As shown above with the cars of Dewayne and Bobby Jacks in the grassy pit area, summer time racing at many of the small mid-western tracks was really in a class of its own.

Way back in 1977 at St. Louis International Raceway during an AHRA National event, this writer needed help! Due to scheduling problems I ended up at St. Louis by myself to fulfill our contract. Of course the motor had to be replaced for a final qualifying effort. Dewayne and several racers from the Mid-west dove in to help me and we made a great qualifying run with minutes to spare.

When Kahoka had to close because the Highway construction claimed half of the shutdown area, Ronnie Saar re-opened the old Sportsman Drag Strip in Keokuk. It was named Lee County Dragway for more than ten years. Then Tony Sheffler became owner and called it Tri State Dragway as a tribute to old Kahoka. Today, Sheffler is a feature announcer at Atlanta Dragway in Georgia.

It was there, at Lee County Dragway, where Dewayne won three season Championships during the early 1980’s. After Lee County closed, Dewayne started making the trip to Eddyville, Iowa where he won another Championship!

Then an injury to his spine made racing impossible no matter how much desire he had to continue. Make no mistake, if he were still able to drive, Dewayne Hamner would be racing some-where in the mid-west, and winning!