Gerald Bruggeman won the very first race he entered and kept on winning for the next 30 years. “Boog” moved from stock cars to modifieds, supermodifieds and finally sprint cars. He won track championships at Columbus and at Alta, Iowa, driving for R. D. “Biz” Bisping of Norfolk. Bruggeman became the first man to win three straight championships at Huset’s Speedway, in Brandon, S.D., turning the trick in 1977, ’78 and ’79. His first two titles at Huset’s came in supermodifieds and his last in sprint cars. Bruggeman, who was always very popular with the fans, retired at the end of the 1980 racing season. Bruggeman was inducted into the Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2001.