By: Russ Wheeler

The National Short Track Championships. A vision from the mind of Hugh Deery. Deery was an innovator. A mover and a shaker. He knew the power of language. He knew what it took to put on a show.

Pit the local favorites against the out-of-town hot shoes. That was the name of the game.

In the early years, the race largely featured the Chicagoland stars versus the best Wisconsin had to offer. Throw in some talented racers from Minnesota and a smattering stars from Iowa…and the recipe for short track success was cooking.

As the years wore on, the event truly became a national affair. Drivers from coast-to-coast entered the event, with twenty-four states represented on the entry list through the years. Canada was also represented more than once, with names like Hanley, Biederman and Slack trying their hand at Rockford’s famed “High Banks.”

The National Short Track Championship is a race that has jump-started careers. Most notably, Mark Martin won the race in 1977 as a scrawny 18-year old kid. All of these years later, the NASCAR Hall of Famer still claims Rockford’s National Short Track Championship as the race that propelled him to new heights and put him on the road to success.

The National Short Track Championships have also been a race ripe for the occasional upset. Maybe one of the biggest surprises came in 1970, when Denver Colorado’s Wayne Stallsworth came to town and walked away with the big trophy. Stallsworth led the final 59 laps on his way to victory in front of a crowd of nearly 4,000 people.

Another surprise came in 1989, when a 22 year old from Michigan named Tim Fedewa won the National Short Track Championship. Fedewa outran Washington’s Garrett Evans for the win. The win eventually translated into success for Fedewa, who was a long-time regular in what is now known as the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where he won four times.

As much as surprises have dotted the landscape of the National Short Track Championships, there are also those drivers who became masters of the Rockford “rollercoaster.” Joe Shear is the name many think of first, especially those around Rockford. Shear, the six time Track Champion, was an eight-time NSTC winner. Only one other driver has won eight NSTC’s and his name is Steve Carlson. Both drivers won their last NSTC at age 54, fourteen years apart (1997 and 2011). Chicagoland great Eddie Hoffman hustled his way to four NSTC wins (2001, 2004, 2005, 2013) while Dick Trickle won the first NSTC in 1966 and also bagged back-to-back wins in both 1978 and 1979. Ten drivers have won more than one NSTC all-time.

The list of winners is long and distinguished. Ramo Stott, Dave Watson, Junior Hanley, Jim Sauter, Al Schill Butch Miller, Scott Hansen and Rich Bickle…just to name a few. The list of drivers who have tried and failed to capture the pot of gold at the end of the NSTC rainbow is just as distinguished.

The National Short Track Championship has always been a challenging race. A test of men and machine, patience, and precision. A skillful drive can end in a heartbeat. Luck can turn at the drop of a hat.

It’s that kind of stuff that makes legends and breaks hearts. And it’s what keeps us coming back for more.

So here we are again. One Great Racing Weekend. One More Time.

How will the fifty-eight story be written?