Tuesday, September 5, 2017

1972 - Trickle boosts national record to 62 with three wins


Dick Trickle



St. Paul, Minn. (September 5, 1972) - Dick Trickle of Wisconsin Rapids hiked his national record for short-track, late model stock car feature victories in a single season to 62 at St. Paul, Minn., Monday with a $4,000 win at the Minnesota State Fair after his win there Saturday and his 61st triumph of the year at Golden Sands Speedway on Sunday night.

Trickle also grabbed the season crown in the Red, White and Blue state championship series at Kaukauna's Wisconsin International Raceway Sunday afternoon, despite a runner-up finish to Joe Shear of South Beloit, Ill., in the Blue and final event of the series.

The Rapids speedster survived five unscheduled pit stops and an empty gas tank Monday to win the North Star 500-lap event at St. Paul by three laps over Dick Stang of Minneapolis.

Trickle's time was 3 hours, 22 minutes and 35.94 seconds. Trickle was forced into the pits several times when his hood kept popping up and coasted his 1970 Mach 1 Mustang in for refueling with seven laps to go after building up a five-lap lead.

Trickle set a 50-lap record on the St. Paul track in 18 minutes and 15.80 seconds on Saturday, but was forced out of another 50-mile feature that day by engine trouble.

Nekoosa's Marv Marzofka won that event while Rudolph's Tom Reffner placed third in Saturday's state fair opener and second in the next event to win the overall trophy.

Shear drove his 1972 Camaro to victory Sunday in the 100-lap, 50-mile Blue race at Kaukauna, but Trickle finished second and beat Shear in the series point standings by a 2,440-2,110 margin. Wausau's Larry Detjens finished third in the 33-car field, with Reffner placing fourth, Necedah's Jim Sauter fifth and Vesper's Jim Back sixth.

Shear had fast time at Kaukauna in 21.62 and also won the third heat, with Trickle taking second and Sauter third.

Reffner won the Sands time trials in 13.44 seconds, followed in order by Trickle (13.50), Marzofka (13.60), Back (13.67) and Dave Field of Port Edwards (13.73). Marzofka won the fast dash, with Reffner second and Trickle third, while Earl Sharping of Rapids was third in the second heat and Marzofka third in the third heat.

In the Sands feature, Reffner was second, Marzofka third, Detjens fourth and Back fifth. Trickle took the lead for good on the 20th lap.

Reffner won Saturday night's state championship feature at Dells Motor Speedway at Wisconsin Dells, with Madison's John Ziegler placing second. Marzofka was third and Detjens fourth.

At the Dells, Bill Wirtz of Rapids as well as Nekoosa's Lyle Nabbefeldt, Rib Lake's Marlin Walbeck, Field and Detjens were involved in a fourth-heat smashup and Detjens was fast timer in 14.669. Back was next at 14.764.

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