41 Drivers Take Part in 3rd Annual Del Gade Memorial At Maquoketa Speedway
By: Jerry Mackey
Maquoketa, Iowa (June 10, 2023) – The 3rd Annual Del Gade Memorial was held on Saturday, June 10th at the Maquoketa Speedway located on the Jackson County Fairgrounds. The special night of racing featured the AIRS (American Iron Racing Series) cars. The AIRS class of racing is the brainchild of Del Gade and his son Brian. The class was developed in the summer of 2015 and the first racing event was held in the spring of 2016 and the class has seen rapid growth in the last eight years. 41 drivers showcasing their all American made race cars put on a great show in memory of Del Gade on Saturday night.
The AIRS cars ran two 15 laps features with all 41 drivers taking part. The first main event was a very emotional race as Dave (Big Orange) Meyer drove his 1970 Chevy Nova to the win. Meyer recently lost his wife, Paula, to a 5 ½ year battle with cancer led the main event flag to flag but had to hold off a hard charging Bart Miller in his 1962 Ford Galaxie for a winning margin of two feet. The win was dedicated to the memory of a true race fan and fun loving Paula Meyer. Dennis Etten in his 1975 Dodge Duster was also in the lead pack at the finish in taking third.
The second AIRS car feature saw several classic cars take their turns at the front. Daniel Wauters was driving a 73 Dodge Charger owned by Josh Woods and was riding the extreme high side of the track as he led late in he race when RJ Lank piloting his 1959 Edsel Ranger threw a slider at the Charger of Wauters. Lank took over the top spot and went on to record the win ahead of 1971 Mercury Cougar driven by Paul Howard and Mallett Meyer driving his 1969 Ford Galaxie took third.
As the AIRS class continues to grow in popularity the Del Gade Memorial will continue to grow and next years Del Gade Memorial will be another outstanding racing event.
The Kunes Nissan IMCA Modified main event on Saturday night saw local hot shoe and long time racer Ray Cox Jr. make his way to victory lane. It has been more than two years since Cox has recorded a win and Saturday nights win has totally reengaged Cox as he has been wrestling with the idea of retiring from racing. Cox took over the top spot when Austin Blume retired from the race with mechanical woes while leading. Cox went on to hold off a hard charging Jeff (Bone) Larson for the win. Pat Moore had a great run on Saturday night in taking third.
The Amhof Trucking IMCA Sportmods saw Austin Stamm advance to the front all the way from his tenth starting position. Stamm scored the win over the hottest Sportmod driver in Eastern Iowa, Ben Chapman, who continues to build his point lead with a second place finish. Veteran racer Bob Silaggi ran third on Saturday night.
The QC Jeeps IMCA Stock Cars main event on Saturday night saw Maquoketa hot shoe Jacob Ellithorpe score another feature win. Ellithorpe has found some additional speed over the last few weeks and it was on display on Saturday night as Ellithorpe took the checkers just ahead of Joe Zrostlik. Maquoketa Speedway front runner Jerry Miles finished third.
The Ueland Auto IMCA Hobby Stocks main event saw a first time visitor to the Maquoketa Speedway in 23 take the win. Luke Phillips drove to his third consecutive feature win, back to back wins at the CJ Speedway in Columbus Junction preceded Saturday night’s Maquoketa win. Phillips recorded the win ahead of Jared Miles and Jordan Miles.
Legends Direct INEX Legends 15 lap main event was another exciting battle with the Legends drivers racing in a pack as the lead was hotly contested. When the checkers flew it was Jordan Miklas scoring the win ahead of Michael Weber and Dave Eberle.
Nolan Morrow led the Hawkeye Auto IMCA Sport Compact main event flag to flag. Morrow drove the high line to the win ahead of Jacob welter and Drew Wise.
Saturday, June 17th will be Oly’s Garage Night at the races with the return of IMCA Late Model racing headlining the racing program. All classes will be in action with hot laps taking to the ¼ mile at 6 pm.
Maquoketa Speedway Saturday, June 10th Del Gade Memorial Feature Results (top five)
AIRS Feature 1
1. 70 Dave Meyer-Morley 1970 Chevy Nova
2. 501 Bart Miller- Clarence 1962 Ford Galaxie
3. 23 Dennis Etten- Wyoming 1975 Dodge Duster
4. 68 Travis Heier-Anamosa 1975 Ford Maverick
5. 63 Steve Olson-Preston 1957 Chevy
AIRS Feature 2
1. 44 RJ Lank-LaFayette, IN 1959 Edsel Ranger
2. 6 Paul Howard-Davenport 1971 Mercury Cougar
3. 15M Mallett Meyer-Clarence 1969 Ford Galaxie
4. 80 Scott Tiedt-Columbus, WI 1962 Chevy Impala
5. 68Q Tracy Quigley-Waterloo 1968 Ford Mustang
Kunes Nissan IMCA Modifieds
1. 11 Ray Cox Jr.-Maquoketa
2. 12T Jeff Larson-Freeport, IL
3. 2 Pat Moore-Moline, IL
4. 53 Matt Stein-Davenport
5. 99 Brandon Jewell-Clinton
Amhof Trucking IMCA Sportmods
1. 118 Austin Stamm-Orangeville, IL
2. 1JR Ben Chapman-Clarence
3. 75 Bob Silaggi-Freeport, IL
4. 9 Scott Williams-Atkins
5. 18C Dakota Cole-Davenport
QC Jeeps IMCA Stock Cars
1. 72 Jacob Ellithorpe-Maquoketa
2. 50 Joe Zrostlik-Long Grove
3. 4 Jerry Miles-Bernard
4. 27 Chase Zaruba-Sabula
5. 80N Richard Nelson-Dyersville
Ueland Auto IMCA Hobby Stocks
1. 33 Luke Phillips-Wapello
2. 4j Jared Miles-Bernard
3. 4 Jordan Miles-Bernard
4. 4R Randy LaMar-Buffalo
5. 4K Daniel Wauters-Tipton
Legends Direct INEX Legends
1. 44J Jordan Miklas-Hartland, WI
2. 8 Michael Weber-Marion
3. 5 Dave Eberle-Freeport, IL
4. 25 Cole O’Brien-Cedar Rapids
5. 19 Jeff Schmidt-Rock City, IL
Hawkeye Auto IMCA Sport Compacts
1. 9M Nolan Morrow-Clinton
2. 49 Jacob Welter-Farley
3. 14 Drew Wise-Davenport
4. 630 Dustin Munn-Davenport
5. 32 J Logan Jones-Calamus
Category: Iowa
