CHICAGO WHISPERS
by Stan Kalwasinski

November 8, 2013

By Stan Kalwasinski

               Chicago, Ill. — It seems recently there has been several opportunities to stir up the memories of past racing experiences.

               The official dedication of the Santa Fe Speedway monument took place on Saturday afternoon, October 26, at the corner of 91^st Street and Wolf Road in Willow Springs.  Friends of Santa Fe, the Village of Willow Springs and the Windings Town Home Association teamed up in sponsoring the six-ton marker that has been laid at the site of the old speedway.

               An enthusiastic crowd of former competitors, officials and fans were on hand with a number of speakers taking to the podium, expressing their memories about the famed Santa Fe speed plant.  Speakers representing both stock cars and motorcycles, both popular racing divisions at the speedway, were heard.

               The speedway came about in 1953 when Howard Tiedt and several others formed Santa Fe Park Enterprises, Inc. and went about building a modern dirt raceway on the grounds of the popular Santa Fe Park picnic grove, which once was the site of several entertainment attractions including a race track operated by Tiedt’s grandfather.  The new raceway featured both a quarter-mile oval and “short” half-mile oval and became the most well-known speedway in the Chicago area.

               From 1953 through 1995, the track offered motorsports fans a variety of racing events with Santa Fe hosting pretty much every type of racing class/division imaginable.  Howard Tiedt passed away in 1990 with his daughter, Mary Lou, and her husband, John Moskal, taking over the track’s reins for its final years. 

In January of 1996, it was announced that racing at Santa Fe would be curtailed and suspended completely.  The facility sat idle for a number of years and finally was the victim of the wrecking ball in the spring of 1999.

“The track always seemed to treat people fair,” said former driver and track official, Kenny Kuehn.  “I raced here for 18 years and ran the race track for 22 years. It was a family.  We had every type of person imaginable from company executives to people who couldn’t write their name. 

“If there was a problem, Howard Tiedt worked it out.   He kept the neighbors happy.  If they lived within a half-mile of here, he sent them free tickets.”

A number of people commented about Santa Fe’s success.

”Howard knew how to advertise,” said Art “Fireball” Fehrman, a former driver.  “He sold out those half-mile (stock car) shows almost every holiday.”

“There was a lot of serious racing going on,” said Bruce Monkman, a former mechanic at the speedway.  “If you ever had a chance to see a race at Santa Fe, you saw a race.” 

The two driving forces behind the project were Willow Springs Mayor, Alan Nowaczyk, and graphic artist and longtime fan, Bob Behounek, who lettered a number of cars that competed at the track.

 “I remember back when I was nine years old and coming out here for kids’ birthday parties,” reminisced Nowaczyk.  “In 1986 and 1987, I raced in the spectator division and had a lot of fun with that. 

“Bob Behounek came up with the idea.  He was passionate about it and I said it would be great and let’s see if we can make it happen.  I think a lot of people were generally heart broken when the track closed.  I think it was nice to have a buy in from everyone involved, including the homeowners association.”

Behounek has been involved with the project from its beginning, including locating the granite marker.

“Fifty to 100 years from now this will be the last memory of all those great memories that we all experienced at that track,” Behounek said.  “Santa Fe was the place where people came to see the speed, having the fun of being with the family watching the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. It was just the best place to go every Saturday and Sunday night. I’d never miss it.”

               Kenny Kuehn probably summed it up best saying, “Howard Tiedt built a playground for all of us.”

               The Illinois Stock Car Hall of Fame hosted its “Hall of Fame Day” at Wayne Lensing’s Historic Auto Attractions in Roscoe, Ill., on October 27.  During the day’s activities, nominees for the Class of 2014 were announced.

               Nominees include Erik Johnson, Bob Chapman, Joe Finn and Whitey Gerken for the Northwest sector.  Al Johnson, Earl J. Hubert, Skippy Michaels and Bryant Tucker for the Midwest; Ed Hoffman, Frank Gawlinski, Tom Jones and Bob Pronger for the Northeast and Roger Long, Jerry Roedell, Frank Schickle and Bill Hazel for the South.

               Track promoters are represented by Howard Tiedt, Port Defrates and Pete Jenin.  The announcer/race officials group includes Chris Clark, George Krueger and Elmer Steinbeck.  The car builders/mechanics sector has Bill Koenig, Rudy Hoerr and Mike Terrafino.

               Official ballots have been included in the group’s recent newsletter with only Hall of Fame members able to cast votes.  To become a member, contact Art Fehrman at (708) 254-5196 or artfehrman@yahoo.com.  Completed ballots must be postmarked by December 20, 2013.

               A group of O’Hare Stadium racers got together in October at Hubcaps Pizza Bar & Grill in Schiller Park, not far from the site of the old speedway at Mannheim and Irving Park Road.  Former track champions Roy Martinelli, Tom Jones, Bob Weyrauch and Bob Boyce were among those in attendance. 

               Congratulations to locals Wayne Adams, Leon “Jigger” Sirois, Emil Andres and Cletus “Cowboy” O’Rourke for being elected into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.  Still a bundle of racing stories at age 94, Adams, of course was the longtime track announcer for the stock car races at Raceway Park near Blue Island.  Before short track stock car racing took the area by storm in the late 1940s, Adams announced countless midget races in the Midwest.  In 1947, he handled the microphone duties weekly at midget racing “hot spots” like Raceway Park, Chicago’s Hanson Park Stadium and the mammoth Soldier Field on Chicago’s lakefront.  He announced over 100 midget events in 1948.

               Now living in Virginia, Sirois grew up in northwest Indiana and was a front running midget racer on both local and national levels.  He was the champion of the old United Auto Racing Association midget group in 1961.  Andres and O’Rourke both started the racing careers at the old Evanston Speedway in the 1930s.  Andres and O’Rourke both enjoyed success in the small cars with Andres going on to compete in the Indianapolis 500.

               The address for news and comments is 9618 Cypress Ave. , Munster , Ind. 46321-3418 or e-mail to skalwasinski@yahoo.com.

Back in the Day – Speedway favorite Dick Nelson gives Lucky The Clown a fast ride after Nelson scored a 1971 victory at Santa Fe Speedway in Willow Springs, Ill., 
 (Vince Mayer Photo)

Wayne Adams in 1947
(Bob Sheldon Photo)

Bob Behounek (left) and Willow Springs Mayor Alan Nowaczyk pose behind the Santa Fe Speedway monument after the recent dedication of the marker at the site of the former Chicago area speedway.
(Stan Kalwasinski Photo)

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