CONTRIBUTED PHOTO - Rick Brown of Kellogg, who spent more than two decades racing at the Marshalltown Speedway, was recently inducted into the Iowa Racing Hall of Fame. He’s pictured with his wife Mary, who spent years as a track official.

“It’s not the people that you meet, it’s the friends you make.”

These are the words of Rick Brown, who spent more than two decades racing at the Marshalltown Speedway. He was recently inducted into the Iowa Racing Hall of Fame at a ceremony held in Webster City, in the category of Drivers 1990-Present.

A farmer by day, racecar driver by night, the lifelong Kellogg resident said he never missed a Friday night racing in Marshalltown. He won two hobby stock features, plus won 122 IMCA stock car features during his career.

“It was my home track,” he added. “I got started in Marshalltown in 1988. I raced until my final race in 2010. I made sure Marshalltown was my last race I ever competed in.”

While Brown may have been on the road for anniversaries and birthdays, his family was supportive nonetheless. Father Merl helped on the car, mom Gerdena recorded the races, and wife Mary became a track official.

“I kind of got a late start. I was already married and had kids. Nowadays, kids start at 18 years old,” he said. “Back then, they had what you called the hobby stock or the bomber class. It didn’t cost a lot of money to get involved, and a bunch of us got together, we just tried to do it. I guess once you do it, you’re kind of hooked.”

In the beginning, he raced in a Chevy. In 1993, he decided to switch to a Ford-powered stock car.

“I started winning. My first year I won their track championship, and back then, the announcer was Denny Grabenbauer from Marshalltown,” Brown said. “He started calling me the ‘Flyin’ Farmer.’ I didn’t like it. It just sounded kind of cheesy.”

But as Brown raced in Stuart, Oskaloosa, Boone and throughout the Midwest, the nickname stuck.

“Instead of being against it, I embraced it. We had T-shirts made up. I guess everybody knows me now as the ‘Flyin’ Farmer.'”

Longtime friend Jerry Vansickel, who serves as Marshalltown Speedway promoter/general manager, followed Brown’s career from the start.

“His passion for the sport and his love of Friday nights at Marshalltown were some of the strongest of any racer in the pits,” Vansickel said. “You knew that if you saw him before the races, you’re probably going to see him after the races in victory lane. He was a tough, fierce competitor, and one of the toughest classes in IMCA is the stock car division. It seems that’s the class everybody talks about anymore, and it’s because of people like Rick that helped put the stock cars on the map years ago.”

Brown said in all his years racing, he never flipped a car, whereas as teenagers, his daughters Kristin, Kelli and Kayla all did.

“Nobody got her, but it’s a family joke,” he said with a laugh.

The Hall of Fame accepts nominations throughout the year from the public. In the spring, the board of directors and an advisory committee meet to review all previous nominations and any new nominations received.

“There are so many well deserving individuals in the State of Iowa that have contributed to the rich history of motorsports in the State of Iowa. This was our sixth annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and we currently have 120 members of our Hall of Fame,” said Teresa Huffman, an Iowa HOF and Racing Museum board member.

The Iowa Hall of Fame and Racing Museum, Inc. was created by Marty Pringle in 2016 and is located in Otho, Iowa.

“I am proud and honored to be selected into the Iowa Hall of Fame and Racing Museum. Never had I envisioned this honor through all the years as just a driver competing against some of the best that have strapped into a racecar to chase our dreams of getting the checkered flags,” Brown said. “All those late nights in the shop, the long drives home after a tough night on the track, the mechanical failures, and even those engine claims back in the day would not keep us from racing. Trading paint and slinging that dirt to get to victory lane. Thank you to my family, friends, sponsors and all those that cheered for the Flyin’ Farmer number 75 Ford stock car to get this greatest win of my career.”