Dave Boertman is a household word in the sport of drag racing, where he was among the best in the world for nearly three decades. The 1958 Muskegon Catholic Central graduate got his start in the sport in 1962, when he went with some friends to the Central Michigan dragway. The high speeds back then were 76 mph, but Boertman had started a lifelong obsession that would take him to much higher speeds at venues around the country.
Boertman won 17 National Hot Red Association super stock eliminator events, and five world championships and set 23 national records in the sportsman class. He also captured 16 national titles and one world championship on the International Hot Rod Association Tour. During his heyday in the 1970s, Boertman competed in as many as 30 competitions each year in all corners of the country.
Inducted into the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990, Boertman received plenty of media attention during his racing years. Four times he was named Car Craft Magazine “Driver of the Year.” He also won awards as the IHRA “Driver of the Year”, Super Stock Magazine’s “Mechanic of the Year” and the NHRA North Central Division “Person of the Year.”
In 1985, Boertman, at age 45, came back from a seven-year retirement to win the world Super Stock title and become the winningest sportsman driver in drag racing history. That victory also netted him $12,000.
