1963 - Michigan Pilot Wins National Open at Grove

Gordon Johncock won the first National Open

Mechanicsburg, Penn. (October 20, 1963) – Gordon Johncock, a 28-year-old sawmill operator from Hastings, Mich., dusted off a field of the nation's best modified and super modified stock car drivers in the first-annual 100-lap National Championship Race at Williams Grove Speedway, Sunday afternoon.

Tooling a 427-cubic inch Chevy, Johncock made the century grind with the 14th fastest qualifying time giving him that position in the 36-car field. He worked himself through the pack, reaching second spot on the 23rd circuit when the early runner-up, brother Nolan Johncock, also of Hastings, left the event with mechanical trouble. 

For the next 10 circuits, Johncock rode on the tail of early pacesetter Dean Mast of Dover, Ohio. On the 33rd go-round, the eventual winner overtook Mast, coming off the fourth turn, going to the outside to do the job.

From that point on it was no contest as Johncock opened up a gap that reached a lap and a half at times. He turned in a 25.3 second lap on several occasions as he sped down the straightaways and through the corners on the low groove.



Results –


1. Gordon Johncock
2. Dick Good
3. Lou Blaney
4. Hank Jacoby
5. Bud Folkenroth
6. Leo Caldwell
7. Gus Linder
8. Jerry Weld
9. Ron Anderson
10.Dick Tobias
11.Johnny Logan
12.Don Gillette
13.Ralph Smith
14.Ray Tilley
15.Larry Cannon

1960 – Hurtubise Wins Reading Event

Jim Hurtubise

Reading, Penn. October 16, 1960) - Jim Hurtubise of Speedway, Ind., won the feature sprint car race at the Reading Fairgrounds.

He led the entire 30-lap, 15-mile race and received $700 for his victory in a field of 16 cars.

No time was kept because two cars spun out of control and their engines stopped, forcing the other drivers to slow up for several laps under a yellow flag.

Hurtubise also won $150 for the fastest qualifying time - 24.51 seconds - in the United States Auto Club competition.

A.J. Foyt of Houston, Tex., was second, followed by: Don Branson, Urbana, Ill., Leroy Neumeyer, Compton, Cal.; Jim McWithey, Indianapolis; Red Riegel, Leesport, Penn.; Bill Brown, Collegeville, Penn.; Chuck Arnold, Stamford, Conn., and Bud Tingelstad, Dayton, Ohio.


Results –


1. Jim Hurtubise
2. A.J. Foyt
3. Don Branson
4. Leroy Neumeyer
5. Jim McWithey
6. Red Riegel
7. Bill Brown
8. Chuck Arnold
9. Bud Tinglestad
10. Jiggs Peters

1958 – Eddie Sachs is Salem Winner

Salem winner Eddie Sachs accepts congratulations from USAC president Tom Binford. - Bob Scott Photo

Salem, Ind. (October 12, 1958) – Eddie Sachs of Center Valley, Penn., won his first USAC Midwest sprint car championship Sunday with a victory in the 100-lap feature at Salem Speedway.

Sachs’ victory in the Salem race earned him 296.5 points. Second-place in the championship standings went to A.J. Foyt of Houston, Tex., who also finished second in the race, a half-lap behind Sachs.

Foyt finished with 240.5 points while defending Midwest champion Elmer George of Speedway, Ind., finished third with 231 points.

Sachs averaged 86.111 miles per hour in Sunday’s race, a new 100-lap record for the fast Salem track.

George was the fastest qualifier for Sunday’s race with a time of 19.539 seconds in the HOW Special, giving him an unprecedented record of being the fastest qualifier in every race on the paved, high-bank tracks of the Midwest – fast times six times out of six starts.

Elmer led the first 16 laps of thee race but spun out on lap 17 and dropped far back. He managed to recover well and finish fourth behind third-place Rex Easton of Springfield, Ill.

Sachs won $1,236 out of a total $7,000 purse. Heat races were won by Leon Clum of Wapakoneta, Ohio; Bob Wente of St. Louis, and Bob McClellan of Waynesville, Ohio.


Results –


1. Eddie Sachs
2. A.J. Foyt
3. Rex Easton
4. Elmer George
5. Don Branson
6. Jim Packard
7. Bob McLean
8. Jim McWithey
9. Red Amick
10.Don Carr
11.Bruce Jacobi
12.Bud Tinglestad
13.Leon Clum
14.Bob Wente
15.Tom McClellan
16.Orville Cramer
17.Curly Boyd
18.Jim Hemmings

1977 – Repeat Victory for Young in Bettenhausen 100

Ray Young poses with his trophy after winning his second consecutive Tony Bettenhausen Memorial 100. - Stan Kalwasinski Photo

Schererville, Ind. (October 9, 1977) – Repeating his performance of last year, Ray Young of Dolton, Ill., captured Sunday afternoon’s 16th annual Tony Bettenhausen Memorial 100 for late models at Illiana Motor Speedway.

The 45-year-old veteran of over 20 years of racing put his Camaro into the lead on the eighth lap and led the rest of the way to the checkered flag for his second Bettenhausen 100 victory in as many years.

Rookie Bobby Dotter charged from his pole starting position to pace the 30-car field at the drop of the green flag. The 17-year-old son of ARCA and USAC competitor Bob Dotter stayed on through lap 7 before Young, who had started in row four, took command.

Joe Shear, Larry Schuler, Ed Hoffman and Jerry Kemperman followed Young to the front and moved in behind the frontrunner by the 12th circuit.

The event passed the 30-lap mark when the first yellow flag waved for Milwaukee-area based pilot Al Schill, who suffered mechanical woes and stalled in turn two.

When the green flag reappeared, Young continued to keep his mount out front with Shear, Schuler, Hoffman and Kemperman within striking distance. The battle continued until lap 43 when the engine in Tony Hertko’s Camaro let go.

Schuler would suffer a setback when his 1977 “Junkyard Dog” Camaro encountered fuel problems and stalled during the same caution. The incident cost Schuler a number of laps.

Young retained his frontrunning status on the restart, with Shear’s 1974 Camaro right behind. Following the pacesetting duo were Hoffman and Kemperman.

As the race progressed to the three-quarter mark, Young slowly began to pull away from Shear. Kemperman moved his 1976 Camaro past Hoffman to claim third on lap 75 and began zeroing on Shear.

Kemperman’s bid for second-place ended on lap 95 when a set of ground up quick change gears sent him to the pit area. One lap later Schuler, who seemed to have the fastest car on the track in the event’s late stages, fell out with differential problems.

At the finish it was Young, followed by Shear, Hoffman, Tom Musgrave and his brother Ted Musgrave.

Hoffman, winner of his third career Illiana late model driving championship in 1977, led all qualifiers for the event with a lap of 20.80 seconds around the paved half-mile oval.

Results –

1. Ray Young, Dolton, Ill.
2. Joe Shear, South Beloit, Ill.
3. Ed Hoffman, Niles, Ill.
4. Tom Musgrave, Des Plaines, Ill.
5. Ted Musgrave, Friendship, Wis.
6. Tony Izzo, Bridgeview, Ill.
7. Ron Bloomberg, Elgin, Ill.
8. Rich Somers, Stevens Point, Wis.
9. Lee Schuler, Lockport, Ill.
10.Dave Evans, Crystal Lake, Ill.
11.Alan Kulwicki, Milwaukee
12.Bobby Dotter, Chicago
13.Rich Kleich, Long Lake, Ill.
14.Butch Ledy, Matteson, Ill.
15.Bill Venturini, Chicago
16.Larry Middleton, East Hazelcrest, Ill.
17.Roy Acuff, Long Lake, Ill.
18.Harold Rife, Champaign, Ill.
19.Jerry Kemperman, Blue Island, Ill.
20.Larry Schuler, Lockport, Ill.

1973 – Marzofka Wins Oktoberfest 200

West Salem, Wis. (October 7, 1973) – Marv Marzofka of Nekoosa won the fourth annual Oktoberfest 200 at the La Crosse Interstate Speedway here Sunday by nearly a lap in a confused finish with Bill Oas of Bloomington, Minn.

Marzofka, the Interstate point champion last year, used an early pit stop to his advantage and later brought confusion to much of the crowd of 2,300. He pitted during the 49th lap, under the yellow flag after a spinout by national short track champion Mike Miller of New Prague, Minn.

The result of that stop was that Marzofka trailed early leaders Larry Smith. Oas and Jim Back until he took over the lead for good on about lap 130 when Back and Oas were in the pits taking their mandatory stops.

In addition to the $1,500 first place payoff, he unofficially collected $710 in lap money ($10 going to the leader of each lap) and added payoffs from the fast dash and a heat race, bringing his weekend total to $2,340.

Smith started the race from the outside pole position and led through the first 57 laps before Oas took over. Smith fell back and eventually placed 10th. Oas maintained the lead for 32 laps before Back, this season’s track point champ, winner of five regular season races here and Saturday's fast timer, took command.

Back stretched the lead to nearly half a lap before pitting on lap 128, shortly before Oas went in.

Back got in and out of the pits quickly and was working his way through the pack towards Marzofka before engine trouble forced him out of the race on the 159th circuit.

Marzofka’s '73 Camaro had a commanding lead over Oas' Camaro throughout the rest of the race, but amid the confusion of pit stops, many thought that Oas had won. He was waved under the checkered flag first, about two seconds ahead of Marzofka.

But a recheck of the records found that Oas had lost nearly a whole lap to Marzofka while making his stop.

Even Marzofka’s pit crew was fooled. They signaled that he was running second late in the race, but the pilot knew better. “I was positive I was leading,” he said.

The early pit stop was part of his overall strategy. “Any time after 30 laps I was looking for a chance to pit,” he said.

Oas indicated that he was unsure of whether he was really running first or second at the checkered flag. He said he didn't know how much time Marv had spent in the pits, but hoped he was leading.

Rich Somers of Stevens Point finished third. Second place payed $1,250 while third collected $1,000.

Dave Watson of Beloit and Jon Chrest of Hamal, Minn., rounded out the top five. Last year’s champ, Joe Shear, finished sixth.

A total of eight laps were run the caution flag. There were no serious accidents in the feature race.

Red Hutchison of Byron, Ill., won the wreck-marred 25-lap semi-feature. Also qualifying for the big race were second place finisher Jack Brewer, John Knaus in third and Ray Kreyer fourth. La Crosse’s Don Turner was fifth, just missing a feature berth.


Results –

1. Marv Marzofka, Nekoosa, Wis.
2. Bill Oas, Bloomington, Minn.
3. Rich Somers, Stevens Point, Wis.
4. Dave Watson, Beloit, Wis.
5. Jon Chrest, Hamal, Minn.
6. Joe Shear, South Beloit, Ill.
7. Jim Pierson, Beloit, Wis.
8. Greg Arenson, Minneapolis
9. Don Leach, Rockford, Ill.
10.Larry Smith, Shakopee, Minn.

1969 - Connolly Wins CornBelt 1000 at Speedbowl Park

John Connolly

Sterling, Ill. (October 5, 1969) – John Connolly, from Delhi, Iowa, picked up the rich plum of $1,000 after winning the 100-lap CornBelt 1000 at the Sterling Speedbowl. The late model stock car race was managed and promoted by the staff of Rockford Speedway under the direction of Hugh Deery.

Connolly started on the pole after setting fast time in qualifying. His time of 18.34 seconds on the third-mile dirt oval stole top honors from Roger Dolan of Lisbon, Iowa, who was the first qualifier out with a time of 18.41 seconds.

Jim Gerber of Mt. Joy, Iowa, worked his way into second-place by lap 65 and five circuits later, was able to work his way around the rim-riding Connolly for the top spot.

Connolly stayed with Gerber and kept the pressure on and finally on lap 87, Gerber’s Dodge Charger drifted high in turn three and Connolly shot back into the lead.

Gerber managed to recover to stay in second but had nothing for Connolly and his 1969 Ford. Connolly would take the checkers a full straightaway ahead of Gerber.

Darrell Dake of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, would finish third followed by Red Droste of Waterloo, Iowa, in fourth and Bill McDonough of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, rounding out the top five.

Earlier, Gerber won the trophy dash and received a 100-bushel truckload of shelled corn. He and promoter Huge Deery were knee-deep in the rich harvest for the presentation.

Lem Blankenship of Keokuk, Iowa, Benny Hofer of Rock Island, Ill., Bob Kelly of Wheaton, Ill., and Ron Weedon of Pleasant Valley, Iowa, were heat winners.



Results –

Trophy dash – Jim Gerber, Mt. Joy, Iowa
Heat #1 – Lem Blankenship, Keokuk, Iowa
Heat #2 – Benny Hofer, Rock Island, Ill.
Heat #3 – Bob Kelly, Wheaton, Ill.
Heat #4 – Ron Weedon, Pleasant Valley, Iowa
Feature -

1. John Connolly, Delhi, Iowa
2. Jim Gerber, Mt. Joy, Iowa
3. Darrell Dake, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
4. Red Droste, Waterloo, Iowa
5. Bill McDonough, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
6. Ed Sanger, Waterloo, Iowa
7. Jim Strube, Peoria, Ill.
8. Wendell Essex
9. Jim Havill, Le Claire, Iowa
10.Curt Hanson, Dike, Iowa
11.Ron Weedon
12.Ed Bohlen, Peoria, Ill.
13.Don Bohlander, Glasford, Ill.
14.Gary Reeder, Peoria, Ill.
15.Jerry Roedell, Peoria, Ill.
16.Dick Nelson, Chicago
17.Bill Munson
18.Paul Lewis, Peoria, Ill.
19.Don Adams, Milan, Ill.
20.Red Forbes, Rock Island, Ill.

1971 - Gould Grabs Big 'E' Purse

Bruce Gould was the very first winner of the World 100.

Rossburg, Ohio (October 3, 1971) - Ohio late model stock car drivers dominated the winner's list in the first World 100 dirt track championship race held Sunday at the half-mile Eldora Speedway oval.

Bruce Gould of Milford, Ohio, led the way to the checkered flag from the half-way point and claimed the $4,000 first prize. Finishing second was Joe Ruttman of Dearborn, Mich., while George Branscum of Chillicothe came in third.

Rounding out the top five were Paul Woolridge of Frankfort, Ky., and Joe Greenslate of South Shore, Ky.

Chick Hale of Louisburg, Ohio set the pace in qualifying runs, circling the track in 20.20 seconds or 96.02 miles per hour.

Much of the race was run under the caution flag, although no serious injuries resulted.


Results –


1. Bruce Gould
2. Joe Ruttman
3. George Branscum
4. Paul Woolridge
5. Joe Greenslate
6. Joe Stricker
7. Bobby Creveston
8. Larry Moore
9. Pat Patrick
10.Chick Hale
11.Chuck McWilliams
12.Bob Wearing
13.Wayne Watercutter
14.Ralph Latham
15.Earl Smith