The Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame, located in Algona, IA, will induct six individuals in its 2021 class of inductees.

Drivers Tim Erpelding, Kyle Schattschneider and Ricky Joe Smith join Dave Hanselman plus Rollie and Ann Perkins as 2021 inductees.

Tim Erpelding competed in three different classes at the track in Algona. He was the 1987 Street Stock point champion and fair race winner. In 1988 he claimed the Hobby Stock point title before moving up to a modified the following year. His biggest IMCA Modified win came in 1992, earning the IMCA Nationals Series event held here. Erpelding was also the 1995 IMCA Modified track champion in Algona. He is a 15-time winner at Algona.

Kyle Schattschneider before the races at Algona. Schattschneider collection.

Kyle Schattschneider’s career started fast at Algona, becoming the 1974 Roadrunner champion and winning the Midwest Championship at Algona while still in high school. He has at least 18 wins at Algona, with some additional wins believed to be undocumented. Schattschneider was also the 1991 and 1994 Kossuth County Fair race champion and was the proud winner of the Schattschneider Memorial, a race held in memory of his father. In 2021, he joins his late father Gene as inductees into the hall of fame.

Ricky Joe Smith in Algona’s victory lane. Chad Meyer collection.

Ricky Joe Smith was a 14-time feature winner at the Algona speed plant. He hoisted the 1987 Kossuth County Fair race trophy while competing in the Hobby Stocks. Also at Algona, he was the 1991 NCAR-sanctioned point champion at Kossuth County Speedway, besting Denny Hovinga, Dave Nutt, Mark Noble and Denny Anderson in the standings. He was known as a driver who got more out of his equipment than almost anyone. His son Alex is a regular competitor today at Algona.

Recognized as an owner-builder-crew chief, Dave Hanselman’s racing resume is extensive. Getting his start in 1967 with Marlie Struecker, then helping with Wayne Meyer’s and Gene Schattschneider’s cars before landing on the Utt Electric Sprint Car crew, Hanselman is most known for his efforts with his racing son Dan. As a family, they have collected Kossuth County Fair race trophies in 1994, 2000, 2008, 2010 in two different divisions. They earned the 1997 Hobby Stock point title at Algona and then captured the first-ever IMCA Supernationals crown for that division the same year. Other big event wins at Algona include the 1997 Schattschneider Memorial and Kossuth Fabricator’s Special. Together they also won the 2014 Bob Shryock Memorial here and the 2000 National Kidney Foundation Tour championship.

The late Rollie and Ann Perkins ran a salvage yard in Britt, IA. Even though the business was not in Kossuth County, feedback over the years from many drivers shows they were a very important part of racing in Algona. Nearly every year the Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame committee has received write-in nominations from past inductees saying that Rollie and Ann should be inducted.

One past inductee wrote in saying “These people gave so many people in racing parts and support over the years. Most racers wouldn’t have been able to race [without their support].”

The committee, with the help of the living members of the Kossuth Racing Hall of Fame, selected the inductees for 2021.

The induction ceremony will take place during the Kossuth County Fair races on Thursday, August 5^th.

2018 Kossuth Co. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Greg Hilbert, stands next to his familiar red #14. Hilbert family photo.

The Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame will be honoring its 2018 class of inductees during the Kossuth County Fair.

The annual induction ceremony will take place during this year’s Kossuth County Fair races, held Saturday, August 4^th at the Kossuth County Ag & Motorsports Museum, located on the fairgrounds in Algona.

The 2018 inductees into the Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame include four drivers. 1960’s era modified driver, the late Vic Dicks, will be inducted as will Algona’s Greg Hilbert. Among Hilbert’s accomplishments, he was a Kossuth County Fair Race champion multiple times and won the first Gene Schattschneider Memorial race at Algona. Hilbert joins his father Don “Shiney” Hilbert as an inductee.

Mark Noble won at least 23 times at Algona during his long career, including the Fall Nationals and earning the 1992 track championship. The late Bruce Sommerfeld, who was the 1973 track champion in Algona, completes the drivers inducted this year.

Long-time promoters Dan & Sandy Danielsen will be 2018 inductees, as are car owners of the German Valley Special, Wendal Schutjer, Gary Zwiefel and Erwin Smith. Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame and Museum volunteer and board member, the late Dennis Garbers will also be honored.

There will be an inductee reception at the museum at 4:00 p.m., with the ceremony taking place at 4:30 p.m.

Inductees will also be introduced in front of the grandstand during the races.

This event will also serve as a reunion for both past and current inductees. The inductees in the Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame, their families, and friends are invited to attend the night’s racing activities at the Kossuth County Speedway.

More information about the ceremony can be found online at www.kossuthmuseum.com.

Event Flyer (PDF)

Algona’s annual Founder’s Day Car Show/Cruise In this year will be in memory of long-time volunteer and board member of the Kossuth County Ag & Motorsports Museum. The details of the 2018 event are:

Date: Saturday, July 14, 2018

Time : 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Location: West side of Kossuth County Ag & Motorsports Museum, located on the Kossuth County Fairgrounds in Algona, IA.

Cost: Car show is free to the public and free to enter!

Classic cars, tractors, motorcycles, classic trucks and race cars welcome!!

For more information, contact Ron Lohman at 515-341-1312.

UPDATE: This event has been cancelled due to Mother Nature’s unfortunate forecast for this weekend. We appreciate everyone’s support!!

The Kossuth County Ag & Motorsports Museum and www.fairmontracewayarchives.org will host a “Dirt Track Legends” event, featuring Dave Bjorge, Terry Hansen and Ken Peterson. The special event will be held Saturday, March 24, 2018 at the Eagles Club in Fairmont, MN, located at 1228 W. Lake Ave. in Fairmont.

Doors open at 10:00 a.m. with the forum featuring these former stand-out late model drivers starting at 2:00 p.m. The event is free, family friendly and open to the public. The event will be moderated by Chad Meyer.

All three drivers on the panel discussion raced for several years at Fairmont Raceway and across the Midwest, each achieving success behind the wheel. Peterson was a multi-time feature race winner at the Kossuth County Speedway, located in Algona, IA, and is a 1973 fair race champion at the Algona track. Each former driver will discuss their racing careers and highlights from their many years of competition.

This event builds on the successful Sprint Car 101 and Dirt Track Legends series held at the museum. “We are excited to hold our first ever event in Fairmont. Over the years, there has been a lot of crossover of racers and fans from Algona to Fairmont and back. We look forward to learning much more about the stellar careers of Dave Bjorge, Terry Hansen and Ken Peterson,” said Chad Meyer, museum volunteer.

The Kossuth County Ag & Motorsports Museum is located on the fairgrounds, on Hwy 169 South, in Algona, IA.

Individuals interested in learning more about this event, or the museum are urged to visit www.kossuthmuseum.com or by contacting Denny Garbers at 507-399-9069 or Don Masters at 507-402-5332.

The Swea City Oil #88 sits in the background with (left to right) Terry Smith, Gene Schattschneider, Del Lieurance and Gene Fagerlund shown in front. Lieurance and Fagerlund will be inducted into the Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame August 5th. (Photo: Terry Smith collection)

The Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame will be honoring its 2017 class of inductees during the Kossuth County Fair.

The annual induction ceremony will take place during this year’s Kossuth County Fair races, held Saturday, August 5^th at the Kossuth County Ag & Motorsports Museum, located on the fairgrounds in Algona.

The 2017 inductees into the Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame include drivers Bryan Mortensen, Larry Nerdig and Dave Nutt. Car owners and builders Gene Fagerlund and Del Lieurance of Swea City Oil will be honored as will KLGA/KLGZ radio.

There will be an inductee reception at the museum at 4:00 p.m. with the ceremony taking place at 4:30 p.m.

Inductees will also be introduced at that night pit meeting and in front of the grandstand during the races.

This event will also serve as a reunion for both past and current inductees. The inductees in the Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame, their families, and friends are invited to attend the night’s racing activities at the Kossuth County Speedway.

More information about the ceremony can be found online at www.kossuthmuseum.com.

In September 2016, legendary Late Model and Modified drivers Dennis Hovinga, and Bob Weber, were joined by car owner and builder Kevin Mills in this trip down memory lane during the annual “Stocksville Reuion” held at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum in Knoxville, IA.

During this session, we covered the early days of late models, through present day modifieds and several stories of racing in Iowa, Minnesota and the Midwest.

Hovinga and Weber are both inductees into the Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame, located in Algona, IA.