Inductees

When Lester Friebe saw his first car race, his heart may have raced just as fast as the 34 Fords out on the dirt track.

This was back in the 1940s on the east side of Springfield, at a place called McCracken Field. Years before that venue would give way to businesses near the intersection of Highway 65 and Sunshine Street in Springfield, McCracken Field captured the imagination as his brother-in-law raced.

“From that moment, I knew,” Friebe said. “I saw how they climbed out from the roof of the 34 Fords and then they’d step down to the fender. I couldn’t wait to do that.”

When he did compete, it set Friebe on a course as one of the top racers in the Ozarks – and, thus, the state. And it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted Friebe with the Class of 2025.

A graduate of Logan-Rogersville High School, Friebe began racing in 1955, and became an eight-time track champion at various speedways across the Ozarks.

He claimed titles at tracks in Kansas City, Kan., and Bolivar, Nevada, and Humansville, in Missouri. In the 1960s, he ran in the IMCA (International Motor Cars Association) and, at one point, was voted by the fans as their No. 1 race car driver.

Friebe certainly earned their respect. Among his most memorable championships came in 1969 at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Springfield. Driving a purple 1955 Buick, Friebe battled Larry Phillips (MSHOF 2001) for the title. Sponsored by O’Reilly Auto Parts, the car was built by Louis Gotschal of Fort Scott, Kan.

The popular Buick had two unique features – the driver’s seat was placed in the center of the car, and it used the supposedly unlucky No. 13. Additionally, even though no one but the mechanics and Friebe and folks in the pits knew it, the Buick featured a 364 engine under the hood. Plenty of power to stay in contention.

That enhanced Friebe’s season-long rivalry with Phillips, as they brought thousands of fans to the Fairgrounds each Friday night.

Friebe has been a part of the local race scene for decades since, and was a founder of the Ozarks Area Racers Foundation, which later inducted him as a racer. He also is an inductee of the Springfield Area Sports Hall of Fame.

“I had a car when I was 15,” Friebe said. “I kind of tuned up the highways with it. No tickets, though. Never did wreck.”

Friebe raced in 34 Fords and 35 Packards from the time he was 18 years old. His favorite tracks were the fifth-mile dirt ovals more than the half-miles or miles – and for one simple but somewhat laughable reason.

“I liked to slide,” Friebe said, noting his car and competitors could top out at maybe 60 mph on the fifth-mile tracks and would fish-tail as the track bent inward.

Local businesses took notice, as Friebe led the way in generating fan interest. With the stands packed and thousands of eyeballs focused on his car, O’Reilly Auto Parts and others threw their support behind his racing.

“I loved to race. It was a must,” Friebe said. “From the time I saw races at McCracken Field, I knew I had to do it. And I had two brothers, Earl and Johnny, that raced, too. They didn’t do too bad.”

For Friebe, the adrenaline rush of racing was too great to let pass. He still jokes that, as a high school senior, his principal said that he couldn’t graduate in a race car. But Friebe soldiered on, and eventually earned his diploma.

“I just couldn’t wait to get there – I lived for racing back in the day,” Friebe said. “I didn’t have anything else to do.”

His focus was solely on racing, not building engines, as he left that to those who rolled up their sleeves and weren’t afraid to get under a hood.

Along the way, he learned from some of the area’s other better racers. Think of it as ironing sharpening iron. Among them was Phillips, considered one of the best racers on the Ozarks race scene. But there also were Bud McKee and Don Kordalis.

“They were competitive,” Friebe said. “I didn’t beat them all of the time. At times they beat me. But that’s what made me better. They were tough.”

For Friebe, he long had the support of his wife, Jeanie, and their children, Shane and Leslie Ann.

“I was able to race for 18 years,” Friebe said. “Smiling all the way, win or lose.”