Knoxville,
Iowa (August 12, 1972) – Kenny Weld of York, Penn., won the National Super
Modified Championships at the Marion County Fairgrounds for the third time
Saturday night, leading all but two of the 30-lap feature event before a crowd
estimated at 10,000.
Weld, who
also won the event in 1964 and ’65, led at the beginning until Billy Shuman of
Tempe, Ariz., got past him on lap 4. Weld would regain the top spot two laps
later and lead Shuman by nearly half-a-lap at the checkered.
Weld
received $3,200 for the victory plus a $500 bonus for being from out-of-state.
Shuman and
Lonnie Jensen of Lincoln, Neb., would duel for second place much of the race.
Jensen, the weekly point leader at the half-mile dirt oval, would settle for
third-place.
Weld, who
also won the second heat, said, “I just forgot what I was doing when Shuman
slipped ahead of me in the feature. He added, “But I didn’t drive this far to
finish second. So, I just tromped down on the pedal and I was able to get back
around him without any trouble.”
“I sure am
glad to win this rascal,” he remarked. “I hadn’t run in this race since 1969,
so I felt this was my year.”
Weld had
qualified second on Thursday night and started in the front row with fellow
Pennsylvanian Buddy Cochran of Sharon.
Weld says he
competes regularly at three tracks in his home area; He’s the point leader at
Harrisburg and New Oxford, Penn., and second in points at Hagerstown, Md.
Two
accidents on the third lap of the event eliminated four drivers, including Ray
Lee Goodwin of Kansas City, Mo., the 1968 Nationals winner. Goodwin and a car
driven by Bill Utz of Sedalia, Mo., collided on the backstretch. Utz’s car
burst into flames but he escaped injury. Neither driver was injured.
Seconds
before that crash, Earl Wagner of Pleasantville, Iowa and Darrell Dockery of
Phoenix, Ariz., were involved in an accident which saw Wagner flip his
sprinter. Neither man was hurt.
Roger Larson
of Solomon, Kan., won the 20-lap B-main and Thad Dosher of Topeka, Kan., the
1967 Nationals champ, finished second. Steve Unger of Belpre, Ohio, won the
12-lap consolation.
Results –
1. Ken Weld, York, Penn.
2. Billy Shuman, Tempe, Ariz.
3. Lonnie Jensen, Lincoln, Neb
4. Eddie Leavitt, Kearney, Mo.
5. Jay Woodside, Wichita, Kan.
6. Buddy Cochran, Sharon, Penn.
7. David James, Garland, Tex.
8. Ted Wise, Hubbard, Ohio
9. Bob William, Kansas City, Mo.
10. Rick Ferkel, Fostoria, Ohio
11. Jerry McClung, Phoenix, Ariz.
12. Sheldon Kinser, Bloomington, Ind.
13. Lloyd Beckman, Lincoln, Neb.
14. Bill Thrasher, Fort Worth, Tex.
15. Dennis Olsen, Braham, Minn.
16. Jerry Miller, Phoenix, Ariz.
17. Roger Rager, Mound, Minn.
18. Ray Lee Goodwin, Kansas City, Mo.
19. Darrell Dockery, Phoenix, Ariz.
20. Bill Utz, Sedalia, Mo.
21. Earl Wagner, Pleasantville, Iowa
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