Mel Morris No. 32 and No. 41
Mel Morris was the driver some liked to hate. Mel won many races in the MVSC!!! A great driver! He was from West Liberty and the Rohner Machine Works was a sponsor. Mel could have a hot head sometimes. But he was always in there and fun to watch! And I will never forget the night he drove Chet Ballenger's Studebaker stock car that usually wasn't very fast...but that night Mel had it wrapped out and won a race in it! Mel raced for many years as did Mark Mosier and Johnny Moss.
This is from the WestLibertyIndex.com:d
"Morris was hard to miss in his blue and white polka-dotted No. 39, but it was while piloting Bud Kile’s No. 32 that he was named the Mississippi Valley Stock Car Association circuit champion in 1960, 1961, 1966 and 1969 and co-champion in 1975" Click on some of the photos below to see them larger.
Click on images to see larger version.
Karen Fenn thanks for photo above and below.
Mel drove this car in 1970. He was second to Ernie Derr in the big
race at Hawkeye Downs that year.
Kyle Ealy shared this on facebook- "The dirt to asphalt transition for Hawkeye pilots would continue on March 29, 1970, as "Mr. Cool" Mel Morris of West Liberty would win the late model 20-lapper at Odessa, MO. Bill Austin, director of competition offers congratulations."
Image above from Midwest Racing Achives
John Lafrenz shared this photo below...1971 at West Liberty,
Mel must of drove this car after I went off to college, I don't remember it.
The photo below is Mel in a Dodge and we thank Joe Tonkinson for this photo!
It was shared on facebook that Mel's son said Mel drover this car about 1970.
Below shared by John Lafrenz on facebook
Below Scott Berlin shared again Mels car he drove at least part of 1970
The car above was driven by Mel in 1971. Dick Merchant owned it.
Mel went into the wall in the above car, in a wreck involving Walt Carney.
Here is the photo that Mel's son Jim shared...Jim said this was the
worst wreck his Dad ever had. "Shoulder harnesses snapped and he
ate the steering wheel and it shattered all his false teeth inside his mouth.
He wasn't good for awhile. Took two weeks to rebuild the car but the races
were rained out both weeks and I think he won the next time on the track
but not totally positive about that"
The cars I remember the most that Mel drove were the 1955-57 Chevy's!
1969 that is Mel with his daughter. Looks like Columbus Junction.
Here is a photo of this car with Mel when he won the Iowa State Fair Super Stock Championship
In 1969. This is a 1957 Chevy or a Dodge with a Dodge Hemi Motor.
Click on photos to see them bigger
This below shared by Kyle Ealy on facebook for Hawkeye Racing
news-
Whether it was the Mississippi Valley Speed Club races at Columbus Junction or West Liberty or the Southern Iowa Racing Association racing at Oskaloosa, Mel Morris was kickin' butt and takin' names in 1969. Here's Mel after yet another win at Southern Iowa Speedway on July 9.
This from the Midwest Racing Archives:
1969 Iowa State Fair Super Stocks Championship Race
1969 was shaping up to be Mel Morris’ year. The 35-year-old truck driver from West Liberty had been dominating the central Iowa racing scene that year; winning championships at West Liberty, Columbus Junction and Oskaloosa. The big half-mile at Des Moines had also been very kind to Morris in '69, so it came to no one’s surprise that he was the odds on favorite to win the Iowa State Fair Super Stock Championship race on Thursday, August 21.
Driving a 1957 Chevrolet with a ’69 Hemi motor, Morris didn’t disappoint his supporters as he won the 25-lap championship before a sellout crowd of 9,500. Morris, who cashed in $450 for his winning efforts, didn’t run away from the field like most thought he would.
After winning the third heat Morris started on the inside of the second row, and at the drop of the green flag, quickly moved into the second spot behind pole sitter Mark Mosier of Washington. For the next 18 laps, Mosier stayed up front with Morris dogging him the entire way. Morris never strayed to far from Mosier’s bumper during the race and on lap 19 he got the break he needed when Mosier developed wheel problems. Morris would slip by Mosier with defending State Fair champ Joel Rasmussen following Morris.
Rasmussen would give Morris all he could handle for the remaining 5 circuits, showing his nose inside of Morris several times but couldn’t complete the necessary pass. Jerry LeCroy of Des Moines would take third place, Darreld Bunkofske of Algona took fourth and Bill Newman of Burlington earned fifth. Mosier would settle for the 13th spot.
Mosier, Butch Householder, Morris and Rasmussen collected heat wins while Bob Bonzer took consolation honors. A total of 45 cars were in attendance and 24 started the feature.
This photo above of Mel in front of his fast car was shared by Deb Warth White on facebook. Thanks Deb!
Above Gale Reed sent me this ,,,isn't that a pretty car?
I wonder how many cars Mel went through. He was always in the mix.
I think this car was one in which they built a light frame and put sheet
metal on it...a light car.
Below another bad night.. 1st night of racing at West Liberty in 1967. I think it was
the fist night of the season. Mel owned this car.
Mel leading Johnny Moss at West Libery
John Lafrenz shared this photo below of Mel in 1968 at Columbus Junction
Above, a good photo of Mel probably waiting go out for
time trials at Columbus Junction in 1968.
MVSC flagman Mort Conners is holding the flag.
Above Before 4,000 fans, Mel Morris of West Liberty won the Mississippi Valley Speed Club
season opener at his hometown track on April 19, 1968. John Moss of Iowa City was a
close second with Bill Newman Burlington third.
Below John Lafrenz shared on facebook
From Kyle Ealy on facebook-
Mel Morris won the wreck-marred 50-lap Mississippi Valley Speed Club season championship at West Liberty on September 9, 1967. MVSC Points leader Mark Mosier broke a crankshaft on lap 2 while second-place in points, John Moss, retired to the pits on lap 19. Stan Crooks of Letts, IA, had led the race for 36 laps when he hit a stalled Bob Smith in the middle of turn #1, and also collected second-running Ron Hemsted with him. This gave a clear path for Morris, who sailed to the easy win.
Below from Kyle Ealy on facebook- Mel Morris grabbed the Mississippi Valley Speed Club mid-season title at West Liberty on June 22, 1968. Stan Crooks was leading the contest until lap 44 when he got tangled up with slower traffic. MVSC president Dale Gegner makes the trophy presentation.
Trophy Dash or Feature win .
Thanks to Deb Warth White for sharing the photo above on facebook. This is Mel and some of his crew.
About the car above Stacy Ervin wrote this on facebook
"
This is Mel Morris who drove my Grandpa Milton "Rocky" Rockwell's 39.
A little known fact about this car...the polka dots were created by tracing
around my Grandma Irene's dinner plates."
Kyle Ealy shared this photo below from the 1960 MVSC Yearbook.
According to an article in the West Liberty newspaper in 2010, Mel started racing when he was 21. Let me quote sections of Lindsey Hoeppner's nice article...
"According to his wife, Linda, Morris began racing jalopy in Farmington in the late 1950s and competed in his first race at the Van Buren County Fairgrounds in Keosauqua not long after.
“He had put $30 in his first car, and he ended up winning $25,” she said. "
"After moving to West Liberty in the early 1960s, it didn’t take Morris long to make a name for himself.
Morris was hard to miss in his blue and white polka-dotted No. 39, but it was while piloting Bud Kile’s No. 32 that he was named the Mississippi Valley Stock Car Association circuit champion in 1960, 1961, 1966 and 1969 and co-champion in 1975."
"Throughout his 30-year jalopy and late model racing career, Morris received many accolades, but, according to Linda, was the most proud of zipping to victory in three super-stock features at the 1969 Iowa State Fair, the same year he won titles at West Liberty, Columbus Junction and Oskaloosa."