1986 – Roper Repeats at Springfield

 

Dean Roper is joined in victory lane by Miss Illinois Fair after winning the Allen Crowe Memorial at Springfield. – J.D. Scott Photo

Springfield, Il. (August 16, 1986) – Defending champion Dean Roper of Fair Grove, Mo., took over the lead on lap 94 and kept his Pontiac in front the last seven laps to win the Allen Crowe Memorial 100-mile ARCA stock car race Sunday at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

Roper, claiming his fourth Allen Crowe Memorial victory, earned $5,925 for the triumph before an estimated crowd of 8,500.

No time was announced for the race, which was slowed by seven yellow flags and halted for 30 minutes because of rain after the 65th lap. There were no serious accidents or injuries.

Bob Brevak of Ashland, Wis., finished second in a Buick, about 15 seconds behind Roper, while Bob Strait of Mokena, Ill., took third in a Chevy. Rounding out the top five were Lee Raymond of Dayton, Ohio, in a Chevy and Terry Pearson of Saybrook, Ill., in an Oldsmobile.

Roper, who started from the 12th position, steadily moved through the pack and was running second behind Bobby Jacks of Huber Heights, Ohio, by lap 86. Jacks, who led laps 26 through 93 in his Oldsmobile, was forced to make his only pit stop on lap 94 to add fuel and finished 10th.

“I had to run hard all day long, I never did get to loaf at all,” joked Roper, who has won a total of seven races on the Illinois State Fair mile dirt track during his career.

Raymond, the current ARCA Permatex Super Car Series point leader, earned the pole position with a fast time of 35.9 seconds.

Results –


1. Dean Roper
2. Bob Brevak
3. Bob Strait
4. Lee Raymond
5. Terry Pearson
6. Jim Jeffrey
7. Dick Taylor
8. Bob Dotter
9. Scott Stovall
10.Bobby Jacks
11.Grant Adcox
12.Don Marmor
13.Dennis Metpenningen
14.Roger Blackstock
15.Mike Fry
16.Maurice Randall
17.Butch Garner
18.Randy Huffman
19.Hoyte Choate
20.Bob Keselowski
21.David Goldsberry
22.Bill Venturini
23.Rick Jeffrey
24.Jim Hurlbert
25.Jim Elliot
26.Ken Rowley
27.Jerry Huffman
28.Ronnie Bates
29.Mark Gibson
30.Dennis Marcelle

1980 - Wolfgang Wins Sprint Main at Des Moines

 

Des Moines, Iowa (August 17, 1980) – Luck changed dramatically for Doug Wolfgang on Sunday night.

After week of mishaps which kept the Sioux Falls, S.D., sprint car driver from victory and from the main event of the Knoxville Nationals, Wolfgang finally made it to the winner’s circle.

He snared the lead on the 20th lap and dashed away to the win in the 30-lap feature on the half-mile dirt at the Iowa State Fair. National Speedways Contest Association sanctioned the program.

Earlier Sunday, Wolfgang had to withdraw from the C-feature at the fog-delayed Knoxville Nationals program with a broken axle.

“We thought we had that fixed before we left the pits at Knoxville (in the afternoon),” said Wolfgang. “The car was working really well tonight.”

Wolfgang had been leading the feature in Kansas City on Tuesday night when he had to retire due to oil pan problems. On his qualifying night at Knoxville, he broke the one-lap track record but then was sidelined with mechanical issues.

Finishing behind Wolfgang was Rick Ferkel of Findlay, Ohio, with Knoxville Nationals champion Steve Kinser of Bloomington taking third.

Kinser, at first, didn’t want to compete on Sunday night at Des Moines. But car owner Bob Trostle said he was going anyway, and Kinser changed his mind. Kinser collected $1,000 in addition to his $6,000 winnings from that afternoon in Knoxville.

“I might have done better but the brakes were gone, and my headers were caked with mud,” Kinser said. “I just rode it out.”

There was near tragedy for Kinser. His Knoxville Nationals championship ring, which had 30 diamonds, was dropped by a friend who was admiring the jewelry. The incident happened in the pit area at Des Moines. Tragedy was avoided, however, when his friend found the ring with the help of a flashlight.

Wolfgang, who collected $1,500 for the victory, had to borrow a wing from Trostle.

Danny Smith of Hendersonville, Tenn., was fourth and Gary Patterson of Carmichael, Calif., completed the top-five.

Although John Stevenson of St. Paul, Minn., and Tom Corbin of Carrollton, Mo., fared poorly, Stevenson nailed down the National Speedways Contest Association sprint car title. Stevenson had a 200-point lead over Corbin and only one race meet – Saturday on the mile track at the Missouri state Fair – remains. Stevenson finished 10th while Corbin was 13th.

Ken Potter of Kansas City, Ron Wiuff of St. Paul, Minn., Bob Geldner of St. Peter, Minn., and Randy Smith of Norwalk were het winners. Mikee Thomas of Des Moines won the B-main.


Results –


1. Doug Wolfgang, Sioux Falls, S.D.
2. Rick Ferkel, Findlay, Ohio
3. Steve Kinser, Bloomington, Ind.
4. Danny Smith, Hendersonville, Tenn.
5. Gary Patterson, Carmichael, Calif.
6. Tim Green, Sacramento, Calif.
7. Jimmy Sills, Sacramento, Calif.
8. Bill Robison, Topeka, Kan.
9. Shane Carson, Oklahoma City, Okla.
10.John Stevenson, St. Paul, Minn.
11.Randy Smith, Norwalk
12.Bob Geldner, St. Peter, Minn.
13.Tom Corbin, Carrollton, Mo.
14.Lenard McCarl, Des Moines
15.Mike Thomas, Des Moines

1975 – State Fair Stock Win to Hartman

Springfield, Ill. (August 17, 1975) – Butch Hartman took $3,960 back home to South Zanesville, Ohio, Sunday afternoon, after placing first in a confusing 100-mile USAC late model stock car race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

Hartman, driving a Dodge, started third and finished several car lengths ahead of Ramo Stott of Keokuk, Iowa, who drove a Plymouth. Hartman was listed as the leader after 51 miles, but Stott said USAC officials failed to see him pass Hartman on lap 30. USAC later credited Stott with leading the race laps 32 to 83.

The race was run under yellow on lap 59 when officials stopped the race entirely, saying they first wanted to check track conditions and then blaming erratic current for disrupting electric timers. Electricians stated the current was fine.

After an hour, officials decided to back up and restart the race at lap 50. They made Stott the leader, putting Ernie Derr of Keokuk in second and Hartman in third. The crowd, thinking Hartman was first, booed unmercifully.

Hartman, however, brought the fans to their feet, moving past Derr on lap 66 and then taking the lead away from Stott on the 84th mile.


Results –


1. Butch Hartman
2. Ramo Stott
3. Sal Tovella
4. Ernie Derr
5. Don White
6. Fred Zack
7. Ralph Latham
8. Butch Garner
9. Jigger Sirois
10.Paul Feldner
11.Jim Bowsher
12.Gordon Blankenship
13.Ken Rowley
14.Russ Peterson
15.Harold Fair
16.Paul Sizemore
17.John Schultz
18.Joe Booher
19.Marcus Phelps
20.Bay Darnell

1969 - Burdick Grabs Top $$$ at Sunset

 

Bud Burdick

By Mark Woods

Omaha, Neb. (August 17, 1969) – Bud Burdick of Omaha worked his way up through the field to take the late model feature Sunday night at Sunset Speedway before a crowd of 2,231.

The 25-lap thriller was marked with three restarts as a two-car tangle involving Carl Smith and Phil Reeves on the first lap resulted in a complete restart. On the third lap, Paul Zdan savagely rolled his ’66 Chevelle after hitting the south turn wall. He luckily escaped injury. Lyle Roucka spun to mark the fourth restart in four laps.

Finally, the field of 12 cars started working together long enough for Burdick to jump ahead of Marvin Kruse and lead the remaining 21 long rounds and pocket the $275 winner’s share.

Burdick was challenged constantly by Kruse, Bob Kosiski, and point leader Jim Wyman. This marked Wyman’s first finishing of the “A” in four weeks.

In the B-main, Larry Jiskra led the first 10 laps before Jack Golder shot ahead to lead the other 10 laps and grab the win. Mike Dizona was running a strong second before his engine started smoking and was forced to retire. The entire 20 laps was run around the4/10-mile in 7 minutes and 22 seconds.

The 6-lap trophy dash went to Bill Wrich, who was challenged by Roucka and Wyman the entire way. Speed dash honors went to Marvin Kruse, subbing for Keith Leithoff. “Wild” Bill Martin took a tremendous lead at the start but lost to Kruse on the final decisive lap.

Martin also gave Burdick and Milo Stodola quite the battle in the third heat won by Burdick. Martin, driving a ’64 Chevelle, was unable to make the big “A” with a blown motor. Other heat winners were Bob Kosiski and Lyle Roucka.


Results –


Heat #1 – Bob Kosiski
Heat #2 – Lyle Roucka
Heat #3 – Bud Burdick
Speed dash – Marvin Kruse
Trophy dash – Bill Wrich
B-main – Jack Golder
A-main –
1. Bud Burdick
2. Marvin Kruse
3. Bob Kosiski
4. Jim Wyman
5. Bill Wrich
6. Milo Stodola
7. Randy Sterner
8. Harold Austin
9. Phil Reeves
10.Joe Stewart

1958 – Wausau 200-Lapper to Don White

 

Don White

Wausau, Wis. (August 17, 1958) – Don White of Keokuk, Iowa, won the 200-lap speed event for stock cars Sunday afternoon on the half-mile dirt track at Marathon Park. The victory for the International Motor Contest Association point leader earned him $500.

Time for the 100-mile contest was 1 hour, 47 minutes, and 45.97 seconds, much faster than last year’s run, when IMCA started the longer distant run.

The grandstands and bleachers were filled to capacity, with approximately 5,500 watching more than two hours of racing.

In the feature event, White, who finished the 100 miles by lapping the runner-up, Bruce Nystrom of Oshkosh twice, was time at 29.88 seconds on one of the feature laps, which was faster than his 30.44 second time he made in qualifying on Saturday. Establishing those two marks helped run his earnings to $750.

In the feature event on Sunday, White had the lead all the way and his one times varied from 28.80 to 33.01 seconds for the century grind. He finished a full two laps ahead of Nystrom and that included one pit stop which took 24 seconds for gas and a drink of water.


Results –

1. Don White, Keokuk, Iowa
2. Bruce Nystrom, Oshkosh
3. Newt Bartholomew, Carlisle, Iowa
4. Whitey Traeder, Milwaukee
5. Joe Gustaf, Moline, Ill.
6. Ralph Wilhelm, Milwaukee
7. Pete Van Oudenhoven, Appleton
8. Clarence Bolton, Hutchinson, Kan.

1986 - Bettenhausen to Hewitt

 

Jack Hewitt won the USAC Silver Crown "Tony Bettenhausen 100" at the Springfield Mile. - Ken Coles Photo

Springfield, Ill. (August 16, 1986) – Jack Hewitt grabbed the lead on lap 29 and went on to capture the USAC Sliver Crown Championship Series’ Tony Bettenhausen 100 Saturday at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

Gary Bettenhausen jumped into the lead from his outside front row starting position and paced the first 19 laps before Hewitt tasted the lead for the first time. Eight laps later, Bettenhausen found himself back out front.

But one lap later, Hewitt took over for good. A caution for a Danny Milburn spin on lap 72 and another when Duke Cook hit the wall in turn one on lap 83 bunched up the field. Hewitt managed to stay out front on both ensuing restarts and went on to score the victory.

Chuck Gurney took second ahead of Larry Rice, Rick Hood, and Bobby Olivero.


Results –

1. Jack Hewitt
2. Chuck Gurney
3. Larry Rice
4. Ricky Hood
5. Bobby Olivero
6. Warren Mockler
7. Brent Kaeding
8. Tom Bigelow
9. Manny Rockhold
10.Leon Thickstun
11.Steve Chassey
12.Andy Hillenberg
13.Greg Staab
14.Terry Kawell
15.Randy Standridge

1974 – Lund Grabs Rain-Shortened Red Bud

 

DeWayne "Tiny" Lund won the rain-shortened Red Bud 300 stock car classic at Sun Valley Speedway. - Brian Norton Collection

Anderson, Ind. (August 16, 1974) – Was it meant to be this way? Probably.

Two of the three NASCAR drivers entered in the field were forced out, but Tiny Lund of Cross, S.C., grabbed the lead in his ’74 Camaro on the 117th lap and held it until the rain-drenched halt to the eighth annual running of the Red Bud 300 at Sun Valley Speedway Friday night.

Darrell Waltrip of Franklin, Tenn., one oof NASCAR’s greats, hit the fourth turn wall on lap 20after receiving a helpful nudge from Lund. Pete Hamilton, the polesitter for the 300 with a qualifying time of 13.419 seconds, experienced mechanical issues with his ’72 Dodge Challenger and was forced from the event after only 47 circuits around the high-banked quarter mile oval.

But the big story of the night had to be the driving of Gene Prosser of New Castle, Ind. After stepping into his machine amid the boos and jeers, the second fastest qualifier ran straightaway with some of the biggest names in stock car racing. Prosser never gave up and finished second classic followed by Dave Sorg of Fort Wayne, Ind.

Dennis Miles of Muncie, Ind., was fourth, driving a 1970 Camaro.

The race saw its first yellow flag after only seven laps of racing had been completed when Harold Scott and Miles got entangled on the first turn. Hamilton had jumped into a quick lead at the start and led until his car developed trouble on lap 46.

Tiny Lund made his move on lap 44 that probably won him the race as he moved up two positions as the green flag dropped for the restart. Lund literally jumped around Jackie Neal and jimmy Roberts. From that point, Lund waited patiently until Prosser made a wrong move and Lund slid under and into the lead.

Roberts put on the most exciting show of the evening as he moved from his eighth starting position into third place in less than 10 laps. Roberts held the third spot until the 91st lap when he was involved in a three-car pileup.

The race was red-flagged due to the mishap being delayed some 20 minutes. Prosser maintained his lead as the race was restarted but lost to Lund on the 117th lap.

Prosser got high in the second turn and spun but did a fine job of driving as he lost only a quarter of a lap to Lund. On laps 199 and 200, Lund and Prosser made their mandatory pit stops while jockeying for position. Lund maintained his lead and Prosser remained second with Sorg moving into the third spot ahead of Miles.

And then the rains came. Typical with most central Indiana races, the thunderclouds and strong winds made their appearance. The race, however, was never halted due to the rains until torrents hit on lap 159. The red flag immediately appeared, and the race was halted with Lund declared the winner.


Results –

1. Tiny Lund
2. Gene Prosser
3. Dave Sorg
4. Denny Miles
5. Jackie Neal
6. Gene Christie
7. John Sommerville
8. Don Keevin
9. LaMarr Marshall
10.Ken Simpson
11.Ray Fullen
12.Jiggs Meyer
13.Ernie Layton
14.Gene Fullen
15.Don Higgins
16.Jim Blount
17.Shorty Hinshaw
18.Randy Sweet
19.Mike Eddy
20.Bill Kimmel