedway and they ran Supermodifieds. Like a lot of young men my race attendance suffered when I became a teenager and discovered girls. Once I got a car we still went to TC sometimes but my high school buddies all preferred Cedar Lake because it was easy for a teen to park around the track and drink beer on the sly. I don't know if he's even around anymore but one of my pals was Lynn Cook, Elmer's nephew, but I lost track of him after high school.

When I got out of the Navy in 1973 I worked nights and by then had little kids so I didn't get to very many races until 1979 when my work schedule changed. I took Les to his first race at North Starr. Some of you might recall one night when the races were delayed by a passing shower. When they finally did get the Feature underway Jerry Richert and I believe it was Daryl Dawley flipped hard on the frontstretch. Needless to say Les and his dad were hooked. Unfortunately that was the final year of weekly Sprint Car racing at North Starr. After North Starr closed we went out to Cedar Lake for the Outlaws every year, hit a few weekly shows and went to the Firecracker with the family. Les and I used to go down to Jackson while it was still VFW once in a while.

I think the asphalt years must have been during the 70's. I was out of touch with the racing for a while there and had heard that the track was closed. One day I stopped at an SA on Larpenteur and I spotted a poster for North Starr so that's what got me going again. If it wasn't for the Twin City Speedway and my dad and uncle Lloyd Wilke being buddies since their pre WWII days on the east side I might have never discovered this sport. Dirt track racing isn't in the mainstream and I think most of us got involved through a parent, relative or someone in the neighborhood. A few might have grown up near a track and got into it that way but all of us can tell stories about how we got involved. You just don't hear people talking about how they became football or baseball fans because it's mainstream but there's something really special about listening to people tell how they got into racing.

It's an awesome sport and an awesome group of people that are involved in it.


Stan Meissner

grp
January 03, 2009 at 03:13:28 PM
Joined: 12/06/2004
Posts: 713
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This message was edited on January 03, 2009 at 03:14:46 PM by grp
Reply to:
Posted By: PorschePeteTx on December 31 2008 at 08:33:07 AM

I agree with you on Barry Kettering...he ran tough with anyone in the upper midwest. He looked more like a pipe smoking professor than a race driver.

I was at a couple of those races in 1974 at Fairmont where he ran second to Ray Lee and then to Opperman.

Did Barry ever run at Knoxville?



Yes, Barry Kettering did race at Knoxville a few times when the MSA had their traditional MSA vs Knoxville Challenge race. Several of the MSA teams went south during the few years they held the challenge event. By far, Barry Kettering fared the best of our local drivers at the time. Most of our MSA drivers failed to make the main event, but Kettering made the main each time and ran in the top five (at least once) to give the MSA their best finishing position. I'll have to look back in the MSA Newsletters and see if I can find the MSA-Knoxville Challenge results for one or more years.



grp
January 03, 2009 at 03:21:21 PM
Joined: 12/06/2004
Posts: 713
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Reply to:
Posted By: sprint85 on December 31 2008 at 09:31:36 AM

Hey GRP,, just a little bit of "What ever happened to that car" for you,,, The car that Doug was in that day, the Trostle house car, ended up winning 21 feature wins in it's carrer. Bob sold that car after the 1977 season where they used it as a back up car with Shane Carson wheeling it for a few shows, (77 K-ville Nats I believe was one) and Joe Saldana filled in driving for Doug when he broke his shoulder in it.. The car was sold to Chris Maurer out of Colfax IA who ran it for a few years when my brother Mike and I purchased it from him.. It was our first sprint car and we've been hooked ever since. I had planned on restoring the old girl but after way too many years of it just sitting out in my shed collecting dust I finally figured out that I wasn't ever going to get around to doing anything with it and sold it to Larry Weeks from Montezuma, IA who is restoring it the way that it should be.... The car has had many different drivers and some history behind it,,, Some of the wheel men were Dick Morris, Doug Wolgang, Shane Carson,Joe Saldana (Trostle drivers) Rocky Hodges, Mackie Heimbaugh, Chris Maurer,(when Chris Maurer owned it), Chris was also driving it and was involved in the wreck in Knoxville that took Darrel Dawley and Roger Larsons lives,, It was also the only sprint car that I ever got upside down in when I tried to drive through one of Owatonna's cement walls,,,, The entire time that the car was raced, it never had power steering.....

You just don't see sprints having that type of pedigree anymore unfortunately,,,,

Have a Happy New Year!!

Brian



Hi Brian. I think I might have seen you in the car in your early days in sprint car racing. If I remember correctly, didn't you haul the car over to Jackson on a flat wagon (kind of looked like a hay wagon)? I remember one night being at Jackson and you (I think it was a #85 sprinter) pulled into the infield with a Trostle sprint car on a flat wagon. I turned to my friend and said, "What kind of local is coming out to race now? He couldn't have hauled more than a few miles." My buddy, who was from Windom, didn't have a clue who the driver was. I was surprised to learn that the trailer had indeed come from further than a few miles.



grp
January 03, 2009 at 04:04:07 PM
Joined: 12/06/2004
Posts: 713
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Reply to:
Posted By: PorschePeteTx on December 31 2008 at 08:33:07 AM

I agree with you on Barry Kettering...he ran tough with anyone in the upper midwest. He looked more like a pipe smoking professor than a race driver.

I was at a couple of those races in 1974 at Fairmont where he ran second to Ray Lee and then to Opperman.

Did Barry ever run at Knoxville?



I located the 1974 & 1975 MSA-Knoxville Shoot Out race results in the MSA Newsletter. Here they are.

MSA-Knoxville Shoot Out Race - June 1, 1974

Heat 1: Mike Thomas, Bob Hop, Bob Fisher, Jerry Richert

Heat 2: Jan Opperman, Larry Kirkpatrick, Jr Gutnecht, Dell Schmidt

Heat 3: Ray Lee Goodwin, Thad Dosher, Earl Wagner, Barry Kettering

Match Race: Thad Dosher

Consy: Dick Sutcliffe

Main: Ray Lee Goodwin, Thad Dosher, Earl Wagner, Lonnie Jensen, Lenard McCarl, Dick Sutcliffe, Barry Kettering, Mike Thomas, Dell Schmidt, Bob Fisher, Jr Gutnecht, Larry Kirkpatrick, Bill Dollansky, Bob Hop, Jerry Richert, Dave Heskin, Dale McCarty, Jan Opperman, John Stevenson, Russ Brahmer.

MSA-Knoxville Shoot Out Race - May 19, 1975

Fast Time: John Stevenson 21.56 (48 cars)

Heat 1: Jr Gutnecht, Jon backlund, Con Edwards, Arian Zoutte, Bill Cohee

Heat 2: Dell Schmidt, Edd French, Lenard McCarl, Mike Thomas, Bill Dollansky

Heat 3: Roger Rager, Bob Geldner, Jerry Frantsen, Larry Kirkpatrick, Jerry Miller

Heat 4: Barry Kettering, Ralph Blackett, Doug Wolfgang, John Stevenson, Thad Dosher

Match Race: Ralph Blackett

Consy: Ray Lee Goodwin, Jerry Miller, Thad Dosher, Stacy Redmond, Steve Hainline

Main: Ralph Blackett, Ray Lee Goodwin, Dell Schmidt, Barry Kettering, Doug Wolfgang, Roger Rager, Bob Geldner, Thad Dosher, Jerry Frantsen, Mike Thomas (only listed the top 10).



butchknouse37
January 10, 2009 at 10:31:04 AM
Joined: 03/11/2005
Posts: 520
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The final race at the track on August 12, 1979, the WoO race, was won by Doug Wolfgang.



StanM
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January 10, 2009 at 11:08:10 AM
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Posted By: butchknouse37 on January 10 2009 at 10:31:04 AM

The final race at the track on August 12, 1979, the WoO race, was won by Doug Wolfgang.



North Starr WoO August 12, 1979

Heat 1: Wolfgang 4x, Smith 43, Ferkel 0, Green 55, James 15x, Stevenson 31

Heat 2: Hewitt 3x, Kinser 11, Hop 88, Osborne 81, Schostag 13, Kennedy 21, Bennett 99, Toepper 9

Heat 3: Dollansky 40, Carson 20, Thompson 2c, Anderson 16, swindell 7x

Dash: Wolfgang 4x, Smith 43, Ferkel 0

Feature: Wolfgang 4x, James 15, Kinser 11, Ferkel 0, Stevenson 31, Smith 43, Hewitt 3x, Hop 88, Green 55, Thompson 2c, Anderson 16, Swindell 7x, Olson 59, Geldner 1, Bennett 99, Osborne 81, Carson 20, Dollansky 40, Richert 62

$2,000 to win

Sportsman Feature won by Ron Jones

I'm not a stats man but I happened to have a copy of "Thunder In The North" that includes North Starr results for 1979.


Stan Meissner

apprentice
January 11, 2009 at 02:52:37 PM
Joined: 08/19/2007
Posts: 116
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$2,000 to win back then would be about like $20,000 these days. Does anyone remember what a typical weekly purse was at North Star back then?

Spent many Sunday nights at that joint when I was a kid. I remember looking out the window of the car pulling in to the track and watching the straightliners racing. I also remember drooling over some quarter midgets that they had on display one time. The drag racing didn't really interest me much however, I was anxious for the mud-slingers!



JRKracer
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January 12, 2009 at 10:47:31 AM
Joined: 04/08/2005
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Posted By: apprentice on January 11 2009 at 02:52:37 PM

$2,000 to win back then would be about like $20,000 these days. Does anyone remember what a typical weekly purse was at North Star back then?

Spent many Sunday nights at that joint when I was a kid. I remember looking out the window of the car pulling in to the track and watching the straightliners racing. I also remember drooling over some quarter midgets that they had on display one time. The drag racing didn't really interest me much however, I was anxious for the mud-slingers!



I beleive 500.00 to win and 30.00 to start the A is what I remember. I ran the A most nites and figured If I got to 10th it was a break even nite. I found some finishes a few years ago the ex didn't distroy and 10th paid 75.00.



dimpala1964
August 02, 2011 at 07:13:03 AM
Joined: 08/01/2011
Posts: 1
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Posted By: StanM on December 28 2008 at 03:53:03 PM

Twin City Speedway was the first place I attended a dirt track race at. GRP wrote this about Twin City/North Starr in the gotomn.com history section:

The track was originally built in 1950 by Don Voge and named Twin City Speedway. It was a 1/2 mile dirt oval located near New Brighton and Blaine. Don owned and operated the facility from 1950 through about 1964. The track ran the California-type hotrods, the super modifieds (which eventually evolved into sprint cars) and various stock car classes under Voge's guidance and direction. Don claimed to have the fastest 1/2 mile dirt track in the Upper Midwest. Of course, there were those who disagreed with his opinion. Don had and on again-off again relationship with several name drivers, and many of the top guns from that era would stop by on occasion and run a race or two at his open (unsanctioned) track. A host of local area warriors also frequented the track.

When Voge got into hot water with the IRS, the track was eventually sold. Bill Larson promoted the track for one year (I believe 1965). Voge's archrival Frank Winkley came in to promote races under a Regional IMCA sanction in the years 1966-1968. Winkley tragically lost his life in an automobile accident in early 1968. Phil Steward finished out the decade of the 1960s by hosting racing in the latter half of 1968 and 1969. A 1/4 mile track was built on the site, but it only lasted a few years. A drag strip was also constructed, and numerous local ET bracket drag races were held for many years. The dragway was called North Star Dragway in the 1970s.

With Twin City Speedway in a state of financial difficulty, the track sat dormant during the 1970 and 1971 seasons. Dayle Maloney decided to pump life back into the joint in 1972. He reopened the track to winged super modified (sprint car) racing. The first race was held on a Sunday afternoon. A large crowd was on hand and a decent field of cars sat in the pits. To say there was problems would be an understatement. It was dusty, it was rocky, it was rough. The debut did not go well at all. Dayle plugged along though. Racing was changed to Sunday nights, but the crowds and race cars never returned to the level of the opener. By the end of the season, the financial woes mounted and it looked like the place would sit idle again. Then along came Neil Larson and his Pace Inc. promotion. Neil operated the Fairmont Raceway, and he decided to give Twin City Speedway a try. He renamed the track North Star Speedway. The wings were done away with on the sprints, and the late models and hobby stocks were added to the race program. Neil often paid some appearance money to top name Midwestern sprint car drivers to appear at his race tracks. Neil promoted the track for two years (1973-1974). Many top name drivers passed through North Star's pit gate and turned laps on the 1/2 mile oval under the watchful eye of flagman Ron Fox. Since the MSA had just been formed in 1973, North Star became their home track. This meant that many of the local area hot shoes would run North Star on a regular basis. Financially, Neil Larson never really turned the corner, and at the end of the 1974 season he decided not to renew his lease.

Along came Marion (Buz) Beck. Buz had been a local racer for several years, and just prior to his taking over the promotional reigns at North Star, he had owned and operated the Stillwater Speedway. Buz changed the name to North Starr International Speedway (the word International was eventually dropped but the extra "r" stayed). Buz continued with the sprint car and hobby stock classes. The MSA and Buz sometimes did not see eye to eye, but for the most part, the two parties would reconcile their differences and the MSA would still call North Starr their home track (most of the time anyways). Plenty of great racing took place during Buz' tenure (1975-1979). Like all good things, the storied existence of the speedway came to an end at the close of the 1979 season. The trucking company that owned the land on which North Starr Speedway was located decided to sell the property. Beck's remaining year (or two) on his contract was bought out. The property actually sat idle for a few years, but ultimately an industrial park was built where race cars once sped around a 1/2 mile dirt track. Unknown at the time, the World of Outlaws race of August 12, 1979 would see the final checkered flag wave, leaving only the memories. The drag strip did continue to operate for another year until it also fell victim to what some term as progress.



I see you've been doing your Homework ? Pretty Good !



StanM
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August 03, 2011 at 05:59:53 AM
Joined: 11/07/2006
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Naw, wasn't me. I was there during the time all that stuff happened but never paid much attention to detail. You can thank GRP for the detailed research. I just cut-n-pasted this one.


Stan Meissner

scorbin53
July 29, 2012 at 07:24:15 PM
Joined: 09/20/2005
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Reply to:
Posted By: SprintsONLY on December 27 2008 at 08:38:53 PM

I vaguely remember either during the late 1960's or the very early 1970's that where the former Twin City Speedway sat, there was an asphalt track that ran on Sunday afternoons. Does anyone remember this? If I remember right When Dale Maloney bought the property, he had the asphalt dug up. And he started North Starr Speedway.

I do remember on a Sunday morning my sister had her first communion, we had a very quick Sunday Dinner and towed the race car to this track. I don't remember if it was known as Twin City Speedway then or not. Can anyone add any information to what I vaguely recall? Thanks Jim L



Don Voge owned Twin City Speedway and it was then a 1/2 Mile Dirt Track and Drags. I remember he had a huge Hog we used to ride when we were kids. If Don Voge had a good night of cars he would pay the drivers a bit more to show his appreciation. That sure does not happen any more. Greed has gotten in the way. If it were not for the drivers the tracks would not be making any money. When Don sold the track the new owners turned it in to asphalt and lost spectators and cars. Then he turned it back into dirt which ruined the track. Then the land got sold and Medtronics and other crappy businesses came in. What a shame it was a great track.



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