LJWorld.com

If wiener dog racing were as big as NASCAR, ESPN would film a segment devoted to Corky the dachshund.

He might even get endorsement deals.

Corky, perhaps the most famous wiener dog to come out of Lawrence, has built a dynasty.

That doesn't surprise Marty Glenn. The day he first met Corky 10 years ago - when the pup was just 8 weeks old - he could tell Corky was more spry than his siblings.

"He looked like the one that had the most spunk out of any of them," Glenn says.

So Corky went home with Glenn and his wife, Chelbie.

A year later, Corky entered his first wiener dog race. It was the Wiener Dog Nationals at The Woodlands racetrack in Kansas City, Kan.

He blew away the competition in his heat and took a trophy in the 110-yard race.

The format eventually changed. Now, the race consists of eight heats, with the heat winners competing in a championship.

But that didn't matter to Corky. He made a habit out of winning. In 2003, he won the whole race, as he did Sunday in the 2007 competition. He was a runner-up in 2005, but only because another puppy tackled him from behind as he was preparing to cross the finish line in first.

It's important to note that hundreds of dogs apply every year for the 64 slots in the races - 437 this year. Those who get in are selected at random.

In other words, every time Corky has been picked for the race, he's kicked some doggie tail.

Dogged competitor

In his living room, Marty Glenn shows off a VHS tape of his dachshund like it's his kid's Little League football highlight reel.

This is the 2005 Wiener Dog Nationals, in Corky's preliminary heat. The gates - the ones that usually hold greyhounds - open, and the wiener dogs take off. Glenn, wearing a red shirt and shorts so Corky can see him better, runs ahead of his dog to encourage him.

Corky revs by the competition, little legs flailing on the sand track, winning the heat by multiple wiener-dog lengths.

"He's pretty much done that every time he's been in the race," Glenn says.

Glenn says his 13-pound dog's success is due to both nature and training.

The nature part: "He's always liked to chase me," Glenn says. "I must look like a New York strip steak or something."

The training part: Several times in the weeks leading up to the Wiener Dog Nationals, Glenn takes Corky up to Campanile Hill at Kansas University to run laps.

"I'm sure people wonder, 'Who's that crazy guy having a wiener dog chase him?'" Glenn admits.

Natural-born wiener

You can't have so much success at the Wiener Dog Nationals and not be noticed by the competition.

Every Thursday before the race, the track holds a lunch and opens up the track for competitors to practice.

"At the luncheon, the buzz was, 'Oh, no. We're in Corky's heat. We don't have a chance,'" says Connie Loebsack, a Woodlands spokeswoman.

Glenn says he's had joking offers of stud fees for Corky.

"A lot of people ask if he's neutered," he says. "Yep - he's not able to breed."

This year was the 14th year of the Wiener Dog Nationals at The Woodlands. The races were inspired by a 1990s Miller Lite beer commercial that mixed drag racing and a dog show. Similar races have sprung up across the country.

Loebsack says the races draw 11,000 people or more every year. Dogs flew in from as far as Pennsylvania this year.

So far, unlike other sporting events, the dachshund races haven't been tainted with steroid allegations.

"Thank goodness," Loebsack says. "We're clean."

Endless paws-ibilities

The Woodlands has set an age limit for its dachshund race. Now, dogs must retire when they're older than 10.

That means Sunday's race was Corky's last. He went out in style - his time of 12.16 was the fastest ever turned in on the course by a wiener dog, including the time posted last year by first-place Wally, owned by Ann and Elle Weber of Lawrence.

Loebsack thinks Corky is the first two-time winner in the Wiener Dog Nationals history.

Glenn, who reminds everyone he had to run faster than Corky to set the pace, estimates the victory comes with $100 to $150 worth of prizes, including free dog food for a year.

Now, Corky will go back to chasing tennis balls and playing with his friend, fellow 10-year-old dachshund Tater.

"He's officially retired now," Glenn says. "The next time you see him, he'll be big and fat from eating his free dog food."

Actually, Glenn realizes that wouldn't send the right message, since he and his wife are both professional nutritionists.

"He should have an exercise tape or something," Glenn says. "Maybe a wiener dog training tape. We'll get him some spandex."