Like the driver who they named the event after, Dusty Van Horn was in the right place at the right time. He drove to the IMCA stock car victory during the 28th annual Tiny Lund Memorial weekend at Shelby County Speedway in Harlan, Iowa.
The event pays tribute to the Harlan’s hometown son who went onto NASCAR fame. At Daytona in 1963, Lund pulled driver Marvin Panch from the flaming car he was testing for a three-hour sports car race. From his hospital bed, Panch told Lund he wanted him to sub for him in the famed Wood Brothers ride. Lund went on to win the Daytona 500.
“I’ve been at the Tiny Lund Memorial since the first or second race,” said Van Horn, of Atlantic, Iowa. “When I was a kid, I watched a documentary on him. From that movie, I took away that you have to be in the right spot at the right time and great things can happen.”
Earning a trip to victory lane at Shelby County Speedway does not come easy. Van Horn has been trying for five years.
“I race one night a week, at Harlan, and every week I have to race against Mike Nichols, IMCA’s winningest driver of all-time,” Van Horn said. “I have a whole bunch of seconds to him, but I never won. Randy Havlik, of Victory Race Cars, told me, ‘I was there [performance-wise] — it would be just a matter of time.’”
Van Horn’s time came in dramatic fashion. Van Horn watched Tom Berry and Mike Nichols bang doors as they battled for the win.
“With two laps to go, Tom [Berry] got under Mike [Nichols] and they ramped tires,” said Van Horn. “I got under both of them. Mike got sideways and I went right by him to take the lead while Tom dropped back.”
Nichols regained his form and chased Van Horn down.
“Going to the checkered, I could see his car’s nose on the outside of me,” Van Horn said. “I yelled, ‘No, no, no!’ I told myself, ‘Sorry Mike, I’m driving to the wall and I’m winning this thing.’”
Win he did. Dusty Van Horn finally got that ticket to victory lane, which he shared with his wife, Lindsey; their two sons, Josh and Dayton; and a young lady selected by the track to present the checkered flag.
“I got the monkey off my back,” said Van Horn. “I was out-driven by a guy with a lot more experience than me for five seasons. [Nichols] has a bag full of tricks, and he is showing them to me. I’m learning fast.”
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.
