|
2/25/19
|
|
On Saturday, February 23,
Gary Iulg entered the New York State Stock Car Association
Hall of Fame. It was an honor to induct him.
(Coastal
181 Photo) |
|
- |
|
GARY IULG
|
Some guys just seem to be born in the right place,
at the right time - and with the right genes. And when one
of them gives it his all, works hard, and races to the top
rung of our sport, it is a beautiful thing.
That is
most certainly the case with our next inductee.
Gary
Iulg grew up in Sanborn, New York - as much of a racing town
as there's ever been, home even to Merv, Roger, and the many
Treichlers. Gary's dad was not a racer, but he was a close
friend of Jim Hurtubise who lived just eight miles away.
Herk became Gary's hero - and mentor. The families went
fishing together in Canada; Herk gave little Gary little
duties building his Indy cars; and Gary leaned on his every
word about racing and about life.
At 15, Gary pieced
together a Late Model for Ransomville and quite strangely
began missing school on Friday. That was race night. Hauled
into the principal's office to discuss his absences, he was
presented with a newspaper clipping of his winning a
feature. Gary's defense was, "I guess you can be sick in the
morning, but better by that night." The principal smiled and
wished him good luck.
Soon he was asked to drive a
Modified. It was a back-marker ride, but he won first time
out. Now everyone in Sanborn was taking notice, he says. "I
could drive down Main Street tuning my Modified and everyone
would cheer. And even the dentist would wave from the window
when later I went by in a Sprint Car."
A huge break
came with a phone call from Gil Bruss, a man with few words
and top-notch dirt Modifieds. They went on a tear - 20 wins
per year for the subsequent four seasons.
Gary was
on dusty podiums everywhere, from Syracuse to Volusia. And a
win at the Trenton qualifier at Lancaster Speedway proved he
was equally proficient on pavement. He went on to be
stunningly fast at Langhorne as a rookie and to many asphalt
wins, including the Oswego Budweiser 200 for Modifieds on
Classic Weekend in 1983.
As the seasons passed, more
and more challenges. Gary ran open-wheelers - both in Supers
for owners such as Skip Matzcak and URC Sprinters. He also
drove for Dick Hammond's national USAC Sprint Car operation,
teaming with Sheldon Kinser, Joe Saldana, and Tom Bigelow.
In the mid-1980s after 24 years, Gary began backing down
his incredible adventure. He had won over 200 features - the
exact total unknown because when someone was compiling the
records, they somehow sank in a boat at a marina.
Gary has shown that same steady commitment in other facets
of his life. One day at age 15 back in high school, he
glanced up at a girl coming around a corner. That night he
told his mom he'd seen the girl he would marry. His mother,
of course, asked her name and he didn't know. It was Sandy
Kroening- and she has now been Sandy Kroening Iulg for 47
years.
After Gary hung up his own helmet, the family
moved to South Jersey when he became B & G supervisor in a
school district. Gary and Sandy have three children, Tanya,
Tim, and Dawn; all are teachers, married to teachers.
Last fall there was a World Series of Dirt Track Racing
at Selinsgrove Speedway in Pennsylvania. Forty-seven of
those very racy SpeedSTR cars came to town - and the fastest
of all was Tim Iulg. His crew-chief dad says, "He's really
good and he works really hard just like I did. But several
times I've written out the bank deposit when I was sure he
was going to win, and each time there's been some little
glitch. I just tell him, 'Keep it steady. They will come.'"
And now, please welcome Gary Iulg to the podium and into
the New York State Stock Car Association Hall of Fame in
perpetuity. |
 |
 |
Gary
dancing in his Sprinter and on the roof of his Modified
following his 1983 win on Oswego Classic Weekend.
(Iulg
Family Collection) |
|
- |
|
© 2019 Lew
Boyd, Coastal 181 |
|
Previous
