Welcome Once again the Big Car Racing Association Hall

of Fame induction ceremony is at hand. We will

Meet in Lincoln Nebraska on the 25th and 26

th of June

with another great weekend in store for the members

on hand.

The class of inductees is one of the best yet and are

representative of the 20 year lifespan of the club. Once again

thanks go out to the selectors for another great job.

Congratulations to the 2010 class of inductees.

Ken Slocum

Long time car owner Ken Slocum of Denver Colorado was

active in the Big Car Racing Association serving as President

and as a successful car owner Champion. In 1973 Slocum

teamed with former RMMRA champion Steve Troxell and

went Sprint car racing with the BCRA and finished 9th at

seasons end. In 1974 Slocum fielded the new Roger Beck

built Orange and Silver #95 Sprinter and in one of the most

grueling seasons in Sprint car history Slocum and Troxel won

three Features including one at Colorado National and two

more at Rapid City S.D. while outrunning Arizona‟s Larry

Clark and Nebraska‟s Russ Brahmer to the Big Car Racing

Association crown. Ken would later team with son

Casey and run the Rocky Mountain Midget Racing

Association and finished in the top ten in points 7 times

including runner-up in the RMMRA in 82‟.

Many were hard hit with the death of Doug Gjermstad

at Belleville in 1976 which was the last Non-winged Sprint

race ever held at the High Banks and with the advent of the

much safer winged cars open wheel racing changed forever,

with many of the familiar faces also slipping into obscurity.

“They just didn‟t look like Sprinters anymore”

Ken Slocum was the last President of the Big Car Racing

Association as the club was disbanded after the Roger Mauro

Gold Cup Classic in 1977 with Feature winner Sammy

Swindell declared Champion.

Ken Slocum passed away in 2005 at Denver.

“The Flying Farmer”

Davey Ross of Jetmore Kansas began racing as a teenager in

the early 60‟s driving a Hudson powered modified at Oakley

Ks. Before long the Modifieds turned into Supermodifieds

and Ross was one of the best young stars as in 66‟ he won the

Merrick Circuit Championship, the Kansas State Fair

Championship and the Five State Fair Championship at

Liberal Kansas. His extracurricular activities included visits

to Oklahoma City were he captured the Fair Championship

for 100 inch Supers. Over the next five years he won

numerous Features and two more Five States Championships

before turning his attention to the Sprint cars. He first drove

for Colorados Ernie Dicroce before moving on to several

other top owners in Charlie Goodrich in”Clara‟s car “, Pete

Forshee and Pius Selenke.From 1968 until 1972 Ross finished

in the top ten in points four times. In 68 he drove the Pete

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Forshee Chevy to a 2nd place at the High Banks at Belleville.

1972 was the final season for Ross while driving for Pius

Selenke he finished in the top ten in points with the Intern-

ational Motor Contest Association and the Big Car Racing

Association. In the BCRA Ross would win at Colorado

National at Erie Colorado and would out run the field at

Doniphan Nebraska. Driving in IMCA his biggest win came

at the Hawkeye Futurity at Des Moines Iowa. In thirteen

years of racing Gentleman Davey Ross the ”Flying Farmer“

raced in 13 states winning 103 Features in nearly 800 starts,

not bad for a wheat farmer from a place called Jetmore Ks.

“Mr Excitement”, Dick Sutcliffe In the early 60‟s Dick Sutcliffe began to hone his oval track

skills at places like Olympic Stadium and the Mid-America

Fairgrounds in Topeka Ks. Owners who hired the six-foot six

inch driver were Junior Hower and Jack Gibson. In the mid-

sixties Dick and car owner Gary Hanna would form a near

legendary partnership as they attacked the Sprint and

Supermodified venues in the Midlands. Sutcliffe won the

track Championship at Topeka and Knoxville in1968,with a

cage and then finished 8th in points in the Big Car Racing

Assoc, winning his first race at Belleville without a cage. In

69‟ Sutcliffe and Hanna would win twice at Lincoln and once

at Oklahoma City to finish fifth with the International Motor

Contest Assoc.For the 70 season Gary sold the car to RH

Farms of Colifax Iowa and Dick went with the car and the

winning ways continued with the #40 on the tail as Sutcliffe

assaulted the BCRA outrunning the Competition to a 2nd

place in points and a 4th place finish in the IMCA. Dickran

the USAC at I-70 to an impressive 8th place finish. In 1971

Sutcliffe joined forces with Dave Van Patten in the # 19 car,

wrenched by Bob Trostle and during the next two seasons

finished 2nd and 3rd with the IMCA winning twice at

Knoxville ILL and once each at Springfield ,Eldon and

Topeka. In Big Car Racing Assoc action Dick won twice in

72 once at Belleville and once at Doniphan Ne. Sutcliffe won

three times in Lincoln and won the Midwest Speedway

Championship for Van Patten. Dick would finish 15th in

points in his last season with the IMCA in 75. Dick is retired

and lives in Kansas City Mo.

Edd French Edd French of El Paso Texas competed in five decades of

open wheel competition. He got his start drag racing in 1965

running the D Modified class in a 55‟ Chev with good friend

Joe Hicks. In 67‟ French broke into the Stock Cars driving for

“Wimpy” McCarthy and with a Joe Hicks motor won his first

oval track race. The next year he won the championship at

Horizon Speedway in the Ford Six Class. In 68„ the team built

two cars with Hicks driving one and French won ten straight

Man events in the other. In 1969 they purchased their first

Sprint car a Hank Arnold Hank Henry built modified

previously known as the Johnny Capels ”Golden Greek” ride.

French won his first championship in this car at El Paso in

1970 and in 71‟ French and a host of Southwest drivers went

to Mexico and raced for a month inside the ”Plaza Del

Mexico” dome during which French won the Championship.

In 1973 the consistent French won the 1973 Big Car Racing

Association title. In 74‟ French drove the Bruce Edwards

“Blue Diamond concrete”#7 on the BCRA running half the

season on Hicks motors and the other half on Frankie

Brennfoerder motors to good success. Edd then drove for

Bobby Sparks out of Memphis winning races all over the

Southeast with championships at the “Devils Bowl”, Little

Rock and the “Cowtown Speedway at Ft.Worth. Edd layed

off for two years in 88‟ but was back in 90„ running Waco, Ft

Worth and Paris in Texas.Edd won his last feature in 08 at Ft

Worth and to date French has won over 500 Mains and,”I‟ll

run, until its not fun anymore”.

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Ernie Dicroce Ernie was born in Denver Colorado in 1937. He and his father

built a Midget which they campaigned the Local tracks. By

the 50‟s Ernie became a top Midget contender and his

expertise with the Stock cars took him to the 1959 Daytona

500 as crew chief for Denver‟s Fritz Wilson who would

qualify 2nd to Lee Petty..In the early 60‟s Ernie went to the

Sprint cars,”A Rookie”as they say but soon fielded a

competitive CAE Sprinter and had top drivers wielding the

potent Fords in Sammy Sauer and Kansan Davey Ross would

drive most of the 60‟s. Ernie later bought a Nance Sprinter

and installed a Frank Brennfoerder 400 cu in.Chevy.The first

race was in Phoenix where Pennsylvania driver Van May ran

6th in the Feature.Ernie was a dedicated supporter of the

BCRA on the Board of Directors,and traveling to compete.

Ernie gave a young Doug Wolgang his first ride at Sedalia on

the mile. Ernie would start AAI Speed Equipment in 77‟ and

had drivers Sammy Swindell and Wolfgang driving in

promotion of the business.Ernie went to work for Chesron

Racing and with Rick Carelli at the wheel won the Western

west series in 1993. Ernies drivers would include Lonnie

Jenson, Kieth Hightshoe (Feature win at Erie in 71„),Mike

Gregg,Dick Sutcliffe,Doug Wolfgang,WallyPankratz,Buddy

Taylor, Leland McSpadden, Jan Opperman, Ron Shuman,

Kieth Rauch and Rick Carelli. Ernie knew no boundaries as

he traveled coast to coast to compete and promote the sport he

loved. Ernie‟s door was always open to racers until he

retired in 2001. Ernie passed away in 2003.

“Need an Offy Freshened Up”

Colorado‟s Jack Kline began racing in 1959 after a chance

meeting with Gordon Herring. While working for Roger

Mauro Rambler at the time he also became a permanent

fixture in the Herring pits for the next five seasons as the team

would eclipse the Big Car Racing Association winning

Championships in three of the next five years and were, the

only team to do so during the 20 year history of the club. In

59‟they won the BCRA Championship placed 6th at

PikesPeak and finished 2nd on the BCRA and 4th at the Peak

in 60‟with Bernie Shires driving Gordons backup car. After

every race the Offy engines were “freshened up” and made

ready for the next race day.

1961 yielded a second BCRA crown and a 13th place finish at

the Hill Climb.The Herring Horde would descend on the

BCRA with a new George Shilila built sprinter for a final

Championship in 62‟& set a new track record at Ok City with

the International Motor Contest Association.For the next two

seasons the crew sucessfully raced the IMCA before Herrings

fatal crash in 64„in Minnesota.Jack went to the Mauro Midget

fleet and would wrench some of the top cars for top drivers of

the RMMRA circuit.for the next 13 seasons. His Master

Touch tuned the Offy‟s,VW‟s and Chevy II‟s for Ody

Fellows, Don and Fritz Wilson, Joe Lehman, Dave Strickland

and the Cosworth Larry Rice ran the USAC. Kline was voted

“Mechanic of the Year”in 1971, retired from racing in 1979

and lives in Ft.Collins Co.

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Keith Hightshoe Keith Hightshoe started racing in 1955 at Capital Beach at

Lincoln Nebraska.Hightshoe would drive for himself for a

time before being hired by Les Vickers to drive his coupe and

won a Feature. Keith then drove for Ed Smith and took the

Purple #44 to the winners circle on two occasions before

joining Larry Swanson in 67‟‟and finished 2nd in the Big Car

Racing Association stats. Hightshoe would win three in the

Supermodifieds before moving over to the Swenson

/Williams team and added two more victories at Midwest by

the close of the season. In 68„ Hightshoe drove the 4X of

Speedway Motors and won a 6th place finish in BCRA

points. In 69‟ Keith drove for Gary Blackman, Ernie Dicroce

and Willie Hardman and once again finished 6th in points

with the BCRA and set a new one lap record at Eagle

Speedway. Teamed with Ernie Dicroce in 1971 and at

Colorado National Speedway, Erie Colorado in August

Hightshoe and Dicroce would win the second night Feature,

his first in Big Car Racing association competition while

finishing 5th in points, his 4th top ten finish in five seasons.

Over the next four seasons Keith drove for Lyle Sinner and in

75‟ a terriffic wreck at eagle ended the campaign and Keith

did not race for the next 8 years. In 1983 Keith returned to

Sprint car racing driving the 360 winged class driving for

himself and Bill Smith on ocassion. Keith Hightshoe

continued to race until 2000 when another wreck forced his

final retirement after nearly five decades of competition.

Keith is retired and lives in Lincoln Ne.

Steve Troxell Steve Troxell was born at Kansas City in 1942.Steve‟s first

car was a Solar rail Midget and he started driving in 63‟.In

65‟ Troxell drove the Glenn Scott Silk roadster and won his

first Main and in 66‟won his first RMMRA title. In 73‟ Steve

teamed with Ken Slocum and finished 9th with the Big Car

Racing Association and won the RMMRA for Roger Mauro.

In RMMRA competition Troxell would win 27 Main events

and three Championshjps.In 1974 Troxell and Slocum would

set thier sights on another open wheel Championship this time

with the Big Car Racing Association. The competition was

tough with Larry Clark, Russ Brahmer, Lloyd Beckman and

73‟ champ Edd French out of Texas, Roy Hicks driving for

Lyle Dill and Jerry Stone driving for Pius Selenke. The #95

team won at Erie in May and swept the two day event at

Rapid City thus clinching the 1974 Big Car Racing

Association TitleThe Championship would be the first for a

Colorado driver since 1963 and accomplished during a season

with more races at more venues than any time in the clubs

history. Thirty five years have passed since the beautiful

Orange Big Car with Troxell at the controls stormed across

the Heartland to the BCRA title and for the fans and

competitors who watched and raced the 74‟ season, the

memories will live on of a team and car that was one of the

best in Big Car Racing Association history. Big Car Racing

Assoc and Rocky Mountain Midget Racing Association

Champion Steve Troxel left open wheel racing in 1983 and he

and wife Carol are retired and live in Denver Colorado.

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Gary Swenson and Charlie Williams In 1965 Gary Swenson and Charlie Williams won thier first

Championship with the Nebraska Modified Racing

Association. Veteran Lloyd Beckman joined Swenson and

Williams in late 65 and the 1966 Season was a showcase for

the #24 team with 11 wins on the NMRA, 10 in a row at one

time. At Knoxville in August Beckman finished 2nd to Jay

Woodside while also winning at the Iowa State Fair. In 67

Swenson-Williams and Beckman would win at Belleville and

6 times at Midwest before Keith Hightshoe took over driving

#24, after a broken leg sidelined Beckman, won two more

races and the team finished 4th with the BCRA. Ray

Goodwin took the riegns in 68‟and this team would become

nationally recognized over the next several years in the

Midwest starting with a win at the Knoxville Nationals. in 70‟

Goodwin won 19 times overall,winning the track

Championship at Eagle finished 2nd at Knoxville while also

winning at Erie and Belleville with the BCRA ending up 4th

in points.The team also won for the first time in IMCA.In 71

Swenson/Williams won the track championship at Topeka

and Knoxville,won 4 races in IMCAand finished 4th in

points. The 72 season found the Swenson/Williams wining

two at Eldon Iowa and Knoxville Illinois and won the

International Motor Contest Association Title. The

Swenson/Williams #24 finished in the top four again in

73„,the last year the team competed.Swenson would race into

the new millenium at one point with Ray Lee‟s son.The

60‟s&70‟s were the Golden Years in racing and the

Swenson/Williams team were one of the best.

Warren Hamilton Warren Hamilton was born at Shelby Hill Missouri in 1908.

As ayoung man Hamilton followed the race tracks and began

racing in1927 with the AAA and later with the Central States

Racing Assoc,American Racing Assoc in Northern California

and the Southwest Big Car Assoc in Texas.During the

depression years Hamilton was a popular barnstormer and

found his way to Colorado‟s Overland Park, Dupont and

Merchants Park(with the Midgets) in 39‟.He enlisted in the

Army in 43‟. was wounded, reported killed in Action back

home but recuperated and returned to combat was wounded

again, and returned home to Colorado where friends thought

they were seeing a ghost. In 53‟ he bought his first Felt built

Midget and driver Pete Headrick won the CARC Co-

Championship.Warren served as a CARC Officer and soon

gained a second Felt Midget which he stretched in 59‟when

the Big Cars returned to the Rockies with the BCRA.The 122

Offy on the Marchese block was underpowered so he sold the

car and bought a spring front Chevy in Missouri. Warren was

BCRA President in 59‟ when Meyers went to USAC.

Hamilton would finish 10th in 59 and 4th with the RMMRA,

in 60 was 8th in BCRA and 3rd in the RMMRA with his best

finish 5th in 64 behind Hahn, Herring,Walker and Manley 37

years after his first start. Warren finished 10th in 65 and in

1976 Warren and Earl Kouba assaulted the Minnesota tracks

with a 3rd at Grand Rapids and after some crafty tuning, ran

2nd at Morristown. Warren,Wife Virg and Son Bobby lived at

Flagler Co when Warren passed away in June 1987.

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Kieth Hightshoe in the Dicroce Sprinter

Jim Golden and Bob Daly

Don MCormick and driver Leo Tucker, Doniphan Ne

Don Maxwell, Erie Colorado 1970

Lonnie Jensen and the Frankie Brennfoerder Chevy

Grady Wade in the 4X at Belleville Kansas. 1967

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Keith(Hightshoe)Racing team. 50 years of racing for Keith on left.

Ralph Blackett #54 . 1964

Jerry Stone racing team

Jon Backlund in the Will Schmink Chevy at Erie Co 1971

BCRA member Cotton Farmer at Pikes Peak . Ivers photo

Colorado‟s Wayne Stallsworth at Belleville Ks. Ivers photo

BCRA Hall of Fame 2010 The BCRA Hall of Fame will induct the ten inductees

previously mentioned at the ceremony to be held June 25 at

6:00 Pm at the Smith collection of American Speed Museum

at 340 Victory Lane Lincoln Nebraska.

The regular scheduled tour will begin promptly at 2 PM at

the entrance to the museum and just inform the attendant that

you are with the BCRA Hall of Fame group.

The Induction ceremony is expected to last about one hour

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and will be followed by tours of this unrivalled collection

of American racing history.

Saturday June 26th the BCRA HOF will gather at Joe Haags

Hot Rod Shop Located at 1901 1st st in Lincoln(ten minutes

from the motel and Museum)for Bench Racing, Hot Rod rides

and a light lunch before heading to Eagle Raceway at around

4PM. A static display and on-track for the Vintage cars in

attendance is planned and this year Eagle promoter Roger

Hadan has been working on a reunion of the old Midwest

Speedway drivers and owners to be held in conjunction with

the BCRA.

Sunday is breakfast and farewells. If you need a motel room

call Days Inn and Suites of Lincoln ,2001 W. O st phone

402-477-4488 and ask for the BCRA at Speedway Motors

block of rooms to get the special rates, which you will enjoy.

If you have any questions please call 308-325-5455.

Topekas Thad Dosher, 73‟IMCA Champ receiving trophy

Willy Hardman Chevy, Chuck Kidwell in “The Belle” and…Steve Ball?

Big Car Racing Association

306 Montrose Ave

Bertrand Ne 68927

308-325-5455

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