Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
SLO-POKES: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 6: | Line 6: | ||
[[Category: Organizations]] | [[Category: Organizations]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category: Automobile Racing]] | ||
Revision as of 06:10, 24 December 2011
SLO-POKES. In 1954 the Dubuque chapter of the National Hot Rod Association. Founded by Joe Deggendorf, Jr., the group rejected the image of wild driving up and down city streets. Hot rods, explained Deggendorf, unlike stock cars were built for beauty and speed. Hot rod racing done on a straight track with only two cars in competition was a perfectly safe speed contest, he contended.
One of the reasons the club was founded was to promote the construction of a track in Dubuque. The club members had to travel to Chicago to race their 120-mile per hour racers. Deggendorf watched for other hot rods around town and then tracked down their owners to establish interest in the club. Besides Deggendorf, the club members included Bob Willis, president; Joe Willis, vice president; and Leonard Pitz, treasurer. Another member was involved in military service.
The goal of the national group, organized in March 1951, was to "promote interest in various types of hot rod activities and to create an attitude of good sportsmanship and good citizenship among all members." To underscore its commitment to the national goals, the local club established that any member arrested for violation of a city ordinance or state laws who paid a fine had to pay half the same amount to the club's treasury.