Benny Hofer
Cedar Rapids, Iowa (May 12, 1967) - Veteran Benny Hofer may have surprised even a few of his avid fans last weekend at Davenport and Cedar Rapids in the season openers. The Rock Island, Ill., car jockey, who finished second at the Downs and sixth at Davenport in total points last year, did startle officials with his machine.
Hofer drove a Studebaker onto the
quarter-mile oval for hot laps and observers failed to recall the last time
that make of car adorned a track.
The Studebaker is equipped with a
Chevy 327 engine. It's legal, according to stock racing rules, because
Chevrolet actually built the engines for Studebaker when the Hawk hit the
market.
Anyone who may have laughed when
Benny made his appearance probably wasn’t laughing when the night’s racing
program ended.
Benny showed once again he will
be a driver to be reckoned with for the point championship by grabbing second
places in a heat and semi event. He'll be ready to go again at the Downs Saturday
when the regular racing program resumes at 8 p.m.
We were impressed with the way
Promoter Frank Winkley and his Auto Racing, Inc., track crew handled the
Hawkeye 200 affair last Sunday. Wink appears as nervous as an expectant
first-time papa but he’s big-league all the way. He was on top of the action
every second and at no time did we notice him let the fans suffer through a
lull in the program. The guy is colorful.
All events were run off on
schedule, plus Wink displayed a bit of showmanship by using the PA mike to let
the fans in on the drivers’ meeting. Additional color was added when the
drivers raced to their cars once they were introduced for the scheduled 200-
lapper. All in all, it was a great show with some superb racing.
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