European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 12, 1980, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday june 12, 1980 the stars and stripes Poge 25 lost despite spending thousands ?60 Mph Pursuit Dawson chased dream across Europe by Michael Holmes Clear Lake Iowa a for six years. Bill Dawson chased a dream. It led him across Europe. It Cost him thousands of dollars. He raced after it at 160 Miles per hour. The Chase brought him a shelf full of trophies a scrapbook full of clippings evenings full of  he lost. At 33, Bill Dawson is an Iowa College student now. He is not the world driving Champion. His name is not emblazoned on the Side of a formula i grand Pri racing car. He tried. He won races. He won a championship. He garnered headlines. He was one of a handful of Ameri cans racing on tracks in Germany France Holland and Austria. In the end Lack of Money beat him. Unable to afford first class equipment he gave up and went Home. I thought i was going to be the world Champion. I really did. Thai s Why i Kepi on said Dawson a Mason City native who this Spring completed studies at North Iowa area Community College and is enrolled at Iowa state University. I would rather be racing than not racing of course. I still think that someday i m going to race again. But it s not quite the same As when you think you can really do  eight years ago. Bill Dawson thought he could really Doit. Having joined the air Force in 1966, he was transferred to Germany in 1969. There he first became interested in Road racing. His first real exposure came As a Corner worker at the curb urging the 14-mile one time site of the Ger Man grand prix that later was his favorite course As a Driver. He worked from dusk to Dawn for three Days Manning warning flags displayed to Drivers. I got paid about $10, i think he recalled. But i would have gladly paid them. I was right on the track. You got to be a part of it  the dream had started. He purchased a Lotus Europa sports car which he entered in slalom and Hill climbs events where one car at a Lime races the clock. I did fairly Well. I did it for about a year he said. Still in the air Force he was tending bar nights when he met an american who raced in the formula Ford class single seat open wheeled cars built around european Ford Sedan engines. The Guy was getting transferred out in about a month and wanted to sell his car a Lotus Dawson said. But the asking Price $3,500, was too  uni m unit Iii i it a Jurf Vraa is air vat he could t sell it and finally had about a week Ore he had to leave. He said i la take anything for it so i took out a loan on my Street car and paid him $2,400 for the whole thing the race car trailer and spare  Dawson s first race was at a circuit Laid out Over an Airfield closed for the event. With about is cars entered he was running sixth when he lost control. I spun out Plain and simple. The car would t Start again. I jumped out checked All the electrical connections and tried again. It fired up. So i jumped Back in and did the dumbest thing i Ever did. I forgot to fasten my seat belts. I finished the race without them but i never did that  sex Driver Bui Dawson. He s finishing College now unlike american Oval tracks Road racing courses demand that Drivers follow a ribbon of Asphalt As it winds through forests climbs Hills twists left then  piloted his formula Ford enough in 1972 to want More. He got it in 1973, running the same car in some is races becoming faster and More skillful. With a Friend from his softball team serving As me chanic he often worked from 4 30 . To Midnight on weekdays preparing the car for races. We towed the car put the spare parts on a roof rack and tossed in a tent and barbeque. We d drive All night Camp out work on the car ourselves. At the track we had seven people sleeping in a 10-by-l2-fool tent. This was Low budget racing Dawson laughed. Discharged from the air Force in 1973, Dawson bought another car for the 1974 season. A British Al Den it had been raced by the 1973 German National formula Ford Champion. My Lotus had been built in 1968. I d had a couple of accidents in it and the Frame was Well a Little  purchased the Eldon a Mercedes truck to trans port it and spare parts for $5,500. But the first race was t too promising. I was leading by 20 seconds. Then 200 Yards from the finish line the suspension  repaired the car carried him to the 1974 German formula Ford championship. A stars and stripes photo shows him receiving the championship cup from Swiss grand prix Driver Clay Regazzoni. He was gaining on the dream. I thought then i was going All the Way Dawson said. I really wanted to move up. Formula 3 was where a lot of the hotshots were racing so 1 decided to try  purchasing a used March Ford spare parts and engine for about si7,000, his first race netted him about $700 in prize Money despite a less Down in the pack finish. I thought this was t going to be too bad. They d All told me it Cost $100.000 a year to do formula 3. But i d done formula Ford fur about one fifth the Cost they Tiad said so i figured i could do the same in inc bigger  formula 3 took him to 160 Mph faster than i d Ever  it took him into Competition with profs signal Drivers big budgets big expenses. Moving up was a big mistake he said. It was Eye opening though. A lot of the other Guys had full time professional mechanics. I was working for Northrup aviation All week and trying to race on weekends. Tires were $700 a set. The hotshots changed tires for every race. It got so bad i wound up buying used tires off the big teams just to have something to race on. New engines sold for $10,000, so i had to be careful with mine. Formula 3 is really do eat dog to then la de Gree. It s the showplace. Drivers know if you do Well in formula 3, you go on. You get a shot at the  Dawson drove Well obtained some limited sponsorship Money and finished reasonably High in his Early races. But the old car and Low budget slowed him Down. Two broken axles one weekend Cost $600 to replace. More mechanical problems brought More costly re pairs. I was doing my Best but finishing worse and worse. I could t afford to compete and was having less and less to spend on it. Finally i just could t afford any  the dream was pulling away. So he moved Back for formula Ford tried some Sedan racing and hoped. I know any Driver will Tell you that if he d just had some More Money he could have done anything. I really Felt like i could. But i was doing it in old cars and could t get a decent ride. And i was definitely too old by european Stan Dards. Those Guys have to make names for themselves by the time they re 20 or 21." so he returned Home last summer went Back to school and plans to obtain an Industrial engineering degree. He might even return to racing. Sure i d like to race again. But i be got other things to do too. My wife Ana i Are Home now after 10 years in Europe. We re with our families and we enjoy that. I be got school to finish. And i la Tell you it s a lot easier not to be racing when i finally realized i Proba Bly was t going All the  seated outside his Clear Lake Home Dawson looked Over the scrapbook of clippings and photographs show ing him and his cars. He read headlines like Ameri Ca s Dawson wins formula Ford racing  those were Heady Days he says. And while he did t go All the Way he has no regrets about trying. After 1976 or 77,1 guess i realized i was t going to be world Champion. I did t have the stuff he said quietly. But it s a horrible thing to admit to yourself that you won t be the Best Driver in the  the dream had outraged him. Buford Murray selected is athletes continued from Page 21 been greatly  in addition to her accomplishments on the Field Buford also is very Active in other school functions. She is Secretary of the National Honor society the senior class and the tilter men s club and is the sports editor of the school paper. She has been offered two athletic scholarships is the recipient of the osterholz pts scholarship and a finalist in the Competition for a Beta rho scholarship. Murray averaged iii.2 Yards a game for a Wiesbaden football team that was in a rebuilding year and did not have a line Man Good enough to earn even All Confer ence recognition. He was used Only on of sense but coach Tom Leblanc said he could easily have gone both ways and surely would have if Wiesbaden were a Small school. Because of his quickness agility Power and sense of play he could have been a highly successful defensive Back As  in basketball Murray earned All con Ference All tournament and is second team All Europe recognition. He scored 189 Points second on the Wiesbaden team but was much More valuable for his defensive play As evidenced by his 95 steals during the season. Despite his 5-6 size he also was an outstanding rebound or. Murray won the Long jump in the Ger Many track & Field championships and was never beaten in that event All year. He placed fifth in the triple jump and ran a leg on the 400-meter relay team that finished fourth in the finals. Leblanc who also coached basketball rates Murray the Best Over All athlete i have Ever coached the total athlete. He displays tremendous skills but always puts the team first and displays the Quality of leadership that makes for a  the Competition was keen for both by Ford and Murray. Buford beat out Wuerz Burg s Sabrina Dornhoff or in the final reckoning but Izmir s Cherry Mclnnis Owci Bruecken s Helen Nillson Hanau s Dina Mcdaniel Pitburg s Cherie Drew and Bonn s Lania Laranzy also were highly regarded in the panel discussions. Murray s keenest Competition came from Bonn s Matt  bit Burg s Sheldon Stokes and Izmir s Mike Martin. Is athletes of the year have been determined the past 16 years for the boy competitors. Berlin Heads the list wild three selectee and Frankfurt Torrejon Kaiserslautern and Lanau have had two apiece. Cleo Johnson 1970harry Smith 1972 and Randy Smith 197s were the Berlin winners. Terry Brennan i96s and Doug Henderson 1974 arc Frankfurt s representatives on the list the Torrejon picks were Bob Luck 1966 and Dave Barnes 1973kaiserslaulcrn s selectee were Barriola Smith 1976 and Glenn White 1977 and Hanau had the Only repeater Barry Dorsey 1978, 1979. Others so honoured included upper hey Ford s de Latimer 1967bad Kreuz Nach s Fred Cheeks 1968 and Heidel Berg s Bob Bissell 1969. Only one school upper Scyford has had two girls honoured. They were Lynne Chapman 1976 and Angela Gray 1978. Others so honoured included Bonn � Chris Foster 1975torr Jon s Carmen Lis 1977 and Hanau s Karen Blake 1979. Basinger Leblanc Wurzburg s mar Tenc Virny Augsburg s John Middle Lon and this reporter comprised the committee that selected the 1979-80 stars and stripes athletes of the year