News

Remembering Bob Trostle

Remembering Bob Trostle
Saturday, November 21, 2015
by Track Historians Eric Arnold and Bob Wilson

All of us at Knoxville Raceway and the members of the Marion County Fair Board are deeply saddened by the passing of Bob Trostle. Trostle was a larger than life figure around these grounds and arguably the greatest ambassador of our track and the sport of sprint car racing.

Bob was born March 20, 1933 and lived in Des Moines his entire life. In 1960 Bob turned from dragsters to super modifieds and built his first car for the 1962 Knoxville season. By the mid-60s he had become successful at the Marion County Fair Grounds and into the ‘70s he was known throughout the country as an owner and builder of sprint cars with many innovative ideas in his designs. His chassis were often copied by other builders because of their superiority and success.

Trostle had many drivers in the seat of his car over the years but his most successful year was 1977 with Doug Wolfgang behind the wheel winning both the Knoxville track championship and the Knoxville Nationals. Nationwide they won 45 features together that year and set the Knoxville Raceway standard of winning ten consecutive features and 12 regular season wins at Knoxville, records that may never be broken.

A previous track title came in 1976 with Wolfgang and further titles came in 1978 with Oklahoma’s Shane Carson, 1981 & 1982 with California’s Tim Green and 1988 with Iowan Randy Smith. 1980 saw Bob win the Knoxville Nationals for a second time as co-owner with Karl Kinser and with Steve Kinser driving to his first Nationals victory. For his career as an owner Trostle has 302 sprint car wins and 40 360 wins. At Knoxville his 410 (unlimited) wins total is 52.

Bob will forever be remembered for his ties to the Australian community and for opening the doors of international sprint car competition. In 1980 Bob took several cars ‘down under’ for the winter with drivers Jac Haudenschild, Mike Brooks, Rich Vogler and Jimmy Sills. Bob made several winter trips to Australia during the 1980s and into the ‘90s. In 1985 he entered a car in the Knoxville Nationals with Max Dumesney driving who would become the first sprint car driver from Australia to win a feature at Knoxville in the Race of States event. Bob later worked with the KIDD car program that supplied cars for international competitors at Knoxville Raceway during the 2002-2004 seasons with drivers David Murcott (Australia), Adam West (Canada) and Stevie Walsh (New Zealand). Murcott is now a two-time Australian champion which certainly makes a case that the rise of sprint car racing on both sides of the Pacific Ocean is elevated because of Bob’s passion to the sport.

Bob was extremely proud of his grandson Mark Wilson who competed at Knoxville in the 360 class. In total Wilson won four 360 features at Knoxville, several more at the Iowa State Fair Speedway and won the sprint car portion of the IMCA Super Nationals in 1991. Tragically Mark lost his life in a crash at Knoxville Raceway on April 14, 2001 at the age of 30.

Trostle was inducted into the S&K Mechanics Hall of Fame in 1974, the Knoxville Raceway Hall of Fame in 1979 (the inaugural class) and the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1993. He fielded a car for 32 consecutive Knoxville Nationals (1961-1992). He also served as a member of the Knoxville Raceway Hall of Fame election committee where his knowledge and flawless memory were so beneficial. Bob was a tireless ambassador for the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum (NSCHoF&M) where he graciously gave his time to attend events and help promote their cause.

Bob spent the past several years writing an autobiography with his good friend Larry Weeks titled “Life’s Tough on the Circuit” which was released this past August. You can find copies of his book in the NSCHoF&M gift shop or online at https://www.sprintcarstuff.com.

Bob will be missed greatly and we thank him for his contribution and place in Knoxville Raceway history. We offer our sincerest sympathies to his wife Dortha, daughters Jeane and Judy, and the rest of their family for their loss. He was a legend, even to those who knew him.