The Scoop
DAIRYLAND VINTAGE SERIES – KEEPING THE “DETROIT IRON” ALIVE
Posted on: Monday August 28, 2023
Marshfield’s Darrell Paasch poses next to his ’68 Chevy II. The car sat for 24 years in a shed before it was first raced in 2004. The car is a tribute to former central Wisconsin racer John Rank.
A group of Wisconsin racing enthusiasts are doing their part to keep the history of short track racing alive and well.
The Dairyland Vintage series hosts events at both dirt and paved ovals across Wisconsin. The racers involved in this club wheel race cars that were built in 1989 or older. If you attend a race where the Dairyland Vintage racers are you’ll see some true “Detroit Iron.” It’s a mixed bag from ’69 Dodge Superbees, Chevy Novas, Chevelles, mid-70’s pony cars and much more.
Roger Peterson’s ’73 Camaro pays homage to Nekoosa’s Marv Marzofka.
Many are replicas painted up as a tribute to the stars from the past – like Roger Peterson’s ’73 Camaro. That yellow No. 91 machine which pays homage to “Marvelous Marv” Marzofka of Nekoosa when he wheeled Moose Peterson’s entry.
Yet others are true originals like Darrell Paasch’s ’68 Chevy II. The hand painted race car sits on a 3rd design Howe chassis. “This car was originally a perimeter chassis,” said Paasch, of Marshfield. “I wound up making it a straight rail car.”
The story about Paasch’s A5, hand-painted race car is quite something. “A partner and I bought this car from Lou Fegers Racing in Minnesota in 1979,” Paasch explained. “Our intention was to race the car with the American Speed Association (ASA) for the 1981 season.”
As Paasch begin preparing the car to get it race ready for the planned ’81 campaign, his partner confessed to him that he was out of money and had to back out of his part of the deal. “So, in 1980 I put that car back into my shed and didn’t drag it out again until 2003.”
The car sat 24 seasons. While family responsibilities took priority during that near quarter-century the car was safely tucked away. “Before I put the car away, I primed everything and stuffed it in a shed that was off the ground,” Paasch said. “When I dragged it out in ’03 it was as good as the day I put it in there.”
When Paasch finished the car, he copied Bemco with some of the chassis’ features. Paasch obtained some suspension parts from another racer and his own brother and fellow racer himself Denny Paasch. “The body is actually a ’68 Chevy Nova II,” Paasch explained. “The Nova was an additional trim package you could add on.”
Paasch first raced the car in 2004. How he obtained the body for his race car is a story in itself. “My buddy Mark May from Marshfield had a friend that worked for Bemco chassis,” Paasch said. “This was a streetcar that he was building on the side. One Saturday night he and a friend rolled this car over and wound up in the ditch.”
Paasch enjoys the camaraderie amongst the competitors within the series. “It’s sort of competitive but none of us really lean on guys,” Paasch said. “If somebody is faster, we just ask that they pass me gently on the outside.”
John Alft (left) is the president of the Dairyland Vintage Series.
John Alft is the president of the Dairyland Vintage Racers. The Wisconsin Rapids racing ambassador is knee deep in vintage race cars himself. Alft has 15 cars in his possession, including a pair of Dick Trickle’s old chassis, Lyle Nabbefeldt’s 55 car, Rich Somers’ “Thunder Pony” Mustang and the famous Les Stumpf Ford “Chevy” Camaro Frings chassis that Roger “The Bear” Regeth dominated the northeastern Wisconsin dirt track scene with in the mid-1970’s when he teamed up with noted car builder and crew chief Mike Randerson.
“They way we have this set up it’s a club and everybody has a part and say in all of it, including the rules and scheduling,” Alft said. “The cars these guys run just aren’t no-go showboats. They are racing for the most part.”
According to Alft, more than two dozen different cars and drivers have been active within the group’s shows, which cover both dirt and paved ovals. “A lot of our guys are based in north central Wisconsin in the Merrill and Tomahawk area, but we do have some guys from the Waupun area and a few from western Wisconsin,” Alft said. “Most of the cars are tribute cars.”
Merrill’s Jason Torney wheels his Dodge Superbee on both dirt and paved ovals in Wisconsin.
The business plan for the club is a simple and affordable one for track promoters. “We just race for tow money to get there and that’s about it.” Alft said. “The way we set it up with most tracks we get two free pit passes per team. Sometimes we must pay to get in but then we get our money back. We don’t race for a purse per se. Often we’ll get a sponsor for the day of a certain race. We’re just out to have fun and show the fans what kind of cars were racing 30, 40 or even 50 years ago in some cases.”
According to Alft, finding parts can be a challenge for some of this older “Detroit Iron.” “But these drivers are pretty resourceful and usually know where a lot of parts are sitting. I know a lot of guys who’ve got a lot of older stuff in inventory. There are still a few old gems of cars laying around.”
In fact, Alft knows where Moose Peterson’s old ’58 Chevy Impala is sitting. “Another guy has an original barn find he got from Iowa he’s restoring,” Alft said.
Alft said many of the participants pay membership dues although it’s optional. Those dues pay for mailings, advertising, promotional stickers, and things of that nature. Some of the paved tracks the series has competed at include State Park Speedway (Wausau), Golden Sands Speedway (Plover) and Dells Raceway Park in Wisconsin Dells.
Among the dirt tracks the series makes stops at include Eagle River Speedway in Eagle River, The ‘Burg Speedway in Luxemburg and Tomahawk Speedway in Tomahawk.
Most of the competitors in the Dairyland Vintage Series race with full-bodied, fendered stock cars but Alft said a few drivers with older modifieds show up and run on occasion. While some drivers stick with the pavement and others prefer the dirt, there are some that race both surfaces like Jason Torney with his ’69 Dodge Superbee.
To learn more about the Dairyland Vintage Racing Series, you can check out their page of Facebook.