Ramo Stott
Stott, driving a 1975
Plymouth ,
battled Hartman bumper to bumper until the 141st lap on the one-mile oval, and
then opened a three-second lead which he held to the checkered
flag. Stott averaged 91.084 miles per hour and won $3,824 of a $23,625
purse.
Hartman, USAC season
point leader, said he had to ease up because the brakes on his 1974 Dodge Charger were failing from the 80th lap on.
Sal Tovella of
Chicago, who won last Sunday's 200-mile stock race here, led from the 100th
through the 117th laps on Thursday but fell back when he pitted for fuel under
the caution flag.
Tovella finished
third, five seconds behind Hartman, in his 1972 Plymouth despite a collision with a car
driven by Roger McCluskey on lap 124. Ralph
Latham, Cincinnati ,
was fourth in a 1975 Chevelle and Larry Moore, Dayton , Ohio ,
fifth in a 1974 Charger.
The accident occurred
on the south turn as McCluskey, slightly behind Tovella, swerved outside and
back into the side of Tovella's car. McCluskey's car ricocheted against the
wall and bumped it twice.
McCluskey was shaken
up but not hospitalized. His car was demolished.
Tovella had to pit
for repairs on the 127th lap because the collision caused the loose fender to
rub against his right rear tire.
“There was so much
dust you couldn't see,” Tovella said. “The rule of racing is when you can't see
you follow the car in front of you.
McCluskey tried to go
around me, got caught in the rough stuff and swung back into me.”
“It cost me the
race,” he said. “I had the fastest car out there.
I was just playing with Ramo.”
Jack Bowsher, who
earlier had won the pole position with a qualifying speed of 107.784 mph, led
until the engine of his 1973 Ford Torino exploded
and forced him from the race after 29 laps.
Stott, who has raced
just about every circuit around, couldn't shake the worry from his mind until
the race was almost over Thursday.
He had some metal
shavings in his engine and said he wasn't sure his car would even make the full
150 miles.
“I had some trouble
last Sunday so I worked until about 1 a.m. (Thursday morning) trying to patch
it up,” he said. "I just put another old drive gear in and hoped it would
hold together and it did.”
Stott moved a little
closer to Hartman in the USAC standings. Hartman has 1,340 points and Stott,
who is in second place 1,260.
The race, run before
13,200 fans, was one of the most competitive at the track this year, with
door-to-door driving, first between Stott and Tovella and then Stott and
Hartman.
The yellow caution
flag came out four times— the last time, on the 126th lap when McCluskey hit
the wall.
It was during that
last yellow when Hartman, Tovella and Stott came into the pits and Tovella, who
needed the fender repair, was the last man out.
Stott took the lead
on the 134th lap and widened his lead to win going away.
“This was my first
win ever on this track,” Stott said. “Butch seemed to be having some chassis
trouble and he drifted a little bit in the corners toward the end and that let
me get past him.”
Results –
- Ramo
Stott
- Butch
Hartman
- Sal Tovella
- Ralph Latham
- Larry Moore
- Terry Ryan
- Fred Zack
- Jeff Bloom
- Len Gittemeier
- Paul Feldner
- Gary Bowsher
- Terry Bivins
- Harold Fair
- Russ Peterson
- George Giesen
- Bob
Dotter
- John Schultz
- Steve
Drake
- Butch Garner
- Gene Marmor
- Ken Simpson
- Lee Pinckney
- Jim Scott
- Herman Huffman
- Charlie Schmidt
- Roger McCluskey
- Larry Cope
- Bay Darnell
- Dave Decker
- Rich Sundling
- Jigger Sirois
- Jack Bowsher
- Tom Culbertson
- Irv Janey
- Wayne Fisher
- Gordon Blankenship
- Eldon
Rasmussen
- Bob
Brevak
- Bobby
Wawak
- Paul Sizemore
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