Final South Dakota Points For 2024

Who would have thought that we would see a racing season start during the first week of March and not come to an end until the first weekend in November in the state of South Dakota? And consider this as well, while the same facility both started the season early and closed it out late, the actual race track configuration of the Park Jefferson Speedway actually changed significantly in between!

With this extended season now closed it is time for us to present the South Dakota Points for the ninth time where we use the same standard 5-point scale across all events as we do with the All Iowa Points.  We had two drivers claim there first title in the state, although one of those is also a champion in Iowa for 2024, while four drivers added to their list of accomplishments.

In the Limited Modified class, Scott Hansen takes his first South Dakota Points championship edging out the two-time defending champ Willy Kirk by just one point. Hansen had three wins in his twenty-two top five finishes while Kirk had five wins in seventeen top fives. Hansen had ranked eighth here in 2023. Third goes to Dawson Zabel who scored four wins in sixteen top five efforts. 

For the eighth year in a row Chad Becker is the Late Model champion and he did it in dominating fashion with twelve wins in twenty-four top five finishes. Runner-up Josh Skorczewski, who improved one position over last season, had seven victories in his twenty-one events where he scored points. Third goes to Jayson Good who had two wins in nineteen top fives as he climbs up from fifth in 2023. 

After finishing in a three-way tie for second behind Dale Ames in 2023, Mike Stearns stormed back to the top of the Modified standings to capture his third South Dakota Points title in the last four years. Stearns more than doubled up on the points of his competitors as he was a twelve time winner in thirty top five finishes. Rapid City's Eric Mass used his ten wins in twelve top fives at the Black Hills Speedway to rank second just one point better than Chris Abelson who had seven wins in fourteen top fives. 

It was quite a year for Mike Nichols who scored his twelfth IMCA National Championship and won his second All Iowa Points Stock Car title and you can add his first South Dakota Points championship to that list as well. Nichols has twelve wins in eighteen top fives at Park Jeff and Interstate to easily out distance Wyatt Luke. It was an impressive rookie season for Luke who stepped up from the Hobby Stocks as he had seven wins in twelve top five finishes. Three-time champion Travis Barker takes third in 2024 with three wins in fourteen top five finishes. 

We have another dual state champion in the Sprint Cars where Lee Goos Jr. is the South Dakota Points champion for the fourth straight season. Goos tallied seven victories in thirteen top five finishes on South Dakota soil and he also captured his third straight All Iowa Points 305 Sprint Car title in 2024. Ryan Bickett was nine points back in second with six wins in ten top five finishes while Adam Speckman finishes third after scoring points in ten events, with two of them being feature wins. 

Final points from more states in the mid-section of the country are still to come on future entries of the Back Stretch.

South Dakota Points

Limited Modifieds Final 2024

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Scott Hansen Garden City 61

2 . Willy Kirk Sloan IA 60

3 . Dawson Zabel Selby 49

4 . Duke Erickson Sioux Falls 48

5 . Mike Nichols Watertown 48

6 . Rusty Montagne Sioux City IA 45

7 . Rex Conrad Rapid City 44

8 . Darin Hauff Rapid City 43

9 . Kyle Harkin Hermosa 43

10 . Geoff Olson Sioux City IA 40

11 . Todd Stark Watertown 40

12 . Derek Reick Ortonville MN 37

13 . Taylor Schmidt Bath 37

14 . Jayme Peterson Highmore 35

15 . Tommy Nichols Watertown 30

16 . Jake Newsom Sioux City IA 28

17 . Jarod Klein Jamestown ND 28

18 . Derek Van Veldhuizen Rock Rapids IA 27

19 . Tony Leiker Gillette WY 27

20 . Justin Klynsma Hospers IA 26

21 . Scott Tyrell Rapid City 26

22 . Jake Wranek Sioux Falls 25

23 . Matt Heinzerling Spearfish 25

24 . Tanner Koster Sioux Falls 25

25 . Nick Perry Huron 24

26 . Lane Johnson Miller 23

27 . Josh Pfeifer St. Paul NE 22

28 . Paul Parks Owanka 22

29 . Troy Leiker Gillette WY 21

30 . Lorin Johnson Miller 19

31 . Connor Vande Weerd Alton IA 18

32 . Dudley Schroeder Jr. Armour 18

33 . Jonah Chinn Sioux City IA 18

34 . Nick Ekstrand Rapid City 18

35 . Brock Hess Sioux Falls 17

36 . Karl Brewer Vermillion 16

37 . Luke Johnson Miller 15

38 . Tyler Tesch Lennox 15

39 . Chris Larson Rapid City 14

40 . Wade Wright Ravinia 14

41 . Chris Goetz Centerville 13

42 . Terry Reilly Watertown 13

43 . Adam Chernotik Alexandria 12

44 . Brennan Davis Piedmont 12

45 . Clint Erickson Sioux Falls 12

46 . Lucas Rodin Marion ND 12

47 . Lyndon Johnson Montrose 12

48 . Sean Barragan Sergeant Bluff IA 12

49 . Dave Kennedy Sioux Falls 11

50 . Ryan Ost Adrian ND 11

51 . David Simpson Thunder Bay ON 10

52 . Joel Morris Box Elder 10

53 . Aaron De Thury Sioux Falls 9

54 . Colby Fett Algona IA 9

55 . Shelby Alves Casa Grande AZ 9

56 . Connor Friske Box Elder 8

57 . Scott Bintz Jamestown ND 8

58 . Taylor Kuehl Cave Creek AZ 8

59 . Camden Myers Ethan 7

60 . Devyn Peterson Milford NE 7

61 . Jaren Puhlman Piedmont 7

62 . Jaren Wibstad Jamestown ND 7

63 . Ron Starkey Box Elder 7

64 . Tanner James Mt. Vernon 7

65 . Brennon Weight LaMoure ND 6

66 . Cameron Meyer Pierce NE 6

67 . Chad Williamson Watertown 6

68 . Connor Blumhardt Bath 6

69 . Gregg Hamman Kingsley IA 6

70 . Jake Molitor St. Cloud MN 6

71 . Jake Sachau Manning IA 6

72 . Jim Cole Sioux City IA 6

73 . Kevin McCarty Naper NE 6

74 . Sean Henry Rapid City 6

75 . Tommy Tanner Hinton IA 6

76 . Trevor Ryan Highmore 6

77 . Corbin Erickson Sioux Falls 5

78 . Jordan Kienow Miller 5

79 . Justin Addison Meadow Grove NE 5

80 . Kyle Langland Enderlin ND 5

81 . Reece Solander Emporia KS 5

82 . Tyler Nerud Dorchester NE 5

83 . Arin Beyer Jamestown ND 4

84 . Brandon Woodhead Box Elder 4

85 . Brody Spreng Sioux City IA 4

86 . Chris Burke Altoona IA 4

87 . Chris Moore Madison 4

88 . Dustin Kruse Baltic 4

89 . Gage Myers Appleton MN 4

90 . Greg Taylor Sioux City IA 4

91 . John Rebstock Morton MN 4

92 . Kyle Pecena O'Neill NE 4

93 . Kyle Schell Aberdeen 4

94 . Lee Hoerle Burwell NE 4

95 . Logan Anderson Eddyville IA 4

96 . Mark Brave Rapid City 4

97 . Matthew Looft Swea City IA 4

98 . Mike Grass Yankton 4

99 . Nick Minar 4

100 . Tracy Johnson Lake Preston 4

101 . Trent Edwards Hermosa 4

102 . Brayton Carter Oskaloosa IA 3

103 . Cole Christensen Sioux Falls 3

104 . Eric Cease Bath 3

105 . Jacob Hodges Lebo KS 3

106 . James Embree Rapid City 3

107 . Kyle Bertram Dallas 3

108 . Logan Redlin Watertown 3

109 . Paxton George Rapid City 3

110 . Toby Ives Verdigre NE 3

111 . Alan Farley Rapid City 2

112 . Brayden Ahlers Slayton MN 2

113 . Britt Williams Fort Pierre 2

114 . Carter McCarthey Springview NE 2

115 . Chris Troidl Stuart NE 2

116 . Kaden Woodie Milaca MN 2

117 . Kevin Joachim Larchwood IA 2

118 . Michael Scharn Sac City IA 2

119 . Ronnie Grass Albion NE 2

120 . Tyler Johnson Montrose 2

121 . Zach LaQua Watertown 2

122 . Braden Scharn Sac City IA 1

123 . Brandon Spanjer Crete NE 1

124 . Camden Rassel Woonsocket 1

125 . Cole Neset Fargo ND 1

126 . Cole Searing Huron 1

127 . Chris Abelson Sioux City IA 1

128 . Derek Altman Hermosa 1

129 . Doug Neitzel Watertown 1

130 . Jeremiah Christensen Sioux Falls 1

131 . Joe Reetz Dunlap IA 1

132 . John Klynsma Hospers IA 1

133 . John Ross Mankato MN 1

134 . Jonathan Jensen Norfolk NE 1

135 . Kendell McCarthy Naper NE 1

136 . Kirk Beatty Sioux City IA 1

137 . Nathan Jager Groton 1

138 . Riley Osantowski Columbus NE 1

139 . Tim Kanten Milan MN 1

South Dakota Points

Late Model Final 2024

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Chad Becker Aberdeen 95

2 . Josh Skorczewski Aberdeen 68

3 . Jayson Good Watertown 50

4 . Curt Kranz Watertown 42

5 . Scott Ward Watertown 39

6 . Trevor Anderson Watertown 38

7 . Trevor Walsh Watertown 35

8 . Tyler Peterson Hickson ND 32

9 . Lyndon Bolt Rapid City 31

10 . Kent Arment Aberdeen 30

11 . Tony Croninger Watertown 30

12 . Blair Nothdurft Renner 29

13 . Cole Searing Huron 24

14 . Bodie Croninger Watertown 23

15 . Lynn Amick Rapid City 23

16 . Chase Gelling Aberdeen 20

17 . Dustin Arthur St. Lawrence 20

18 . David Carlson Huron 19

19 . Scott Harrington Waubay 16

20 . Alysse Bolt Rapid City 15

21 . Konner Sperle Aberdeen 15

22 . Bobby Pierce Oakwood IL 14

23 . Jesse Sobbing Malvern IA 14

24 . Tad Pospisil Norfolk NE 14

25 . Mike Stearns Aberdeen 13

26 . Doug Walsh Watertown 12

27 . Mike Greseth Harwood ND 12

28 . Denin Moran Dresden OH 11

29 . Nick Beyenhof Rock Rapids IA 11

30 . Bill Leighton Jr. Omaha NE 10

31 . Cody Martin Mitchell 10

32 . Corey Zeitner Omaha NE 10

33 . Justin Zeitner Malvern IA 10

34 . Chase Alves Sioux Falls 9

35 . Lee Grosz Watertown 9

36 . Evan Miller Silvis IL 8

37 . Morris Oberle Lead 8

38 . Brandon Sheppard New Berlin IL 7

39 . Corey Aga Sturgis 7

40 . Curtis Newberg Willmar MN 6

41 . Heather Mertens Gillette WY 6

42 . Matthew Larson Lake Elmo MN 6

43 . Ricky Thornton Jr. Martinsville IN 6

44 . Zach Zeitner Bellevue NE 6

45 . Chad Olsen Hendricks MN 5

46 . Dan Henrikson Rapid City 5

47 . Daulton Wilson Fayetteville NC 5

48 . Jake Neal Omaha NE 5

49 . Mike Collins New Orleans LA 5

50 . Ryan Engels Watertown 5

51 . Shane Demey Denison IA 5

52 . Thomas Weisgram Aberdeen 5

53 . Andrew Kosiski LaVista NE 4

54 . Charlie Olsen Hendricks MN 4

55 . Chuck Swenson Watertown 4

56 . Cory Dumpert Newman Grove NE 4

57 . Denver Nickeson Veblen 4

58 . Dyllan Ricks Boyden IA 4

59 . Gary Brown Jr. Brandon 4

60 . Jeff Provinzino Hibbing MN 4

61 . Joel Waba Watertown 4

62 . Keegan Nordquist Bresford 4

63 . Morgan Ward Grosz Watertown 4

64 . Rusty Kollman Carrington ND 4

65 . Tim McCreadie Watertown NY 4

66 . Tyler McFarland Goodwin 4

67 . Ben Sukup Norfolk NE 3

68 . Brady Mellendorf Brandt 3

69 . Eric Edwards Edgeley ND 3

70 . Karl Brewer Vermillion 3

71 . Kyle Berck Marquette NE 3

72 . Blake Swenson Watertown 2

73 . Brody Troftgruben Grand Forks ND 2

74 . Devin Johnson Bloomfield NE 2

75 . Jesse Glenz Chippewa Falls WI 2

76 . Justin Boomsma Huron 2

77 . Justin Karlen Howard 2

78 . Matt Haase Norfolk NE 2

79 . Kevin Burdick Proctor MN 2

80 . Tyler Erb New Waverly TX 2

81 . Alex Banks Newman Grove NE 1

82 . Brandon Sprinkel Highmore 1

83 . Chad Williamson Watertown 1

84 . Chris Palsrok Estherville IA 1

85 . Cole Schill Hawley MN 1

86 . Dylan Sillman Alvo NE 1

87 . Hudson O'Neal Martinsville IN 1

88 . Matt Haase Norfolk NE 1

89 . Josh Leonard Gibbon NE 1

90 . Kale Kosiski Ralston NE 1

91 . Mike Jager Gettysburg 1

92 . Nelson Vollbrecht Stanton NE 1

93 . Parker Gilbertson Watson MN 1

South Dakota Points

Modified Final 2024

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Mike Stearns Hecla 117

2 . Eric Mass Rapid City 58

3 . Chris Abelson Sioux City IA 57

4 . Dylan Zabel Selby 56

5 . Tony Konold Clear Lake 55

6 . Brent Nielsen Rapid City 49

7 . Joseph Thomas Fargo ND 36

8 . Dale Ames Huron 32

9 . Jim Cole Sioux City IA 31

10 . Cayden Schmeling Watertown 29

11 . Chris Mills Sioux City IA 29

12 . Nate Hand Rapid City 27

13 . Kent Arment Aberdeen 25

14 . Bob Moore Sioux City IA 22

15 . Nate Heinrich Bellingham MN 21

16 . Connor Friske Rapid City 20

17 . Garrett Gross Aberdeen 20

18 . Ricky Stephan S. Sioux City NE 20

19 . Cody Thompson Sioux City IA 19

20 . Jace Whitt Hamilton MO 18

21 . Matt Bonine Onawa IA 18

22 . Adam Boggs Custer 16

23 . Peyton George Rapid City 15

24 . Tyler Anglin Aberdeen 15

25 . Brandon Beckendorf Danube MN 14

26 . Tim Thomas West Fargo ND 13

27 . Jason Schneiders North Sioux City 12

28 . Izac Mallicoat Boone IA 11

29 . Scott Ward Watertown 11

30 . Bryce Borgen Perley MN 10

31 . Chaun Peterson Aberdeen 10

32 . R.J. Merchant S. Sioux City NE 10

33 . Mike Dimond Rapid City 9

34 . Sean Barragan Sergeant Bluff IA 9

35 . Shane Demey Denison IA 8

36 . Darran Conrad Gillette WY 7

37 . Jack Hubbard Jr. Rapid City 7

38 . Joel Rust Grundy Center IA 7

39 . Brandon Clough Wallace NE 6

40 . Dan Wagner Sioux City IA 6

41 . Jeremy Mills Clear Lake IA 6

42 . Andy Brooker Tulare 5

43 . Brad Lawrence Mitchell 5

44 . Brett Pudwill Black Hawk 5

45 . Cole Chernosky Thunder Bay ON 5

46 . Jim Thies Mapleton IA 5

47 . Tim Ward Harcourt IA 5

48 . Brock Gronwald Fergus Falls MN 4

49 . Lucas Rodin Marion 4

50 . Tripp Gaylord Lakewood CO 4

51 . Trevor Anderson Watertown 4

52 . Duke Erickson Sioux Falls 3

53 . Jadin Fuller Memphis MO 3

54 . Jesse Young Warner 3

55 . Justin Zeitner Malvern IA 3

56 . Lane Johnson Miller 3

57 . Travis Tooley Dickinson ND 3

58 . Troy Cordes Dunkerton IA 3

59 . Dave Brooker Tulare 2

60 . James Hanley Cresbard 2

61 . Josh Most Red Oak IA 2

62 . Kenny Mayer Goodwin 2

63 . Randy Klein Buffalo ND 2

64 . Zack VanderBeek New Sharon IA 2

65 . Adam Brothertown Huron 1

66 . Cody Glenn Rapid City 1

67 . Cole Bents Rushmore MN 1

68 . Corbin Erickson Sioux Falls 1

69 . Kyle Brown Madrid IA 1

70 . Lance Lewis Mitchell NE 1

71 . Patrick Adler Aberdeen 1

72 . Trevor Walsh Watertown 1

South Dakota Points

Stock Cars Final 2024

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Mike Nichols Harlan IA 83

2 . Wyatt Luke Springfield 47

3 . Travis Barker Sioux City IA 44

4 . Todd Gereau Sioux City IA 43

5 . Greg Peck Sioux City IA 23

6 . Jason Ward Sioux City IA 21

7 . Kipp DeGroot Platte 21

8 . Ryan Harris Homer NE 19

9 . Greg Taylor Sioux City IA 18

10 . Jared Jelsma Springfield 17

11 . Brady Wenzlaff Yankton 11

12 . Chad Ten Napel Sioux City IA 11

13 . Austin Brands Boyden IA 10

14 . Brian Seibold Sioux City IA 9

15 . Jackson Mulder Doon IA 9

16 . Joey Jaton Wagner 9

17 . Mike Vondrak Galva IA 9

18 . Phil McKee Sioux City IA 9

19 . Elijah Zevenbergen Ocheyedan IA 8

20 . Jeffrey Larson Reading MN 8

21 . Tom McKenzie Sioux City IA 8

22 . Kole Nordquist Beresford 6

23 . Shelby Williams Bonham TX 6

24 . Sid Mosher Sioux City IA 6

25 . Chad Bruns Wayne NE 5

26 . Kelly Shryock Fertile IA 5

27 . Levi Feltman Jackson MN 5

28 . Aaron Cain Sioux City IA 4

29 . Daniel Eckblad St. Peter MN 4

30 . Hans Houfek Emerson NE 4

31 . Jim Horejsi Marshall MN 4

32 . Kyle Vanover Beatruce NE 4

33 . Lowell Roeber Winnebago NE 4

34 . Dyllan Ricks Boyden IA 3

35 . Jason Fisher Lakefield MN 3

36 . Josh Kelderman Sioux Center IA 3

37 . Nate Desive O'Neill NE 3

38 . Casey Jones Sioux City IA 2

39 . Dustin Larson Rushmore MN 2

40 . Kadge Thomas Winnebago NE 2

41 . Kody Roth Spencer NE 2

42 . Mel Elsberry Orange City IA 2

43 . Randy Brands Boyden IA 2

44 . Tim Rupp Cherokee IA 2

45 . Adam Chernotik Alexandria 1

46 . Brody Carlsrud Moorhead MN 1

47 . Cadyn Wessels Luverne MN 1

48 . Dan Mackenthun Hamburg MN 1

49 . Derek Green Granada MN 1

50 . Jarrett Carter Lisbon ND 1

51 . Michael Logelin Rapid City 1

52 . Paul Wenzlaff Yankton 1

South Dakota Points

Winged Sprints (All) Final 2024

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Lee Goos Jr. Hartford 53

2 . Ryan Bickett Ramona 44

3 . Adam Speckman Rapid City 33

4 . Brayden Mount Rapid City 31

5 . Chase Randall Waco TX 22

6 . Dusty Ballenger Harrisburg 22

7 . Mike Pennel Rapid City 22

8 . Koby Werkmeister Armour 21

9 . Nate Barger Madison 21

10 . John Lambertz Sioux Falls 19

11 . Nick Barger Madison 19

12 . Ryan Timms Oklahoma City OK 19

13 . Tim Kaeding San Jose CA 18

14 . D.J. Brink Rapid City 17

15 . Dylan Waxdahl Hartford 17

16 . Kelly Miller Stirling AB 17

17 . Kerry Madsen Knoxville IA 16

18 . Tyler Rabenberg Princeton MN 15

19 . Brady Donnohue Circle Pines MN 14

20 . Garet Williamson Columbia MO 14

21 . Travis Reber Rapid City 14

22 . Mark Dobmeier Grand Forks ND 13

23 . Scott Bogucki McLaren Vale SA 13

24 . Jeridan Jordahl Madison 12

25 . Sam Henderson Sioux Falls 12

26 . Trefer Waller Ewing NE 12

27 . Blayne Brink Gillette WY 11

28 . Buddy Kofoid Penngrove CA 11

29 . Carson Macedo Lemoore CA 11

30 . Jade Hastings Grand Forks ND 11

31 . Kaleb Johnson Sioux Falls 11

32 . Jared Jansen Parker 10

33 . McKayla Worley Rapid City 10

34 . Shayle Bade Lincoln NE 10

35 . Andrew Sullivan Arnolds Park IA 9

36 . Monty Ferriera Lincoln NE 9

37 . Cole Vanderheiden Papillion NE 8

38 . Daison Pursley Locust Grove OK 8

39 . Nick Haygood Denver CO 8

40 . Tim Estenson Fargo ND 8

41 . Aaron Reutzel Clute TX 7

42 . Amelia Eisenschenk Fargo ND 7

43 . Brendan Mullen Grand Forks ND 7

44 . Gaige Weldon Hinton IA 7

45 . Justin Henderson Sioux Falls 7

46 . Logan Hershey Gillette WY 7

47 . Ryan Serrao Humboldt 7

48 . Corbin Erickson Sioux Falls 6

49 . Eli Hargraves Crooks 6

50 . Jacob Peterson Hartford 6

51 . Zach Patterson Yukon OK 6

52 . Anthony Macri Dillsburg PA 5

53 . Austin McCarl Altoona IA 5

54 . Brandon Bosma Rock Rapids IA 5

55 . Dominic Dobesh Brookings 5

56 . Jesse Lindberg Sioux Falls 5

57 . Jordan Tanner Rapid City 5

58 . Sheldon Haudenschild Wooster OH 5

59 . Tyler Courtney Indianapolis IN 5

60 . Tyler Drueke Eagle NE 5

61 . Bayley Ballenger Harrisburg 4

62 . Bill Balog North Pole AK 4

63 . Brandon Halverson Jackson MN 4

64 . Caleb Saiz Albuquerque NM 4

65 . Dan Carsrud Colton 4

66 . Dillon Bickett Madison 4

67 . Donny Schatz Fargo ND 4

68 . Jeremy Kerzman Grey Eagle MN 4

69 . Michalob Voeltz Madison 4

70 . Nicholas Winter Pipestone MN 4

71 . Casey Abbas Gibson 3

72 . Daniel Nekolite O'Neill NE 3

73 . Dusty Zomer Brandon SD 3

74 . Emerson Axsom Franklin IN 3

75 . Logan Domagala Brandon 3

76 . Scott Winters Butterfield MN 3

77 . Andy Pake Felton MN 2

78 . Aydin Lloyd Brandon 2

79 . Christopher Thram Sanborn MN 2

80 . Giovanni Scelzi Fresno CA 2

81 . Hunter Hanson Lakefield MN 2

82 . Jackson Weber Dell Rapids 2

83 . Johnny Sullivan Arnolds Park IA 2

84 . Justin Jacobsma Hull IA 2

85 . Kyle Reinhardt Neptune City NJ 2

86 . Laela Eisenschenk West Fargo ND 2

87 . Stuart Snyder Lincoln NE 2

88 . Cody Sires Owanka 1

89 . Damon McCune Shepherd MT 1

90 . Tom Sires Rapid City 1

An Incredible Honor; The Iowa Racing Hall of Fame

This past Saturday night was incredible, a night that I will forever remember as I was honored to be in the Class of 2024 for entry into the Iowa Racing Hall of Fame. And what a class it is! Dale Suhr, Jerry Smith, Doug Haack, Lynn Richard, Harald "Andy" Andersen, Hilbert Schramm, Dave Chase, Ron Hutcherson, Bill Kirk, Randy Smith, Rick Brown, Steve Jackson and Karla Lampe. To be included in this group, and with the other heroes and legends who have been enshrined in the past, is truly a dream come true. And, as I said during my comments last Saturday, that must have been one hell of an essay that Dick Griffith turned in with my nomination!

Marty Pringle, Todd Foster and everybody associated with the Hall of Fame did an amazing job of making this a memorable evening for all involved and the evening was summed up the best when one of my family members who was there to support me noted how obvious it was that our sport really is a tight knit family of its own. I will definitely do my best to attend this event each year going forward in hope of sharing this feeling with others. 

As part of the process leading up to Saturday night, I was asked to write a paragraph or two about my career in racing. As I sat down to this it became so obvious that I have been fortunate to be involved with so many great people along the way. And as I stepped my way through each role that I have taken in the sport, that "paragraph or two" went way beyond what the Hall of Fame was looking for. So I saved it to present here and then did my best to condense this down to one hundred words or less.

Before I copy and paste that in here though I want to again say "Thank You" to everybody who I have been fortunate enough to work with and to come to know along the way. Drivers, promoters, race fans, sponsors, media members, readers, everybody I want you to know how much I have appreciated your friendship, your guidance and your support along the way. If I tried to list all of you individually I know that I would leave somebody out, so please know how much I appreciate you!

To my wife Christine, thank you! I love you so much and I know that I leave you at home way too often, but you know how much those race nights mean to me. And to my three children, Ashley, Kyle and Morgan. I could not be prouder of the adults that you have become and I am so proud to be your Dad! Love you all!

I became interested in racing at a very young age as my parents Larry & Diana Broeg took me to my first race when I was 18 months old. They, along with my grandparents Paul & Velma Swanson, and my cousins Dean & Jean Church made sure that I had a ride to the races at West Liberty, Columbus Junction and Eldon from the age of three until I was able to get my driver’s license when I turned sixteen

At the age of fifteen I introduced myself to Keith Knaack one night at West Liberty and I asked him if he would like to have a columnist in this region of the state. He took my name and address and the next week there was a Hawkeye Racing News Press Card in our mailbox and that was the start of my column, the Back Stretch that has now appeared regularly for forty-six years, first in Hawkeye Racing News and now at Positively Racing. 

With a Press Card in hand and parents who trusted me enough to hit the road, several of my high school friends would fill the car and we expanded our destinations as I looked to visit as many of the tracks, and see as many of the drivers that I had read about in Hawkeye Racing News as I could. Oskaloosa on Wednesday, Cedar Rapids on Friday, West Liberty on Saturday and East Moline on Sunday were our regular tracks and only rain, or one of our high school baseball games would keep us from going. And, while somehow getting the blessing of our parents, we would travel to farther destinations such as Des Moines, Sedalia, Owatonna for the Gopher 50 and Sunset Speedway in Omaha to name a few.

In 1981 I would finally “discover” the track that is closest to my home, 34 Raceway west of Burlington, and in 1982 promoter Larry Kemp gave me my first paying job in racing handling the stories, points and press releases, plus checking in drivers and doing the lineups on race nights. Larry, his wife Kathleen and his sons Kevin, Dusty and Clay, plus all of the team that he had working for him at 34 became a second family to me and enhanced my love for the sport!

Midway through the 1982 season I was given the opportunity to pick up the microphone and add “track announcer” to my list of duties and from that point on I became the regular announcer for Kemp’s Raceway Management Services firm that also promoted events at tracks in Donnellson, West Liberty and Davenport as well as the IMCA Modified swing through Florida during the 1987 Speedweeks. And yes, I was even the weekly announcer at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids in 1989 when the track was paved. 

With some significant changes in both my personal and work life, I stepped away from announcing weekly races in 1990, but was honored to have the new track owners at 34 Raceway still include me on their special events and I would also fill in for some of my announcer friends as needed. One of the highlights of my announcing days came in March of 1998 when legendary promoter Ralph Capitani gave me a call. I had announced a couple of IMCA Late Model Summer Series events at the Knoxville Raceway the last two years and he wanted to know if I would be interested in being one of his new announcers for the upcoming season. Both Jack Herwehe and Tim Trier had retired and he wanted somebody with experience to be in the booth with this new kid named Tony Bokhoven and I told him that it would be my honor. However, I was working on a new project and it would cause me to miss two or three Saturday nights. He said that he could work around that and I spent the 1998 season at the Knoxville Raceway highlighted by calling the first sub 15 second lap when Don Droud Jr. went 14.934 and introducing Jack Miller for the call of his 25^th and final Nationals A-Main before hustling down to the infield to interview eventual winner Danny Lasoski.

To this day I have the privilege of working with Bill Wright as the announcing team for the Sprint Invaders and I have announced at least one night of racing at one track or another in Iowa for forty-two straight years! 

Inspired by a columnist in the National Speed Sport News who would track the number of feature wins for drivers across the country, I developed the All Iowa Points in 1979 as a way to compare drivers and their results across all of the tracks in Iowa and those not far across the state border. When Keith Knaack caught wind that I was doing this he said that “names sell papers” so he started to run them on a regular basis in the Hawkeye Racing News. They were so popular that he later allowed me to take out the archives of the papers and year by year I calculated the points back to the start of HRN in 1967 and I still do them to this day. The points are just for fun with no payouts of any kind, and for me they serve as a form of “forced research” so that I know what is going on at every track across the region.

I am proud to know that an All Iowa Points Championship, or multiple ones in some cases are listed on the resume of several National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famers and I have been told by several drivers that they have used a successful ranking in the points to score extra sponsorship for the following season. Also, it has been documented that a discussion over coffee of his low ranking in the All Iowa Points Street Stock standings was the starting point for Phil Barkdoll’s foray into Winston Cup racing, but that is a story for another time.

The project that I was developing in 1998 was inspired by a conversation with my brother-in-law Loni Woodley who was on the Board of Directors of the National Kidney Foundation of Iowa at the time. They had presented a one-night fundraising and awareness event at Hawkeye Downs the year before and he asked me if I thought that we could roll it out to another track or two. Loni took care of securing the corporate sponsorship and I went to work contacting promoters throughout the state of Iowa and that was the beginning of a four year run for the National Kidney Foundation Heartland Tour for a Cure featuring both the Modified and Hobby Stock divisions. What started out as twelve events run in 1998 grew to a schedule of fifty-five events in eight different states in 2001 and along the way we were awarded the Fundraising Event of the Year Award from the national offices of the NKF.

With Loni no longer on the Board after 1999 though, the sponsorship money that was promised by the new director did not materialize and with some other issues coming to the forefront as well, the NKF Tour came to a close after the 2001 season, but along the way we raised more than $75,000 that went directly to Renal Dialysis Centers across the state and had many, many race fans sign their Organ Donor cards as well. The full story behind the NKF Tour as well as race results and points payout information can be found in a series of Back Stretch entries starting in December of 2020 on the Back Stretch at PositivelyRacing.com. And, started in 1999 as the final race of the year for the NKF Tour, I would co-promote the event known as “Shiverfest” along with Lee County Speedway promoters Terry and Jenni Hoenig for the next several years. Thankfully, “Shiverfest” still lives on to this day at Donnellson.

I have been a car owner for my good friend John Vantiger in the late 80’s and early 90’s and I took a try at co-promoting the Lee County “All Star” Speedway in 1992. That didn’t go well. Taking advantage of the artistic talents of Dusty and Clay Kemp we started “Iris City Sports” and had a good four year run of producing race shirts for drivers from near and far. Some of the coolest shirts that we produced though were the ICS Collectible Series including a short run of sixty shirts each for Iowa legends Ed Sanger, Curt Hansen, Ken Walton and Roger Dolan. Unfortunately for me, but good for them, the Kemp boys were then scooped up by Arizona Sport Shirts in the mid-1990’s and Dusty is still working for them to this day. 

In late 2008, with Hawkeye Racing News putting a limit on the number of words that could be included in our columns, Barry Johnson and I decided to start our own website and with the assistance of our Webmaster Sue McDaniel, PositivelyRacing came to life. I am so proud of my PR family and the way that they have promoted the sport over the years. Dick and Joyce Eisele, Danny Rosencrans, Ryan Clark, Brian Neal and the Wisconsin SuperFan himself, Ed Reichert all take the same attitude that Barry and I do; the racers are our heroes and we want to do all that we can to present them in that manner to our readers! The website is the home for the All Iowa Points and also features a Special Events Calendar for tracks in Iowa and the contiguous states and we use the Positively Racing Facebook page to let our followers know about new content and to give Barry an opportunity to showcase his racing photography.

Finally, I am proud to currently be one of the voting members for the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame and I am also one of the committee of ten that submits a vote each week for the National Dirt Late Model Top 25 Poll at DirtOnDirt.com.

Most of all though I am honored to be inducted into the Iowa Racing Hall of Fame and Museum and to be among so many of my heroes both past and present. And I will look forward to be here again in the years to come to welcome more of those heroes into the fold!

With one of my all-time favorites Curt Hansen!