Deer Creek Speedway
Award-winning track set for this year's Gopher 50
By Kevin Kovac
World of Outlaws Late Model SeriesThe NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 Charity Late Model Race sure has come a long way.
With the event ready to celebrate its 31st annual running Wednesday at Deer Creek Speedway, the Gopher is entrenched as one of the most prestigious and unique dirt Late Model races in the country. It stands out from the crowd so much, in fact, that it earned its organizers coveted recognition as the 2009 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Promoters of the Year.
Collaboratively promoted by the Blooming Prairie (Minn.) Lions Club and management of Deer Creek Speedway, the Gopher 50 winner’s list is dotted with some of the biggest names in the racing business. More importantly, over $300,000 for Jaycee and Lions projects has been raised over the lifetime of the Gopher 50, which was contested at Chateau Speedway in Austin, Minn. (1980-1981) and the Steele County Fairgrounds in Owatanna, Minn. (1982-2004) before settling at Deer Creek in 2005 and soaring to new heights.
The Gopher 50 has been part of the WoO for its entire run at Deer Creek, gaining more prominence on the schedule with each passing season. Anyone still unfamiliar with the event received a reminder of its status when the announcement of its organizers’ WoO promotional award was made during the national tour’s awards banquet last November.
“We’re honored to receive an award from such a prestigious group like the World of Outlaws,” said Jerry Ingvalson, the Blooming Prairie Lions Club member who has overseen all aspects of the Charity Race since its inception in 1980. “It definitely shows how much the Gopher has grown. It’s become one of the events in the dirt Late Model world that people want to see.”
“We couldn’t believe it when Tim (Christman, the WoO director) called and said little Deer Creek Speedway and the Gopher 50 won the award,” said Deer Creek’s P.R. and marketing director Ryan Queensland, whose family operates the finely-manicured, 3/8-mile oval. “We’re humbled that a national touring series would recognize our track and event, considering some of the crown jewel races and well-known tracks that are part of the series.
“Winning an award like this puts you in a very elite crowd. It’s a helluva honor, and it drives us to go out and continue putting on great events.”
Ingvalson and the Queensland family celebrated last year’s milestone 30th edition of the Gopher 50 with a promotion that certainly couldn’t be ignored by WoO officials and teams. The event headlined the 17 former Gopher 50 winners, gave fans a shot at a cash prize and featured a $10,000 bonus for a past event champion to win the race, a check that 2008 WoO titlist Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., claimed to push his booty for winning to a whopping $20,000.
“The Gopher obviously has been a huge event around here for years, so we were thrilled when (the Blooming Prairie Lions Club) asked us to host it,” said Ryan Queensland, the P.R. and marketing director of Deer Creek Speedway. “One of the things we talked about with Jerry and the Lions Club was doing something really special for the 30th anniversary of the Gopher. We came up with the Past Champions’ Fund and some fan-oriented promotions and I think it all went off great.
“A lot of people came up to us last year and said the Gopher was one of the most memorable races they’ve ever attended and already had it on their calendars to come back to Deer Creek.”
Thousands of fans are expected to pack Deer Creek’s grandstands again on Wednesday night for another installment of the Gopher 50, which this year combines some new wrinkles and popular annual traditions. The biggest incentive for the drivers is the bonus money posted by NAPA – an extra $1,000 on top of the $10,000 top prize and $100 for each heat victor, contingent upon display of a NAPA decal on the right side of the car.
