More Information:
Category: Antiques / Crafts / Collectors
Location: State Historical Museum
600 E. Locust
Des Moines, IA 50309 Sprint Car Exhibit
Website: http://www.iowahistory.orgDate: Tuesday Jun 1, 2010 - Thursday Sep 30, 2010
Time: varies
Admission: Free
Description: Three sprint cars from the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum in Knoxville & several racing-related artifacts from the museums’ collections are on
...Read More Three sprint cars from the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum in Knoxville & several racing-related artifacts from the museums’ collections are on display through September in honor of the Knoxville National Sprint Car Championships, held each August since 1961. Auto racing has become the most popular spectator sport in the country & people can see these cars/artifacts up close this summer at the museum. A description of the sprint cars on display: A winged sprint car built in 2010 by Barry Jackson of JEI Chassis & owned by Lonny Parsons. The 1000-pound, 900-horsepower machine features an engine built by Paul Kistler & it competes full-time on the World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Car Series nationally. The car is sponsored by Casey’s General Stores, which has been a proud supporter of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame. Danny Lasoski, Lonnie Parsons & the entire Casey’s General Stores team will compete in the 50th annual Goodyear Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway, Aug. 11-14, with an identically-prepared car. A “big car” built in 1932 by Gene Dodd of Rockford, Illinois. Dodd was a stone mason by trade, but he learned casting & machining from his father & was able to manufacture his own parts. This car raced with the Mississippi Valley Auto Racing Association (MVARA) on many dirt tracks. The car was driven by many drivers, including Darvin “Shorty” Burkholder, Danny Kladis, Ray Duckworth, Quent Cowles & Allen “Dutch” Morehouse, who tragically lost his life in the car in 1953 at the Henry County Fairgrounds dirt track in Mount Pleasant. The car was donated to the museum by Robert & Dr. Barbara Woodward of Dubuque. A super-modified car built in 1959 by National Sprint Car Hall of Famer Earl Wagner & powered by Harold “Slim” Gutknecht-prepared 364 & 401-cubic-inch engines. The car, which features a home-made intake manifold, was driven by Earl Wagner of Pleasantville and raced at numerous tracks in Iowa, including Knoxville, Des Moines (Iowa State Fairgrounds) & Oskaloosa. The Earl Wagner/“Slim” Gutknecht combo finished the Knoxville Raceway season points as champion in 1959 & runner-up in 1960 with “The Pink Lady.” In addition, the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum & the State Historical Museum have several racing-related artifacts on display, including posters & promotional materials from the movie “Fever Heat,” which was filmed in Iowa in 1968.
