Posted by td90
on 9/20/2009, 11:52 am
71.63.163.67
Well Labor day has come and gone. Again this year without a Race at the Minnesota State Fair. My first time ever to the Race track at the Fair was when I was 8 years old. The track was still dirt and although I was excited to be there, I knew nothing of the drivers racing on that day. The thing I remember were my dad and uncles cheering for some guy with a funny name ( Parnelli Jones). As I became more knowledgable about racing I realized who this Parnelli guy was. I was hooked on racing at the State fair after this. memories of Ramo Stott,Ernie Derr, the Hutcherson brothers and many more.Then came the day they layed down asphalt, with that it brought many of the great drivers from the midwest. In the late 60's early 70's the comtingent of drivers from Wis, Ill, Iowa, made labor day something to look forward to. Names like Marzofka, Reffner, and a guy that everyone from Minnesota loved to hate Dick Trickle. My first exposure to Mr. Trickle was a Sunday afternoon at Elko Speedway in 1969. He was late for qualifying because he wrecked the night before at the Dells. They held up the start until he arrived. He started last and proceeded to win the 100 lap event. From that point on my loyalty to being a trickle fan has never waivered, even when I had to put up with the Rusty,Gordon,Waltrip and others fans. I have been lucky enough to meet Dick trickle a number of times and he is still as gracious as the first time I met him. The last time I saw him in a car was in La Crosse 2-3 years ago. Time passes and as we get older, younger drivers arrive on the scene. Yet there will never be another like Dick Trickle. My message started out regarding the Minnesota State Fair Speedway, it saddens me very year on Labor Day that there will be no race. One thing that sticks out is that many, many younger people will never be able to discover racing the way I did that left me with many fond memories of drivers that went on to become the best in their class. I salute the GREAT drivers I have been able to see race in my lifetime. The Parnelli's,Ramo's,Ernies, and of course Americas Winningest Stock Car Driver Dick Trickle.
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