Speedway memories

NEW BREMEN - The New Bremen Speedway may have closed nearly 40 years ago, but village resident Dave Kramer is keeping its spirit alive.

The lifelong racing fanatic on Tuesday shared with New Bremen/New Knoxville Rotarians information he has gathered as part of a longtime project to learn more about the nationally renowned racetrack.

To collect information, he visited local historical societies and libraries and talked to former racers and fellow enthusiasts, Kramer said.

Kramer recalled riding his bicycle as a teenager with his friends to watch races around the half-mile dirt track.

"That's all I do during the summers. I just love watching cars going past. I love the sights and sounds of racing," he said.

He has always enjoyed watching both local competitors and racers from around the country zoom around the track.

Just four competitors participated in the first race at the track in 1926, which was built as an attraction for the local farmer's picnic on Frank Kuenning's property, he pointed out.

Early on, the banked track hosted four to five races per year. Many racers who competed in the Indianapolis 500 at the time also competed at New Bremen Speedway, making the local track well-known from the get-go, Kramer said.

Business ran smoothly at the track until Sept. 20, 1931, when racers wanted more money than what was collected for the purse. As a result, they refused to compete in the fourth race, and the fans began tearing up the bleachers and a riot ensued, he said.

"This was the end of racing there for quite a few years," Kramer said.

Racing didn't return until 1947, when Warren Topp purchased the track. He was joined by his brother Clarence in 1954 along with brother-in-law Bob Bryam.

Kramer said stock car racing occurred every weekend in the 1950s. In 1951, a cement barricade was added after a car drove through the then-flimsy barricade and rocketed a large chunk of wood into a fan's leg.

Two years later, Frank Dicke became the track's promoter. He was highly invested in the village and also served as longtime mayor, Kramer said.

"People I talked to about Dicke all talked very highly of him," he added. "He had a big interest in racing."

Interviewing the late St. Marys resident and St. Marys Trucking driver Cliff Fetters was a highlight of the project, he said.

"I saw his name in racing results, and he couldn't believe someone would ever ask about his racing career. He gave me his helmet and some pictures. I remained friends with him until he died in 2010," Kramer said.

Fetters didn't win any race at the track, Kramer said. However, Dicke presented Fetters with a trophy honoring him for his multiple second-place finishes.

The famous dirt surface was paved over for the 1966 season, Kramer said, and it remained that way for several years. But the paved surface wasn't profitable, so then-owner Earl Baltes had the pavement ripped up 15 years later.

The track wasn't profitable toward the end and Baltes closed it down and moved the races to his other track, Eldora Motor Speedway.

The track hosted its last race in 1979 and closed a year later. Kramer said he travels across the country to watch as many races as he can and likes to take his family along.