Doug Wolfgang - Inducted 2007
The Sioux Falls native was one of the biggest stars on the World of Outlaws sprint car circuit throughout the 1980s. The 1970 Lincoln High grad won more than 600 feature races in his career. He was selected eighth on the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame "Drivers of the Century" list. He won 107 feature events on the World of Outlaws circuit. He was a four-time runner-up for the Outlaws series points championship. He was voted Driver of the Year by the National Sprint Car Racing Poll in 1985 and '89. "He has more determination to succeed than any sprint car driver - anybody - that I've ever seen," said car builder and owner Bob Trostle of Des Moines, who gave Wolfgang his big break in the mid-1970s and watched him become a star. Wolfgang won the Knoxville (Iowa) Nationals, the Indy 500 of sprint-car racing, five times (1977, '78, '84, '85, '89). In 1989, he won 20 events and $249,015 on the World of Outlaws circuit and also won 11 features and $178,525 on the United Sprint Association circuit. He also won 20 World of Outlaws events in 1981. He won the season championship at Knoxville Raceway in 1976 and '77. He is credited with 60 feature wins at Knoxville. He won 31 races while competing at Huset's Speedway near Brandon. He was seriously burned in an April 3, 1992 sprint car accident in Kansas City. He came back to win the IMCA championship for 360 sprints in 1995. He won the ASCA 360 Nationals at I-80 Speedway in 1996. He retired in 1997. In his career, he won 172 times in national series races on 70 tracks in 24 states. He began his career in 1970 driving super modifieds in the Sioux Falls area. He stepped up to the more powerful sprint cars in 1975. He is a member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame as well as the Hoosier, Iowa and Nebraska auto racing halls of fame. He was named the 1985 National Motor Press Association Driver of the Year. He was named the state's Celebrity of the Year by the South Dakota Sportswriters Association in 1983 and '89. He has a shop in Tea where he builds custom race car chassis.
