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Emory Collins ‘Big Car’ Returns to Clay County Fair Courtesy
of Keith Elson & National Sprint Car Museum
KNOXVILLE, IOWA (July 3, 2009) - Four-time International Motor Contest
Association (IMCA) point champion Emory Collins’ number 7 Riverside
Tire-sponsored 'big car' is returning to the Clay County Fair, September
12-20, in Spencer, courtesy of owner Keith Elson of Cedar Rapids and the
National Sprint Car Museum in Knoxville. The championship-winning car, built
by Louis "Curley" Wetteroth of Los Angeles, Calif., and powered by a Leo
Goossen-built 318-cubic-inch Offenhauser ("Offy") engine, will be co-hosted
by the Parker Historical Society and the Clay County Fair Association.
According to National Sprint Car Museum curator Tom Schmeh, “We really have
to thank car owner Keith Elson of Aaron Scale Systems in Cedar Rapids for
making this happen. This car is historically significant, as Emory Collins
won the 1938, ’46, ’47 and ’48 IMCA point titles, so it is fantastic that it
will return to the Clay County Fair in Spencer this year. Emory was
originally from nearby Sibley, Iowa, though he moved with his family at a
young age to Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. However, he later moved back to
LeMars, Iowa, where he resided with his wife Irene until his passing in
1982. He was posthumously inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame
in 1991. It is only appropriate that today’s premier national sprint car
sanctioning body, the World of Outlaws (WoO), will be racing at the Clay
County Fair on Wednesday, September 16, with Emory’s famed ‘big car’ sitting
proudly under the main grandstands.”
Those wanting more information on the non-profit National Sprint Car Hall of
Fame & Museum, which is open seven days a week, year-round, in Knoxville,
are encouraged to visit its web site at www.sprintcarhof.com or call
641-842-6176. Those seeking more info on the Parker Museum and its Clay
County Fair exhibit are encouraged to visit their web site at
www.parkermuseum.org/ccfair.html.
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