Minnesota transplant Jim Sauter raced this car #5 a 1969 Chevelle in the Border State Rivalry events. (Jim Mussoni photo collection)By Dale P. Danielski
With Wisconsin Star Dick Trickle’s decisive win in the Uncola 7000 Challenge race at Elko Speedway July 5th the Minnesota contingent was out for revenge in round two, The Uncola Rematch. They didn’t have long to wait while licking their wounds either as the Rematch was set to take place August 10.
With Trickle handily winning the first race in his Ford, Iten Chevrolet of the ‘Cities decided to offer a bit more incentive to the predominantly Chevy group of Minnesota racers by presenting the winner of the Rematch with a very intricate and beautiful four foot trophy. The trophy was billed as the Minnesota-Wisconsin Challenge Series Award and was accompanied by a $750.00 check. A large throng was on hand to again witness the action as 7,222 fans officially paid to see the event, most of them rooting on the Minnesota “Scat Pack”.

Sadly, even with the extra incentive and all the hype, the Rematch race again turned into a Dick Trickle benefit. Trickle started 18th on the grid but by the 24th lap was already in first place! Having nearly lapped the field, the only thing that kept the final finish reasonably close was a red flag with 4 laps to go. That put Dan Priziborowski and Bill Oas on Trickle’s bumper for the restart, but neither could mount a challenge and Trickle again found himself in victory lane. With the win Trickle was able to take home the “Chevy” trophy after crossing the stripe first in the 100 lap main in his 1969 Ford Torino. For the record the final order was Trickle, Prziborowski, Oas, Dick Giles, Bill Retallick, Jim Sauter, Dave Field, Larry Smith, Marv Marzofka, Larry Behrens, Don James, Dick Kessler, John McNamara, Alex Metcalf, and Jon Chrest. For his effort Trickle took home $800 to go along with the $1,500 he took home in the first event.

#91 Marv Marzofka participated in the Border State Rivalry races in his 1969 Ford Torino. Note the very wide racing tires used at that time. (Jim Mussoni photo collection)Trickle also controversially proved to be truly “tricky” with his tire game plan for the two Uncola races. In the first race he went with a soft compound, 12” Firestone tire in taking the convincing victory. Consequently the Minnesota gang caught wind of the serial numbers on the tires and bolted those on for the rematch race. So what does Trickle show up with for the Rematch? A hard compound 15” Firestone tire. The result was an even more impressive win which really left the Minnesota guys steamed and scratching their heads as to what Trickle could possibly do next.

With the season coming to a close many felt a third time could be the charm for the Minnesota, home field guys, but would they get the opportunity? The answer was a resounding yes as Phil Stewart announced his biggest event ever, The Old Style 200 featuring an astounding $15,000 purse pay-off. With a September 18-19 date, most tracks would have completed their seasons guaranteeing a star studded field for the big event. How accurate the prophecy would prove to be as a short track event second to none featuring the best drivers from the entire Midwest would take place with everyone vying for the $3,000 top prize to win the 200 lap feature event. More on the exciting season conclusion in our next Portal to Racing’s Past feature story.
Comments welcome to Dale P. Danielski, dale@starmakermultimedia.com 967 10th Ave N Ste A, Onalaska, WI 54650 608-783-5827.