Ron Drager of Temperance blown away by 1954 NASCAR trophy
TEMPERANCE – After a lifetime in auto racing, Ron Drager doesn’t get many surprises these days when it comes to the sport, but he was definitely caught off guard by a gift he received this winter while at Daytona International Speedway.
Sportswriter and vintage racing T-shirt enthusiast Adam Fenwick came across a trophy from a 1954 NASCAR race at Flat Rock Speedway and gifted it to Drager during the ARCA Menards Series test session in Florida.
“It’s amazing to me that this has been out here all of this time,” said Drager, the ARCA racing series president. “I didn’t know anything about it. At the Daytona test, they walked in and gave it to me. I had no idea it was coming. It’s great. It’s real and it’s legit. I’m big on stuff that is real.”
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Drager has been around racing his entire life and has amassed a remarkable collection of trophies and memorabilia from Flat Rock and Toledo Speedway – two properties he owns – plus the ARCA Racing Series. The latest gift is the latest in a collection of hardware and a rare find.
Prior to ARCA becoming involved in Flat Rock Speedway in 1962, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. himself promoted races at the quarter-mile track.
“Bill France Sr. felt the track was really important because it was so close to where all of the automakers were,” Drager said.
Flat Rock Speedway was built by Sheldon Hayes, who owned an asphalt paving company that did work across the state. The track was an asphalt track from the start. In August of 1954, NASCAR put on a Grand National Short Track Division event, the Detroit International 250, at Flat Rock. Rex Crofoot won the race.
“He won multiple races at Flat Rock,” Drager said.
Among those drivers who Crofoot beat to the finish line were NASCAR Hall of Famers Lee Petty, Buck Baker, Herb Thomas and Hershel McGriff.
The Short Track Division was sanctioned by NASCAR from 1951 to 1959 and held races on tracks such as Flat Rock throughout the country.
The trophy was in excellent condition when Fenwick found it.
“How the heck it ended up being as well preserved as it is, I have no idea,” Drager said. “Somebody took care of it. Everything means something. It’s not just a random trophy. Everyone one of these has a story behind it.”
More history will be made this week when Flat Rock Speedway hosts the ARCA Menards Series East race Saturday.
The series is one of three ARCA-sanctioned, NASCAR-owned properties that Drager now manages. Before becoming part of the ARCA, the East and West series were known as the K&N Series
East and K&N Series West. Cars owned by such racing teams as Venturini Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing will be competing in the Dutch Boy 150.
“The ARCA Menards Series East uses the same cars that race in the ARCA Menards Series, so they are capable of racing at places like Daytona, Talladega, Springfield, and Watkins Glen,” said Drager. “But the East series really shines when it races on the tight bullrings like Flat Rock Speedway. It’s again one of the most anticipated races of the year on the ARCA Menards Series East schedule.”
The Street Stocks and the Figure 8 divisions will add to the racing action.
This is a historic season at Flat Rock not just for its longevity. It’s the last on the current asphalt.
“We are going to repave the racetrack at the end of the season,” Drager said. “It’s at a point where if we do this now, it will preserve exactly the way it is. If we let it go further, we will have to start cutting out parts and piecing it together. It’s time.”
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Flat Rock Speedway owner surprised by 1954 NASCAR trophy
