Nearly five decades since his untimely death, racers still remember Moose Peterson. Three racers in the Upper Midwest Vintage Racing Series run the distinctive bright yellow paint schemes Peterson made famous as a racer.
“My dad was big — 6’5″ and 300 lb. — that’s why he was known as ‘Moose’ since junior high school,” said his son Roger Peterson, who was 13 years old when his father passed away. “After serving his country, he returned home to Black River Falls [Wisconsin] and was awarded a Chevrolet-Oldsmobile dealership. At 24, he was the youngest person to run a dealership.”
At his dealership, Alan “Moose” Peterson erected a larger-than-life figure of a moose. In addition to racing cars himself, Peterson also fielded race cars for some of the finest racers in the area, including Dick Trickle and Marv Marzofka. Peterson passed away at 38 years old on April 25, 1974, in a motorcycle accident.
“My dad is remembered as a kind person,” Roger, now of Belleville, Michigan, said. “He gave back to the community. He contributed to charities. He even initiated a project to air condition our church, and paid for a good portion of the project.”
The three tribute cars came about independently. Roger Peterson runs a 1970s Chevrolet Camaro. Upper Midwest Vintage Racing Series director Kenny Hutchens, of Black River Falls, Wisconsin, drives a 1954 Chevrolet. Darrel Bassuener, of Wisconsin Rapids, campaigned a 1957 Chevrolet tribute before he passed away on January 21, 2021.
“I watched Moose race as a kid,” Hutchens said. “I was 15 when he died. My dad was friends with him. An Oldsmobile we bought from him in 1961 was our family car.”
Peterson and Hutchens hope to carry on the memory of their hero, Moose Peterson, to generations who have never met the man.
“His death at such a young age shocked not only our hometown, but the racing community,” said Peterson. “My father has never been forgotten, and hopefully he won’t ever be forgotten, thanks to these cars.”
Photo Credit: Bruce Nuttleman
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
