Dave Alkas started racing in 1962, after he and a friend, Jack Michalski, built a 1940 Chevy sedan to compete at Joe Tinty’s Plainville Stadium. A longtime Plainville stadium standout, Dave Alkas won 5 track championships there in a 10 year period. Competing against Plainville regulars like Reggie Ruggiero, Stan Gregor, and Ronnie Rocco, Dave beat the field regularly, taking down 11 feature wins in one season alone.
Dave branched out to compete at the Eastern States Fairgrounds, and Riverside Park. In 1966, he raced against a field of modified greats at Eastern Staes, and finished second to NEAR Hall of Famer Billy Greco. That same year, he teamed with Ronnie Mayer in the Riverside 500, once again finishing second to Greco and fellow Hall of Famer Buddy Krebs.
He would win regularly in the 1970s Wednesday night “Open” races, beating visitors like Ed Flemke, Sr., Ron and Ken Bouchard, Bob Stefanik, and Ron Wyckoff. Wyckoff once called Dave “a real sportsman and a real gentleman.”
Today, we welcome that sportsman and gentleman into the NEAR Hall of Fame. |
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