Friday Fun

If you’ve read my book Back to the Futures, you know that I have had a lifelong passion for things that go fast. I grew up going to dirt track races in Iowa with my dad and his racing friends. Our favorite place in the world on Saturday nights was the half-mile dirt track in Knoxville, Iowa, which was about a two-hour drive from where we farmed in west central Iowa.

I included the picture below on the left in Back to the Futures to illustrate what dirt track sprint cars looked like when I attended races in the 1960s and 1970s. This particular car held a very special place in my family because one of the owners, John Ricke, was my dad’s best friend. John was an Iowa corn farmer just like my dad. The biggest race of the year in the sprint car world is the Knoxville Nationals, which has been held every August since 1961. The competition to win this national championship race is fierce, and John’s car won in 1975. The picture in my book shows the driver, none other than the legendary “Fast Eddie Leavitt,” wheeling the car to victory on a steamy Saturday night in August 1975.

Now fast forward to 2025. It turns out that Eddie Leavitt’s grandson, Ryan Leavitt, races regularly at Knoxville these days. He decided to honor his grandfather on the silver anniversary of his winning the Knoxville Nationals with a throwback version of the original 40 car. The picture above on the right shows Ryan’s car last weekend at the 360 Nationals, which is the sprint car class that he races in. Ryan did an amazing job re-creating the look of the original 40 car. He even won the award for best appearing car (shown below).

Sprint car racing is shockingly expensive, so it takes a lot of sponsorship funding to put together a car and race. You will notice that Ryan’s car has “Ricke Farms, Williams, Iowa” on the hood. I am happy to report that John is still kicking at 92 and attends the races at Knoxville on a regular basis. It has to be an amazing feeling for John to see this car on the track fifty years later. You will also notice a little sticker on the wing that has my name on it. I am proud to say that I helped in a small way to make this happen.

My youngest son and I made this video of our experience at the 360 Nationals in Knoxville last weekend. Check it out to hear Ryan’s story about how he got into sprint car racing and how he put together the throwback car. We were also able to interview some other drivers and even the race queens. It was a blast!

I’m going back to Knoxville this weekend for the big 410 Nationals, with the rest of the 40,000 people who descend on that small Iowa town every August. Best of all, I am going to connect with John Ricke, and we can talk about the old days.

Have a great weekend.

Laurence J. Norton Chair of Agricultural Marketing
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign