Eaker, '72 World 100 winner, dies at 86
National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Verlin Eaker, the first of five Iowa racers to win the World 100 and inaugural winner of his home state’s Yankee Dirt Track Classic, died Sunday at age 86. Family members reported the Mechanicsville, Iowa, resident's death Monday via Facebook.
A standout dirt and asphalt racer in the 1960s and ‘70s, Eaker led the final 18 laps of 1972's second edition of Eldora Speedway’s famed World 100 for a $5,000 victory in Rossburg, Ohio, while piloting the gold No. 21 owned by Al Frieden. Eaker made four more World 100 starts, twice finishing third, including in 1978 when he led the most laps (52) but fell short of his second victory in Dirt Late Model racing’s most prestigious event.
Iowans following Eaker to Eldora’s victory lane were Waterloo’s Ed Sanger (1974), Des Moines’s Joe Merryfield (1975), Viola’s Ken Walton (1978), and Muscatine’s Brian Birkhofer (2002 and ’12)
The Blooming Prairie, Minn., native’s Yankee Dirt Track Classic victory came in 1978 at Hawkeye Downs Speedway in Cedar Rapids, a race halted by drenching rain after Eaker led all 89 completed laps.
A 2007 National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame inductee, Eaker is also a member of the Iowa Racing Hall of Fame. According to his Hall of Fame biography, Eaker’s other major dirt racing victories included the 1972 Cornhusker Hawkeye Challenge, the 1978 Midwest Dirt Track Championship in Muskogee, Okla., and the 1979 Miller 100 at Hawkeye Downs. He won track championships at Iowa tracks in Des Moines and Independence as well as Sterling, Ill.
The 1969 USAC Rookie of the Year was a 1971 winner with USAC on the 1-mile DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds layout and also competed in ARCA competition. He competed in a NASCAR Twin 125 qualifying race in 1972 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., retiring after 17 laps in a car owned by Bill Moyer.
Survivors include three children, seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Visitation is 4-7 p.m. Thursday, July 18, at Stewart Baxter Funeral Home in Mount Vernon. The funeral is 10 a.m. Friday, July 19, at the funeral home. Visit stewartbaxter.com for a complete obituary.
Editor's note: Updates with arrangements; corrects date of death.
