Countdown: S. Dakota

There's more to South Dakota than Mount Rushmore, the Corn Palace and Wall Drug.

For instance, Harney Peak is the highest point between the Rocky Mountains and the French Alps. The Homestake gold mine, now closed, is the deepest mine in the United States. And Hot Springs is home to the largest naturally heated indoor swimming pool in the world.

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The Mount Rushmore State was the birthplace of some of the great Native American tribal chiefs -- Crazy Horse, Red Cloud and Sitting Bull. Hubert Humphrey and George McGovern hail from South Dakota, as do Tom Brokaw and Cheryl Ladd.

South Dakota's claim to NASCAR fame rests with one race -- and one driver.

Best behind the wheel

• Leo Ray, Rapid City

Leo Ray remembers the day NASCAR came to town. It was July 22, 1953 -- and he was a young, aspiring driver.

"I was working for a body shop when the tour came through here," Ray said from his Rapid City home. "They were looking for local guys to run. Another guy and I pulled out an old Nash and entered it."

Ray had been driving at the Rapid Valley Speedway for a couple of years, but the cars he was used to running bore little resemblance to the ones driven by the likes of Herb Thomas, Fonty Flock and Lee Petty.

"A bunch of jalopies is all we had," he said. "All we had was weekly races on Saturday afternoons at the fairgrounds."

But Ray felt like he had home-field advantage.

"I had been racing quite a bit on that already," he said. "I knew every little bump on the thing."

A field of 15 cars took the green flag at the dirt half-mile Rapid Valley Speedway that day. After 200 laps, the order of finish looked like a who's who of NASCAR racing at the time: Herb Thomas, Dick Rathmann, Fonty Flock, Lee Petty and Buck Baker.

Grand National Series Rapid Valley Speedway (July 22, 1953) Fin. Driver Car 1. H. Thomas '53 Hudson 2. D. Rathmann '53 Hudson 3. F. Flock '53 Hudson 4. L. Petty '53 Dodge 5. B. Baker '53 Olds 6. B. Harrison '52 Hudson 7. E. Skinner '53 Olds 8. L. Ray '51 Nash 9. D. Fellows '50 Plymouth 10. C.H. Dingler '51 Studebaker 11. R. Springer '50 Ford 12. M. Krueger '49 Ford 13. T. Lee '52 Hudson 14. R. Caswell '49 Plymouth 15. J. Beauchamp '52 Hudson

And there in eighth place: Leo Ray, 1951 Nash, $100.

Ray never tried to enter another NASCAR race, but he continued driving locally until 1973.

"I just stayed local, Rapid City, the state fair at Huron," he said. "I was high points and track record-holder."

Ray retired two years ago after working for an oil company, delivering gas and oil by truck.

And when the weather turns cold and the wind blows, Leo Ray sits and remembers the day he raced against Thomas, Flock, Petty and Baker.

We wish ...

Rodeo star Casey Tibbs had become a NASCAR driver.

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Born in 1929 in a log cabin northwest of Fort Pierre, Tibbs began riding in rodeos by 14 and was the national saddle bronc-riding champion at 19. Between 1949 and 1955, he won a total of six Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association saddle bronc-riding championships, plus two all-around cowboy bareback titles. In addition, he wrote a newspaper column and starred in several movies.

Keeping it on track

• Park Jefferson Speedway

The dirt half-mile in Jefferson hosts the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series on Saturday nights. Mike Hanson finished third in the Division II championship, winning four races and scoring the maximum 16 top-10 finishes.

Gone but not forgotten

• Rapid Valley Speedway, Rapid City

Opened in 1949, this half-mile hosted one NASCAR event, won by Herb Thomas in 1953. The track remains in operation as Black Hills Speedway.

A word from our sponsor

• Wells Fargo Financial, Sioux Falls

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