1986 - Frieden Steps Down, Henry In, at Tipton

 

Tipton, Iowa (August 14, 1986) – Al Frieden of Swisher, Iowa, announced this week that he will no longer promote racing at the Cedar County Raceway in Tipon, and that equipment he owned has been sold to Bob Henry of Cedar Rapids.

Henry will begin promoting races at the quarter-mile dirt oval beginning Sunday night.

The Cedar County facility had been vacant for a few years when Frieden re-opened it about five years ago.

“I’d like to thank all the fans who supported us while we’ve been promoting races at Tipton,” Frieden said. “The fans and drivers have been good to us, but we have sold in order to pursue other interests on Sunday nights.”

Frieden will continue to promote races at Hawkeye Down in Cedar Rapids and at the West Liberty Fairgrounds on Saturday nights.

Henry announced this week that the same classes will continue running – late model, IMCA modifieds, street stocks and bombers – and that the weekly purse will remain the same.

1982 - Olivero Decides to Race - Wins Springfield's Bettenhausen

 

Bobby Olivero, car owner Ralph Wilke, and crew celebrate Olivero’s victory in the Tony Bettenhausen 100-miler at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.  – Mike Dunn Photo

Springfield, Ill. (August 14, 1982) – Bobby Olivero opted to miss a real estate business meeting on the west coast to participate in the Tony Bettenhausen 100-mile Silver Crown event at the Illinois State Fairgrounds on Saturday afternoon.

And the bearded Lakewood, Calif., tycoon made the decision pay off handsomely as he drove to the event’s $8,000 first prize.

Olivero stormed from his 12th place starting berth in the 26-car field to post the win at an average speed of 97.976 miles per hour.

Sheldon Kinser set a new track record in qualifying with a speed of 110.943 miles per hour. He used his pole starting berth to grab the lead immediately and maintained it through lap 37.

Meanwhile. Olivero was up to seventh by the 10-mile mark, and third 10 circuits later. He advanced to second place by passing Joe Saldana on lap 22.

Olivero finally got around Kinser for the top spot on lap 38 and led the rest of the way for the triumph.

Olivero’s major concern during the battle was the wear and tear of the tires, especially a worn right front, which he nursed for the bulk of the contest.

Saldana finished second, four second behind the winner. Kinser held on for third, Mark Alderson drove a consistent race to finish fourth, and Ron Shuman came in fifth to annex the Silver Crown point lead by a single point, over Ken Schrader, who finished eighth.


Results –

1. Bobby Olivero
2. Joe Saldana
3. Sheldon Kinser
4. Mark Alderson
5. Ron Shuman
6. Larry Rice
7. Rick Hood
8. Ken Schrader
9. Bill Engelhart
10.Walt Kennedy
11.Mike Peters
12.Dana Carter
13.Ronnie Burke
14.Doug Wolfgang
15.Arnie Knepper

1977 – Parsons Wins USAC Midgets

 

Johnny Parsons is joined by his crew after winning the USAC midget feature at Paragon Speedway.

Paragon, Ind. (August 13, 1977) – Johnny Parsons Jr., won his sixth race in his last seven starts Saturday night, leading all but the first two laps in the 40-lap United States Auto Club midget race at Paragon Speedway.

Parsons, the night’s fastest qualifier, got by Wes Stafford early in the race, which was delayed by rain showers and got off to a slow start when eight cars tangled up on the first lap.

Bloomington’s Sheldon Kinser, competing in a midget for the first time, qualified eighth fastest and finished 15th.


Results –

1. Johnny Parsons Jr.
2. Wes Stafford
3. Chris Cumberworth
4. Mel Kenyon
5. Lonnie Caruthers
6. Larry Patton
7. Steve Cannon
8. Tom Steiner
9. Dennis Dorsey
10.Tom Burgdorf

1967 – Bowsher Nips White in Fair Stock 150

 

Jack Bowsher accepts his trophy after winning the 150-mile USAC late model stock car race at the Milwaukee Mile. – Patrick Heaney Collection

West Allis, Wis. (August 3, 1967) – Jack Bowsher could drive the car he wanted to in the 150-mile race on Sunday, but he couldn’t complain about the results he got with the one he did use.

Bowsher won the United States Auto Club late model stock car event at Wisconsin State Fair Park oval and besides $5,250 and 300 points in the USAC national standings, he also won revenge.

Bowsher finished 20 seconds ahead of Don White of Keokuk, Iowa, who just last month edged Bowsher on the same track in the Miller High Life 200.

White needed a pit stop on lap 91 and Bowsher, of Springfield, Ohio, took over for keeps at that point.

Bowsher brought two cars with him and was dissatisfied during practice runs with the one he had planned to drive. So, he made some adjustments on his dirt track 1967 Ford and used that for the race.

White’s second-place finish netted him $3,155 of the total $24,365 purse.

Al Unser of Albuquerque, N.M., finished third in a 1967 Dodge, Bay Darnell of Deerfield, Ill., took home fourth in a 1966 Plymouth and Gary Bettenhausen of Tinley Park, Ill., was fifth in a ’66 Ford.

Norm Nelson of Racine, Wis., the defending USAC late model stock car champion and a heavy local favorite, continued on his run of hard luck this season – being forced into the wall on lap 88 when he was running a strong second.

Other big-name drivers who ran into trouble on Sunday were Mario Andretti of Nazareth, Penn., who won thee pole position but hit the north wall turn on lap 36; Parnelli Jones of Palo Verdes, Calif., who blew his engine after 73 circuits; and A.J. Foyt of Houston, Tex., who needed multiple pit stops throughout the race and was never a factor.

Bowsher’s average winning speed was a relatively slow 86.78 miles per hour after 23 laps were run under caution.

A crowd of 22,860 saw the race – the first of three to be held in connection with the State Fair.


Results –

1. Jack Bowsher
2. Don White
3. Al Unser
4. Bay Darnell
5. Gary Bettenhausen
6. Frank Freda
7. Eddie Meyer
8. Dale Jett
9. Glen Bradley
10. Roger Regeth
11. Bill Behling
12. Jerry Smith
13. Terry Parker
14. Gene Marmor
15. Dave Hirschfield
16. Benny Parsons
17. Bob Coe
18. Rich Oertel
19. Jim Nusbaum
20. Butch Hartman
21. Red Owen
22. Norm Nelson
23. Whitey Gerken
24. Dave Dayton

1957 – Five Records Fall in Fair Stock Race

 

Johnny Beauchamp

Cedar Rapids, Iowa (August 13, 1957) – A slim Hawkeye Downs crowd of less than 3,000 saw five International Motor Contest Association world records broken during Tuesday afternoon’s late model stock car program.

Johnny Beauchamp, the “Flying Frenchman,” from Harlan, led the parade with new half-mile, 5-mile, and 10-mile standards.

Joining the IMCA point leader in the record shattering was Don White of Keokuk and the 3.5-mile sprint and Newt Bartholomew of Carlisle in the 4-mile event.

The time trials weren’t 30 seconds old before the Downs’ audience had it’s first record to cheer about. Ernie Derr of Keokuk spun around the newly banked half-mile in 26.55 seconds to break Beauchamp’s old standard of 27.56 seconds set in 1956.

Derr held his record for less than five minutes. Beauchamp unleased his Chevrolet for a 26.48 second clocking to reclaim the mark as the fourth qualifier. The Cedar Rapids track record of 27.61 seconds was trod on by no less than seven drivers. Dick Johnson of St. Paul, Minn., White, Bob Hardy of Beaumont, Tex., Lenny funk of Otis, Kan., and Cedar Rapids’ George Miller all got under the Downs’ standard.

The rest of the records came with ridiculous ease:

•  A yellow caution flag failed to keep Beauchamp from shaving five seconds off his 4 minutes and 48.7 second record in the 5-mile first heat race he set last April at Shreveport.

•  Beauchamp’s third record of the day was in the 20-lap feature. It was the easiest as he breezed to a quarter of a lap victory over Miller in a 1957 Pontiac. Beauchamp was 40 seconds under the old record with a 9 minute and 15.82 second clocking.

•  White, the 1955 IMCA title holder, erased a 1953 record. He went three and a half miles in the trophy dash in 3 minutes and 18.51 seconds, eclipsing the old mark of 3 minutes and 45.53 seconds set by Les Snow at Tulsa, Okla.

•  The Bartholomew record was 3 minutes and 47.53 seconds in the 4-mile consolation, breaking White’s record set in St. Paul, Minn., of 4 minutes and 7.96 seconds.

Results –


Time trials – Johnny Beauchamp, Harlan (26.48)
Heat #1 – Johnny Beauchamp
Heat #2 – Bob Burdick, Omaha
Trophy dash – Don White, Keokuk
Consolation – Newt Bartholomew, Carlisle
Feature –
1. Johnny Beauchamp
2. George Miller, Cedar Rapids
3. Bob Burdick
4. Ernie Derr, Keokuk
5. Don White
6. Chub Liebe, Oelwein
7. Newt Bartholomew
8. Lenny Funk, Otis, Kan.
9. Bob Hardy, Beaumont, Tex.
10.Jerry Draper, Moline, Ill.
11.Dick Pellow, Minneapolis
12.Al Warrender, Harlan
13.Frank Richards, Marion
14.Dick Johnson, St. Paul, Minn.

1980 - Grundy ARTGO Triumph First of Malcuit's Career

 

Mark Malcuit won the "Wayne Carter Classic" at Grundy County Speedway. It was the first ARTGO victory of his career. 

By Stan Kalwasinski

Morris, Ill. (August 12, 1980) – Making one of his infrequent ARTGO Racing starts, “Captain Sizzle” Mark Malcuit, wheeled his Camaro to victory in the circuit’s sixth annual Wayne Carter Classic 100-lap late model main event at Grundy County Speedway on Tuesday night. It was Malcuit’s first-ever ARTGO victory and made him the tenth different winner in the circuit’s 21 main events so far this season.

After taking the lead from early pacesetter John Knaus of Rockford on lap 17, Malcuit held off the persistent challenges of two-time ARTGO champion and current point leader Dick Trickle of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., to score the win.

Trickle was second at the drop of Bill Gronley’s checkers with Joe Shear of South Beloit, Jim Sauter of Necedah, Wis., and two-time Wayne Carter winner Mike Miller of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., was fifth.

Knaus vaulted to the front of the 20-car field at the drop of the green but only two laps were completed when the yellow appeared for debris on the front stretch.

Knaus stayed in front for 15 more circuits before Malcuit took over the number one spot as the lead duo battled down the front chute on lap 17.

Lap 40 saw the caution light flash when Frank Gawlinski of Lynwood came to a stop when ball joint broke on his Camaro. On the restart, fast qualifier Steve Burgess of Eau Claire, Wis., lost control of his Camaro halfway down the front stretch. The car, which was suffering from a broke drive train, wound up spinning in the first turn.

In all, five drivers eclipsed Bob Senneker’s two-year-old qualifying mark of 15.31 seconds with Burgess coming away the fastest at 14.81 seconds.

Trickle, who had been running second since lap 26, made several attempts to overtake Malcuit but was unable to accomplish the task. Trickle later revealed that his car was not functioning up to par after making contact with the backstretch wall on lap 16.

The fifth and final caution flashed on lap 67 when Trickle of Steve Seligman of Lake Bluff tangled in the first turn after the transmission in Seligman’s car locked up just as Trickle was going by. Trickle, whose racer sustained left side damage, darted away from the scene of the accident to retain his second-place position.


Results –


1. Mark Malcuit, Strasburg, Ohio
2. Dick Trickle, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.
3. Joe shear, South Beloit
4. Jim Sauter, Necedah, Wis.
5. Mike Miller, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.
6. Larry Detjens, Wausau, Wis.
7. Ed Hoffman, Bensenville
8. Mark Martin, Batesville, Ark.
9. John Knaus, Rockford
10.Tom Jones, Northbrook
11.Ray Young, Dolton
12.Jerry Kemperman, Blue Island
13.Johnny McPartlin, Dolton
14.Rusty Wallace, St. Louis
15.Steve Seligman, Lake Bluff
16.Tom Musgrave, Des Plaines
17.Steve Burgess, Eau Claire, Wis.
18.Frank Gawlinski, Lynwood
19.Bill Venturini, Chicago
20.Bobby Dotter, Chicago

1973 – Eaker a Big Winner at Mower County Fair

 

Verlin Eaker (left), driving Dale Snyder’s (center) Nova, swept the late model action at the Mower County Fair.

Austin, Minn. (August 12, 1973) – Verlin Eaker had one hair-raising experience during the two-day Mower County Fair stock car races this past weekend.

That came in Sunday’s 25-lap late model feature.

Other than that, Eaker was in control of things all the way in the four late model races he competed in.

The veteran Cedar Rapids, Iowa, driver won a pair of 10-lap heats, one each day, plus the 25-lap features, one each day, added a big chunk of lap money on Sunday and ended up taking home over $800 in prize money plus a good-sized trophy.

Over 4,000 fans watched the action, which this year was sponsored by Chateau Speedway.

The official paid fan counts was 2,217 for Saturday afternoon and 2,420 for Sunday’s matinee – bringing the official two-day total to 4,637 race fans.

The drivers battled for a guaranteed $2,500 purse each day.

Eaker’s not-so-thrilling experience in Sunday’s feature came as the first lap began and it almost cost him the race.

Eaker and Rochester’s Mert Williams started side-by-side on the front row with Eaker starting on the pole and Williams alongside.

As the green flag waved, the two drivers went into the first turn, side-by-side, bumped, then Eaker hit the inside of the turn, suddenly swerved, and it looked like he might lose complete control of his car.

“After we bumped, I was suddenly heading for the wall,” said Eaker. “By the time I regained control, Mert and a couple of others got by me.”

Mert had the lead for one lap, then Blooming Prairie’s Dave Noble got by him on the second lap and stayed in front for the next 13 circuits.

“I knew I had to keep up with Mert and Dave to have a chance to win,” said Eaker.

On the 12th lap, coming out of the second turn, Williams slowed up a little behind a lap car which was in the middle of the track, while Eaker went around two cars on the inside.

Through the 13th and 14th laps, Eaker stayed glued to Noble’s bumper, got inside of him on the back straightaway, then passed Noble on the inside of the third turn on lap 15.

From then on, it was a breeze for Eaker, just like it was in Saturday’s heat, race, the feature, and also Sunday’s heat race.

“I knew that if I got alongside Noble, I could pass him and that’s they way it went,” said Eaker, whose Chevy Nova has a punched out 454-inch cubic engine under the hood.

Eaker pocketed $369 for winning Sunday’s feature, $110 more in lap money, $56 for winning each of the two heats, and another $338 for winning Saturday’s feature.

That gave him a grand total of $873 for the weekend’s work.

Noble took second in Sunday’s feature to collect $231 and another $130 for the 13 laps he led. He didn’t finish among the top-10 on Saturday.

Noble won Saturday’s semi-feature for $125 and was third in Sunday’s heat for another $25 for a grand total of $486 for the weekend.

Williams finished third in Saturday’s feature, was second in the heat, and Sunday won another heat. He finished third in Sunday’s feature. His weekend total was $441.

Sonny Morgan of Blue Earth won $256 Saturday for winning his heat and finishing second in the feature. Sunday he was second in the heat but dropped out of the feature. His weekend earning were $300.


Results –


Saturday –

Heat #1 – Ray Weis, Rochester
Heat #2 – Verlin Eaker, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Heat #3 – Sonny Morgan, Blue Earth
Semi-main – Dave Noble, Blooming Prairie
Feature –
1. Verlin Eaker
2. Sonny Morgan
3. Mert Williams, Rochester
4. Dave Bjorge, Austin
5. Dick Sorenson, Austin
6. Ray Weis
7. Wendell Kuehn, Rochester
8. Ray Forsythe, Mankato
9. Kenny Sathoff, Fairmont
10.Paul Fitzpatrick, Rochester


Sunday –

Heat #1 – Verlin Eaker
Heat #2 – Mert Williams
Feature –
1. Verlin Eaker
2. Dave Noble
3. Mert Williams
4. Bobby Saterdalen, Oronoco
5. Kenny Mann, St. Paul
6. Wendell, Kuehn
7. Emory Fretheim, Decorah, Iowa
8. Dick Sorenson
9. Harry Patterson, Mankato
10.Terry Hanson, Blooming Prairie