Nerdig collection
Larry Nerdig – 2017 Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame Inductee
By Chad Meyer
In the early sixties, Forest City, Iowa’s Larry Nerdig was a force to be reckoned with in the modified and super-modified divisions.
After building the first “Ol’ Number 44,” Nerdig began his racing career in 1962 with the help of fellow car owners Gunter Walkusch and Dave Friesenborg of Thompson and
Nerdig collection
Chuck Armstrong from Buffalo Center. They were regular competitors at Algona on Friday nights, Fairmont on Saturdays and Sundays at Mason City. The team often competed at the season-ending fair events at the Clay County Fair in Spencer plus events at Knoxville, Webster City and the county fairs in the north Iowa area.
Throughout his career, which spanned from 1962 to 1965, he racked up multiple feature wins at the Kossuth County track. On the first night of racing action in 1965, he set fast time with Les Wildin, clocking in at 17.60. Later, he went on to finish second to George Barton in the feature. Later in the year, he broke his old-time trial mark, with a time of 17.45, breaking his own record. This new record stood until “Fast Freddie” Funk further shattered the record with a clock-stopping 17.40 time.
Nerdig collection
Nerdig was competitive everywhere he went, often finishing in the top five at Algona. He more than held his own at other tracks, and won multiple features at the track located in Mason City. In 1964, he was the winner of the North Iowa Fair Championship feature event, certainly one of the biggest wins in his career.
Nerdig and his “Ol’ 44” built a fan following, with many from the Buffalo Center-Thompson-Forest City area cheering him on and many from this area remember his red-colored race cars.
Nerdig passed away March 3, 2011.
Nerdig and seven others will be inductees into the Kossuth County Racing Hall of Fame in Algona this summer. More information is available at www.KossuthMuseum.com.
