Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame: Dennis Hovinga

Dennis Hovinga was one of the hardest chargers to ever grace the racing surface in Kossuth County and across the Midwest. From the drop of the green to waving of the checkers, his plan was drive hard and fast. It seemed that yellow and red flags (and a few black flags as well) never slowed Hovinga for very long.
During the course of 40 years (1960 - 2000) of dirt track racing, he was seen behind the wheel of hobby stocks, late models and sprint cars before finishing his career wheeling IMCA type modifieds. While no one knows the total number of feature wins Hovinga has amassed in his career, it has been estimated to be in the neighborhood of 400+ feature wins.
Whether behind the wheel of his car or piloting a racer for another owner, Hovinga frequently found the winners circle. In addition to his own car, he drove for the likes of the Mills brothers (late model), Roger "Duke" Ducommun (modified), Joe Ringsdorf and Daryl Arend (modified).
He raced under the IMCA banner in 1988-1995 and with the NASCAR sanction from 1990-2000. He also raced extensively at the Algona track under the NCAR sanction from 1989-1992. In addition to racing in Iowa, Hovinga was a force to reckon with in Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota, Arizona, Colorado and Missouri. He also was a member of Wayne Larson's pit crew in the 1990s during Larson's ARCA efforts at Daytona and Talladega.
Hovinga was the track champion at Alta (1972 and 1989), Webster City and Boone in 1972. He also won track championships during his career at Fairmont Raceway in 1980, the Crawford County Speedway in Denison (1989 and 1991), the Shelby County Speedway in Harlan (1991) and the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City (1993). He was the track champion at the Algona speed plant in 1989 and 1990.
In addition to numerous track championships, he was the winner of many feature wins, including some of the biggest in the Midwest. Hovinga captured the modified Jackson Nationals trophy in 1989 along with the IMCA modified Iowa State Fair Race at the historic Des Moines track and the IMCA modified 'Tour of the Northland' event held in Alta.
He also lists the Wetherell Western Iowa Championship Series races in Denison and Harlan in 1991 and winning the late model/modified challenge race in Denison during the 1992 campaign as big wins in his career.
Hovinga was the winner of the very first Harris Clash race held in 1992 at the Hamilton County Speedway in Webster City. Today, the Harris Clash is considered one of the top IMCA modified events in the country.
He was inducted into the Hamilton County Speedway Hall of Fame in 1993.

Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame Inductees to be Honored during 150th Fair!

The Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame will be honoring its 2008 class of inductees during the 150th annual Kossuth County Fair.

The second annual induction ceremony will take place during this year’s Kossuth County Fair races, held Saturday August 2nd at Algona Raceway.







Dennis Hovinga, Laurens, was a hard charger for many years across
Iowa and the Midwest. Shown here in his late model in 1980, he was
a regular competitor at the Kossuth County Raceway in Algona.

The 2008 inductees into the Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame include:

B&D Automotive (Bob Arend and Daryl Arend) – Speed Shop, Car Owner
Bobby Grim – Driver
Honsbruch Drug - Sponsor
Butch Householder – Driver
Dennis Hovinga – Driver
Stacy Redmond – Driver
Dick & Dorthy Simpson – Promoters, Track Officials
Don Smith - Media

This year’s class features four race drivers that achieved great success behind the wheel. The late IMCA ‘Big Car” driver Bobby Grim will be honored along with legendary drivers Butch Householder, Dennis Hovinga and Stacy Redmond.

Bob and Daryl Arend will be recognized for their racing success both together as operators of the Algona speed shop B&D Automotive, and for their success as individuals. Bob Arend will be recognized for his years in the racing industry as speed shop owner, engine builder and car owner. His brother Daryl Arend will be honored for his lengthy career as a sprint car owner and for his years in the racing industry as a speed shop owner.

The team of Dick and Dorthy Simpson will be honored for their many years as promoters in Kossuth County and Alta, plus their years as track officials at area speed plants.

Honsbruch Drug will be honored for their support of racing in the local area and as a race car sponsor.

Don Smith covered the races in Algona for many years as sports writer for the local paper.

Input from the public and the committee garnered more than 60 candidates for consideration this year. The committee, with the help of the 2007 living members of the Kossuth Racing Hall of Fame, selected the eight inductees for 2008. Candidates not selected in 2008 will be considered for future inductions.


This event will also serve as a reunion for both the inaugural class and this year’s inductees. The 2007 and 2008 inductees in the Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame, their families, and friends are invited to attend the night’s activities.

At 4:00 p.m. the inductees will be honored at a welcome reception and coffee on the fairgrounds at the Farm Bureau shelter house. Prior to the fair races, the hall of fame inductees will have their ‘class photograph’ taken in front of the Wall of Fame that is constructed at the main entrance to the grandstand.

At 5:45 p.m., representatives from the 2008 inductees will be featured on the Monson Salvage Trackside Live show from Algona Raceway. The radio show will be broadcast live on KLGA 92.7 FM and rebroadcast on www.DirtTrackRadio.com.

The 2008 inductees into the Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame will be introduced at the pit meeting prior to the races and the official induction ceremony will be held during intermission at the fair races.

The Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame committee, Kossuth County Fair Board, and Algona Raceway are excited to honor the racers, promoters, and track officials that have made racing great at Algona Raceway.

All race fans are invited to attend the Kossuth County Fair Races and the Hall of Fame ceremony held at the Algona Raceway August 2nd.

The CRAZY Days Of Summer!

Well I must say that so far this has been one CRAZY summer!

The weather sure has been a little off kilter.

The last month after the flood has sure made things busy.

I started plumbing for a new company June 25th, so between
working all day trying to learn to do things the way they
like it and trying to help as many people affected by the
flood at night, my life has been quite hectic!

My posting time has defiantly been hurting lately and I hope
to turn that around soon.

I have been pretty much only hitting the Friday night races
at Hawkeye Downs with an occasional Sunday night trip to Vinton.
I haven't made a trip to Independence Motor Speedway yet, but
I hope to make a trip there some Saturday night before the season
is over.

I will do my best to keep this blog fresh and current from now on.
Please keep checking back and if I haven't posted anything new,
please go back and check out the archives and let me know what you
would like to blog about.

Til next time..... Ramble On!

Cassill’s NASCAR “Growth Spurt” Started At Gateway!

Rewind to last July when Landon Cassill (No. 5 National Guard Chevrolet) had just turned 18. With that birthday, he was eligible to step out as a test driver for Hendrick Motorsports’ Car of Tomorrow program and into his first NASCAR Nationwide Series ride at Gateway International Raceway, located five hours from his hometown in Cedar Rapids, Ia.

He navigated his first race quite well, starting a surprising sixth but was caught up in an accident midway through and although he finished, was disappointed with the final outcome in front of family and friends.

But in the year since, Cassill’s direction has pointed toward improvement — and success.

He makes his series return this week following a one-race layoff that was proceeded by the longest consecutive race streak (five) of his career. In that span, Cassill, who turned 19 on July 7, posted two top-10 finishes and also registered his first career pole.

Now driving for the merged JR Motorsports-Hendrick team, Cassill has had the opportunity to learn from some of the best NASCAR has to offer.

His teammates include two-time series champion Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Mark Martin, the all-time series leader in wins and poles, two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and 1994 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion David Green who earlier served as Cassill’s spotter.

Cassill knows he’s grown as a driver over the last year and realizes there’s room for more.

“I feel like I have a higher level of confidence then I did a year ago,” he said. “I’ll be better next year than I was this year, too.”

Back In The Drivers Seat!

Well Friday night at Hawkeye Downs turned out to be pretty interesting after all!

We did manage to get the VW Golf ready to roll and at the track! The driver of the night in the VW was Anthony Pickart who just so had a night off from Arlo's modified!

And on the subject of the Hornet race..... The Big House Motorsports Ford Focus found itself a new driver Friday night as well! Your very own Rapid Roy Parker got the chance to pilot it around the Hawkeye Downs 1/4 mile! Jeff & James both had other commitments that kept them from being able to drive and Big House had already loaned his gear to Anthony for the night so it was up to me to blow the dust off the old racing bag!

I wasn't able to get to the track in time for hot laps so the heat race was the first time I ever jumped behind the wheel! I will say that it is a very fun car to drive!

Started the heat race in 10th spot and did somehow manage to get to 3rd by the end! Sure felt good to be back on the track after it had been a year since the VW and over 15 years since I raced before that!

I started the feature in 10th as well and boy this rusty driver seems to forget a silly thing called tire management when his adrenaline gets flowing! Finished the feature in 8th but I had quite a large time driving Friday night. I did spend some time swapping spots back and forth with Mervalous Merv Chandler for a while and that sure took me back to the old days of racing!

I don't think you will see me full time in a race car any time soon! I want to drive the Golf one more time before it's death but that will tide me over.

Besides....... I don't think my village can survive without having me as it's IDIOT for very long! So I better keep my priorities straight!

Dog Days Of Summer!

Sorry I have not posted to my blog for a while!

Work has been very crazy with all the homeowners needing help getting their plumbing in order!

Big House Motorsports is in the process of resurrecting the old VW Hornet to get it back on the track very soon!

I am looking forward to some big races coming up this summer.

The Iowa Speedway will host a ASA Late Model race on July 20th the Sunday after the Miller 100 at Hawkeye Downs Speedway. Some of the local racers will be racing in that one & we are planning on a Checkers Tavern bus tour to that race!

A couple of races I will hit at the Knoxville Raceway will be the Harris Clash IMCA Modified race on July 17th and of course the big one for me..... The 5th annual Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals September 25th, 26th & 27th!

The end of summer will find us heading to the 17th Annual Bahama Bracket Nationals at the Rockford Speedway in Rockford, Ill. This race runs from October 10th thru 12th. Of course our group will be making the trip down on Thursday for the pre-race party!

There are a lot more great races in the area I will probably hit, but this covers the big ones! Get ahold of me if you would like to tag along on any of these trips and I will give you all the details!

Until next time, I will keep rambling on!