Public Affairs Director Jon Michaels (since 1977) talks to Gill Haugan the 2nd and Mike Haugan, son of Vern Haugan about their family racing legacy.

From the Huset's Hall of Fame

GILL HAUGAN
Gil Haugan had one of the shortest yet most successful careers in driving race cars. Haugan
started on May 22, 1955 at the old Soo Speedway just east of Sioux Falls in a 1938 Plymouth
coupe built by he and brother Vern.
"I was upside down four or five times that first year, but we finally figured it out,” Haugan
said.
The brothers built a new Plymouth coupe for the 1956 season, and Haugan won his first of
many features on May 22. He won four more features and the season track championship in
only his second year of competition. He defended the championship title again in 1957 by the
widest point margin ever recorded with nearly 350 points over second place.
In 1958, the Haugan No. 4 Plymouth was again the point leader at Soo Speedway when the
track closed in July. The Haugans towed the red and white car to Jackson, Minnesota for the
remainder of the '58 season and won that track championship. Gil raced only part time in
1959 and recorded one feature win at Huset’s and two at Jackson. 
In 1960 Gil and Vern again ran at different tracks in South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa and did
not concentrate on one track. But in 1961 they arrived at the Huset’s opener with hammers
cocked with a new Plymouth coupe, winning the season championship title. They also won at
the Clay County Fair in Spencer and decided to elevate their racing endeavors to the next
level. That winter they drove to Level Cross, North Carolina and purchased a 1961 Plymouth
NASCAR stock car from Lee and Richard Petty. Following some Haugan reworking of the late
model, they campaigned the car on the IMCA late model circuit for two years.
Haugen retired from racing at the end of the 1963 season to concentrate on his business of Gil
Haugan Construction Company. Today that company is the largest volume general contractor
in the state of South Dakota. His competitive nature wasn't confined to racing automobiles.
With his 'I like to win' attitude, Haugen was a five time South Dakota State Tennis Champion.
He is a veteran of the Korean War with the Marines and received the Silver Star for heroism under fire.

VERN HAUGAN
Vern Haugan was a premier racing mechanic and craftsman whose Chrysler-powered cars had
highly successful results on the track.
Haugan teamed with his brother, Gil, first at the old Soo Speedway east of Sioux Falls in 1955.
The pair won the championship in their second season and went on to win track
championships and numerous features at Huset’s and Jackson, Minnesota.
In 1962, the brothers bought a 1961 Plymouth Late Model from Lee and Richard Petty and
competed on the I.M.C.A. circuit for the next two seasons.
After Gil Haugan elected to retire from racing following the 1963 season to devote more time
to his growing construction business, the familiar red-and-white No. 4 modified returned to
the local racing scene in 1965 with Vern turning the wrenches.
The car was always one of the machines to beat at every race, with a number of notable
drivers – including Daytona 500 winner Tiny Lund and Hall of Famer Roger Larson – behind the
wheel. 
Vern then teamed with his son, Mike, as driver in 1970 and the pair began competing with the
Plymouth formerly driven by Gil Haugan and later with a Plymouth ’Cuda, enjoying success in
racing throughout the Tri-State area.
After Mike Haugan retired from driving, Vern’s final involvement in racing came in the early
1980s helping his younger son, Dave, with his street stock.
In an era when few racing parts were available for purchase, Haugan’s skills as a mechanic
and craftsman were invaluable as he fabricated parts from bare steel or modified pieces
found in junk yards.

When Mike Haugan first climbed into a race car
in 1970, he did so with a pedigree that’s
unmatched.
Haugan joins his father Vern, and Uncle Gil
into the Hall of Fame, becoming the first
family with three inductees. Gil Haugan was
inducted in 2000, and Vern Haugan was inducted
in 2011. Haugen joins Marv and Gary DeWall,
along with Robin and Rick Dump as the only
father-son inductees into the Hall.
Haugan was a senior at Lincoln High School in
Sioux Falls when he drove his first race at
Huset’s. He was clearly a quick study.
He was the 1973 Late Model track champion and
at one point during that season, he won 13
straight races including heats, dashes and
features. In all, Haugan won 25 career feature
races at the track.
And it’s tough to say how many more he could
have racked up.
Following his championship in 1973 and at only
age 20, Haugan semi-retired. He raced only a
few races in 1974 and then didn’t turn a lap
for several years. He returned to a new car in
1978, but raced only at Hartford, S.D. and
Rock Rapids, Iowa.
In just four short years and at the age of 20,
he won a track title and is in the Top 15 in
career wins.
He also won a pair of 50-lap feature events at
the State Fair Speedway in Huron. With such
success at a young age, Haugan credits his
father for the assist.
“Without my dad, none of it happened for me,”
he said. “You have to have a good mechanic,
and he was all-in from day one.”
Haugan resides in Sioux Falls and co-owns
Haugan Heating & Air Conditioning with his
son. He still spends weekends at the racetrack
watching his two grandsons race Sprint Karts
at Plessis Motor Speedway in Hartley, Iowa.