MAZON SPEED BOWL  (YEAR BY YEAR)                                             updated 1/2/07

1970—Final year of operation.  Wheeling a Mercury Cyclone No. 99, Ray Young of Dolton , Ill. was the late model track champion and Rick Smithberg captured the six-cylinder championship.  George Stefanech was crowned the UARA Grundy County Fair midget champion.

1969—Driving his white, Boyce Engineering-sponsored Chevy II, Chicago’s Bob Roper was the late model stock car champion and Chuck Kline was the six-cylinder champion.  Mazon was a weekly stop for the UARA on Saturday nights.  Indiana ’s Gary Byers was crowned the UARA Grundy County Fair midget champion.

1968—Jerry Kemperman of Blue Island, Ill. was named the late model track champion as Chicago racing insuranceman-turned race promoter, N. Perry Luster, promoted the races on a weekly basis.  Kemperman and his Dave Roulo-owned Chevy No. 6 were the champions and the combo also won title at Raceway Park ( Blue Island , Ill. ).  Bob Pronger and Dave Hirschfield involved in spectacular late model wrecks during the season. Mel Kenyon won a 50-lap USAC midget race on 8/25/68.  Newt White won a 25-lap UARA midget main event on 9/1/68, while Wally Lambert in the Dale Hampson Chevy II won a UARA 50 lapper on 9/2/68.

1967—Bob Richards of Lockport , Ill. won a USAC 50-lap midget feature race on 8/27/67.  Ron Borgardt won a 25-lap late model stock car race on 8/27/67.  George Kladis won a 30 lap UARA midget headliner on 9/3/67 and Henry Pens won a 50-lap UARA main event on 9/4/67.  Bobby Shell claims stock car championship honors.

1966— Missouri ’s Bob Wente drove the Shannon Brothers-owned midget to victory in a 50-lap USAC midget feature race on 8/28/66 during the Fair.  Bobby Shell of Piper City won two late model feature races during the Fair, while Jerry Peterson and Arnie Gardner each scored one.

1965—Bob Kelly won four stock car feature races during the Fair according to 1966 Grundy County Fair newspaper.  Bobby Grim and Mike McGreevy won USAC midget feature races during the Fair.  Jerry Matter in the Dave Pierce Chevy II beat Ray Elliott and Roger West in UARA competition on 9/5/65 with Elliott beating Pens and George Kladis on 9/6/65.

1964— California ’s Tommy Copp drove the Lloyd Rahn midget to victory in a 50 lap USAC midget race on 8/3/64.  Jimmy Knight set a midget track record during USAC qualifying with a lap of 12.38 seconds.  Henry Pens in the Bob Steffes Chevy II won UARA midget features on 9/6/64 and 9/7/64.

1963—Henry Pens of Joliet, wheeling the Dick Herath Chevy II, won 50 lap UARA midget feature on 7/4/63 ahead of Jerry Matter, Bob Hauck and Russ Sweedler.  Veteran Harry Turner won an open competition midget feature on 9/1/63 in front of Sweedler and John Lode.

1962—Mel Kenyon won 50-lap USAC midget feature race on 9/2/62.

1961—Erik Johnson was the late model track champion (possibly based on fair dates only!).

1960— Arnie Gardner was the late model track champion (possibly based on fair dates only!).  Leroy Warriner won 50-lap USAC midget feature on 7/17/60 ahead of Bob Wente and Bob Tattersall.  Bob McLean had fast time.  Johnny Riva of Des Plaines , Ill. , driving the Frank Pavese Ford V8 No. 27, won two 25 lap midget features and Russ Sweedler of Elwood , Ill. (driving the Bill Vencellotti Ford V8) won one during the annual Grundy County Fair over the Labor Day weekend.  On May 29, Bernie Wilhelmi won a UARA midget main event.

1959—Billy Wood of Kenosha , Wis. (midgets) and Arnie Gardner of Geneva , Ill. (stock cars) win 50 lap feature races on 7/4/59.  Wood defeated Bob Tattersall and Johnny Riva in the 50-lap midget headliner.

1958—Ted Schroeder of Hobart , Ind. won 500-lap stock car race on 7/4/58, driving Jeff Calp’s 1932 Ford coupe #97.  Newspaper ad called the event Modified Stock Car Championship, U.S. National, Open Competition, $1,000 to win, $2,500 minimum purse.  (Morris Herald newspaper showed a Jet Pell of Elkhart, Ind. winning race.  Morris newspaper account said that Paul Burrow was second, Ned Bloom of Elkhart, Ind. third, followed by Hook Henderson (Berrera, Mich.) and Bob Waters (Dwight, Ill.).  Fastest qualifier was Dick George.  Eight persons (three seriously) were injured when a car crashed into spectators (pitmen) off of turn three—just passed north grandstands.  Rockford Speedway driver Bob Udell of Beloit , Wis. involved.  Dick Good of Mishawaka , Ind. , driving super modified no. 11, won another 500 lapper on 9/14/58.  Bob Tattersall of Streator , Ill. , driving the Saylor V8 midget, won two 25-lap midget features during the Grundy County Fair on August 30 and September 1.   Tattersall also won a 250 lap midget race on 8/10/58 in the Saylor V8 ahead of Dick Ritchie of Cedar Rapids , Iowa , Bud Abraham and Danny Kladis.

1957—Arnie Gardner of Geneva , Ill. was the winner of a 300-lap stock car race on Sunday afternoon, September 15.  Hal Ruyle finished second behind Gardner ’s 57 Chevy.  Rich Clement came home third, followed by Bob Penoyer of Seneca.  33 entries started including drivers Ernie Schaefer of Peoria and Bill Van Allen and Bud Koehler.  Bob Tattersall of Streator won both midget feature races during the Fair.  Wheeling the Frank Pavese-owned Ford V8 60 No. 27, Tattersall defeated George Sellery and Ken Rubright in the 30 lap main on Sunday night, September 1.  On Labor Day evening, Tattersall again won the feature race after setting a new track record for Ford-powered midgets with a lap of 13.74.  Gardner won a 30-lap stock car feature during the Fair on Sunday afternoon, September 1.

1956—Arnie Gardner – winner of big, end-of-the-season stock car race (300 laps) – 9/16/56).

1955—Bob Tattersall wins UARA midget feature on 7/4/55.  Norm Legner—stock car track champion.

1954—Bud Ferguson of Morris was the stock car champion.  Bernie Wilhelmi and Bill Barnes trailed the champion in the final standings.  Bill Barnes of Joliet won a stock car race on 6/27/54.  Bud Ferguson had fast time with a lap of 15.43.  Bob Meyers in 1952 Hudson won late model race on 7/30/54.  Bob Watters of Dwight won the 100-lap season finale ahead of Clem Lewandowski of Joliet and Frank Zink of Channahon.  27 cars started the 100 lapper.  Watters was the Fair stock car champion.

1953—Frank Welch might have been the stock car champion.

1952—Frank Welch of Morris was the stock car champion.  Joe Birsa of Rockdale was the Mazon Fair champion.  Bob Waters was the winner of a 200-lap race and Bud Ferguson was the winner of a 300-lap race on 9/28/52.  “Okie” Hamon of Kinsman was second in the 300 lapper followed by Bob Tattersall of Streator.

1951—Bernie Wilhelmi of Joliet was the stock car champion.  Trailing Wilhelmi in the points were Bud Ferguson and Frank Welch, who were followed by Bill Barnes of Joliet, Joe Birsa and Bob Waters.  Chuck Green of Ottawa won a 100 lap race on 10/7/51 ahead of Bill Finkle of Marseilles and Rinehart Deking of Chicago.  The Midwest Stock Car Racing Assn., Inc. presented a total of 37 stock car events at the track (27 Sunday afternoons and 10 nights).  Only one midget race was held with Mike O’Halloran of Lansing, Ill. winning on Labor Day evening during the annual Fair after battling with Bud Koehler most of the way.  (per Wayne Adams’ story/ISN)

1950—Norm Legner was the stock car champion

1949—Ray Elliot—winner of 20 lap midget feature during Fair on 9/3/49.  Elliott and his Leo Melcher V8 Ford bested Sonny Bessette, who had fast time with a lap of 14.83.  The second day of the Fair saw rain cancel the feature after Johnny Roberts had fast time with a lap of 13.73.

1948—Henry Banks set a midget qualifying “world’s record” on 9/1/48, turning a lap of 13.06 seconds on the high-banked quarter mile, paved oval.  Danny Kladis, Bob Muhlke and Bob Breading were winners of midget feature races during the Grundy County Fair—September 4, 5 and 6. 

1947—Mazon’s new high-banked quarter mile paved oval held first race on August 30 with Tony Bettenhausen winning midget main event.

1946

1941—Ray Richards of Highland Park, Ill. in the Leader Card Offy wins midget races on the dirt on 8/31/41 and 9/1/41.

1940—Wally Zale of Chicago (9/1/40) and Myron Fohr (9/2/40) winners of midget races during Fair.  A reported 21,000 paid for the two races.

1939

1938

1937

1936—Wally Zale (two wins) and Jimmy Snyder share victory honors during midget racing action during the Labor Day weekend Grundy County Fair.  Zale won on Saturday and Sunday with Snyder winning on Labor Day

1935—

1934—Shorty Sorenson wins two features on September 7 and 8, races originally scheduled for Labor Day—rained out.  Vern Franke wins 30-lap feature on 7/4/34 ahead of Everett Rice, Tom Salttery and Fred Tegtmeier.  Vern McComb seriously injured.

1933— Sherman “Red” Campbell won two feature races in “big car” competition during the Fair.  Campbell beat Walter Zale in the first one and Shorty Sorenson in the second feature.

  USAC MIDGET FEATURE WINNERS AT MAZON

Date                        Driver                                  Distance                 Car Owner

8/25/68                   Mel Kenyon                          50 Laps                  Don Kenyon

8/27/67                   Bob Richards                        50 Laps                  Bob Richards

8/28/66                   Bob Wente                            50 Laps                  Shannon Brothers

9/3/65                     Mike McGreevy                   50 Laps                  Don Kenyon

8/29/65                   Bobby Grim                           50 Laps                  Coxie Bowman

8/30/64                   Tommy Copp                        50 Laps                  Lloyd Hamm

9/2/62                     Mel Kenyon                          50 Laps

7/17/60                   Leroy Warriner                     50 Laps                  Hank Green