Troy Murner (22) takes the lead in the 2nd annual Boob Ferguson Memorial Race at Black Hills Speedway from Willy Ferguson (78), closely followed by Danny Hanson (5). Photo by James Giago Davies
Honoring a local racing legend
Boob Ferguson may never be forgotten
By James Giago Davies
Native Sun News Correspondent
nsweekly.com RAPID CITY –– Plenty of people will not read this story because they think it is just about stock car racing. Not caring for any sport or activity in and of itself is fine, but in the case of the late Leonard “Boob” Ferguson, his life as a reservation-based stock car driver left a profound impact on the hearts and minds of many people. It was a life about far more than just sport. You can’t click on some website and find detailed information on the races he ran, the records he set, and the prize money he won. Most of that information is lost forever, lost in the dust of dirt ovals, aging grandstands and dusty parking lots. Boob Ferguson did not compete in a sophisticated world of corporate sponsors and intense media hype. There was him, there was his car, there was a garage, there were some friends and relatives turning wrenches, and there was just enough sponsorship to put an entry on the track most weekend nights. Last Saturday noon, the second annual Boob Ferguson Memorial Race was finally run at the Black Hills Speedway after twice being delayed by rain since mid-July, it was delayed by rain during a summer remarkable for its lack of rain, because even after he is gone, anything connected with Boob Ferguson tends to march to the beat of its own drummer. Rapid City’s Troy “Wolfman” Murner won the race, coming from 10 cars back to grab and hold the lead a few caution-plagued laps in, on a track so slick few tires, save his, could find any grip. After he won, he cried, because so much emotion is poured into such a race that has nothing to do with the race itself, emotions produced by friendships, associations and history decades deep, but easily understood, once you take the time to get to know these people, once they open up and share their world with you.
Leonard “Boob” Ferguson in his 1980s heyday. Courtesy photo
Troy’s dad, Butch, was once a racing rival of Boob Ferguson, back in the 1970s, but that rivalry stayed on the track, and on the track it was very intense. Off the track Butch and Boob became fast friends, and they would not only do what they could to help each other race, they did all they could to extend the same help to other drivers. “Butch and Leonard raced the same class of cars,” longtime friend and fellow racer Dale Bergman said. “Them two guys really went at it, but it was clean. Butch said ‘I could drive right beside him at 200 mph for a 1,000 miles and never touch once.’ Guys respected (Boob); they just knew he wasn’t going to race dirty.” You can see and experience a lot at the Black Hills Speedway without ever crossing the track and rubbing elbows in the pits. The pit, however, is a separate world, its own busy community, and it even has its own concession stand. You have to get a special wrist band to walk around, and once you cross over into the pits, you are pretty much trapped there until the race day is over.
Read the rest of the story on the all-new Native Sun News website: Honoring a local racing legend (Contact James Giago Davies at skindiesel@msn.com) Copyright permission Native Sun News
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