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Page 8 • Le Mars Daily Sentinel • Pride in Plymouth County • Thursday June 29,1995in to the Hall ofAt one point Emory Collins held mostof the world's dirt track speed recordsBy Jerry GieseSports EditorDominating dirt race car driver and Hall of Famer Emory Collins had an unusual nickname which stuck to him throughout the duration of his 35-year racing career.Collins' nickname Spunk came from his nerves of steel as a driver. The determination and uncanny competitiveness which he also displayed earned him the respect ofracers in his classification in the# • •United States and Canada.Collins was a sprint car champion of the International Motor Contest Association (I.M.C. A.) and its predecessors in 1938,1946,1947 and 1948. Combining top driving skills with stamina, this trait made him one of Iowa's and the nation's most famous race car drivers.In fact, at one time, Collins held most of the world's dirt track speed records. In the first year, following World War II, 1946, Collins set 11 records and one year later, he added 10 more. Four years later, he retired from the sport.However, Collins' memories lived on. In 1970, he was inducted into the Iowa Auto Racing Hall of Fame. Five years later, he received a major award from the Winchester (Ind.) Speedway. The plaque which he received (and still remains at his home in Le Mars)6:24.84 at the All-Iowa Fair.At one time, Collins also held the records at State Fairs in Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Kansas, Alabama, Utah and LouisianaPerhaps the most memorable record was the 24-second clocking on the half-mile oval at the Sioux Empire Speedway. Over 2,000 watched Collins grab this time in 1941.The better portion of these records were established on the $20,000 Offenhauser, a fast car which he helped design. In fact, to make certain he had the kind of fast car that he wanted, he went to Los Angeles and worked in the Offenhauser factory where the engine for his racer was built.Collins, who drove Mercedes and Cragar-Millers early in his career, provided many of the ideas for the design of the engine. When it was finished, the racer was more Collins than Offenhauser.Collins designed many of the parts for the car and with expert craftsmanship and infinite patience, he assembled his winning race car.Every part of the $20,000 400-horsepower, sleek red racer was handmade. It featured four cylinders, a 16-valve engine with two intakes and two exhaust valves for every cylinder and two carburetors.memories of her late husband, who passed away in 1982 in the forms of scrapbooks, photographs and trophies, all stored in the basement of her home.He was always going to build shelves, for these, she said, pointing to a neatly-arranged assortment of trophies, some standing at least three feet tall.She remembers accompanying him via baggage car to races. Some races were as for away as Calgary, Alberta, in the mid-1930s, shdrtlyafter they were married. She didn't keep track of her husband's times or top speeds on the dirt track, but when her husband was named as an advertising spokesman for Riverside Tires, she was required to file records with the tires' parent company, Montgomery Wards.You had to keep track of the time trials on ones which used Riverside tires, the condition of the track, how many attended, she said. That was my job.Countless numbers of newspaper articles were kept in these scrapbooks. Photographs accompanying the stories featured her husband, showed him leading the pack and the rest of the entries following a cloud of dust.He never liked to have his photograph taken before a race, she said, agreeing that her husband was superstitious, in that sort of way. One of the photographs sheWORLD CHAMPION—Emory Collins as he did what he did best.¥tive. Races during the 1930s featured Collins driving his Crager-Miller and Schrader driving his Miller Special. One race, contested at the Clay County Fair in Spencer, featured Collins beating Schrader by a six-foot margin in a nine-lap event.In August of 1938, Collins set five track records at the Iowa State Fairtime, compared to Collins' four. The relationship between the two dirt car racers wasn't always fiery. Off-seasons often saw the two Io-wans spending time deer or pheasant hunting.Yes, you can say I had a love for Gus, Emory Collins said in an article which appeared in one of the scrapbooks.we knew we had to produce. There was no slacking off.Ten years after Schrader's death,, 1951, Collins retired from the sport. He sold the powerful Offenhauser for $11,500.A high point in Collins' career,, outside of racing, came on June 18, 1945, when he received one of only 21 citations awarded by the United
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