Cedar Rapids, Iowa
(July 6, 1996) - If the All-Iowa Fair Board ever decides to relinquish control
of Hawkeye Downs Speedway, it may want to entertain any offers it gets from Bob
Senneker and Steve Holzhausen. The two stock car drivers practically own the
track already.
Senneker, a 24-year
veteran of the American Speed Association from Dorr, Mich., stayed out on lap
200 while the drivers in front of him went to the pits, and guided his Ford
Thunderbird to victory Saturday at the ASA AC Delco Challenge Series 3rd Annual
Hawkeye Downs 300.
Holzhausen, the 1992
ASA Rookie of the Year from Bangor, Wis., who also drives a Thunderbird,
overcame a mid-race mishap to finish an impressive second.
The outcome gave
Fords a one-two finish at the race for the third straight year, because the
same two drivers have finished first and second all three years. Holzhausen won
in 1994, with Senneker second. Senneker won the last two years, with Holzhausen
as runner-up.
Scott Hansen, the
pole-sitter, drove his Chevrolet Monte Carlo to a strong third-place finish and
veteran Mike Miller of Marietta, Ga., piloted his Pontiac Grand Prix to fourth.
But the day belonged
to Senneker, who won for an ASA-record 81st time, and for the second time this
year.
“We’ve had some real
good luck here,” he said. “The car didn't feel that good to start with, but
(the crew) kept telling me were running as fast as anyone out there. I was
content to just run on the bottom.”
This was the seventh
race of the season for the AC-Delco Challenge Series, but it was Holzhausen’s
first. He's been content to run weekly shows at La Crosse (Wis.) Speedway until
he can round up adequate sponsorship money.
“This is one of the
tracks that we pick,” Holzhausen said. “We do run well here, there’s no doubt
about it. We have a good set-up for here, and it just flat works.”
A near-capacity crowd
of more than 7,000 fans in the grandstand and hundreds of thousands more
watching on cable television station The Nashville Network saw a clean race
that featured nine lead changes among seven drivers and only seven cautions for
41 laps.
Cedar Rapids driver
Johnny Spaw, making his first ASA start of the year, enjoyed some time at the
front of the field, leading from lap 164 until he went in for rear tires on his
Pontiac Grand Prix on lap 200. It wasn’t the smoothest pit stop, and he came
out pretty far back. But he rallied over the final 100 laps to finish a very
respectable eighth.
Brad Loney, an ASA
regular from Cedar Rapids, had the throttle linkage break on his Grand Prix on
lap 96 and didn’t get back out on the track until lap 160. He finished 32nd but
finished the race for an ASA-best 32nd time.
Senneker, who started
fifth and earned $16,230 for his day's work, won his 81st ASA race since 1973. He
stayed to the inside most of the time, while others tried their luck high.
“The car was
excellent,’ he said. “It never changed. It was kind of pushy, but it never got any
worse. I had to change my groove to figure out where to run, but I ran it on
the bottom, and that’s where it wanted to be.”
Holzhausen had a
little tougher time. He started eighth, ran in the top-10 for the first half of
the race, and took the lead from Dave Senisba on lap 160. His stay in front was
short, however, as he and Kevin Cywinski touched coming out of turn four on lap
163, and left the track.
It was a long climb
back for Holzhausen, but he ducked underneath Hansen and into second place with
just 13 laps to go. By then, Senneker was well in command, and Holzhausen had
run out of laps.
“They were reading
off lap times to me (during the race), and when I got up to third and then up
to second, (Senneker) was running probably as fast as I was,” Holzhausen said.
“I don’t think I could have got him, but you never know.”
Mike Eddy of Midland,
Mich., a seven-time ASA national champion, looked to have the car to beat early
in the race. He led from laps 52 through 98 and again from 106 through 113, and
was running second when the leaders went in for left-side tires and fuel on lap
126.
Then disaster struck…
As Eddy was exiting
the pits, Joe Nott pulled out in front of him, and the two collided. Eddy's Pontiac
suffered suspension damage, and the veteran was saddled with his third “Did Not
Finish” in his last four starts.
For his part, Spaw
enjoyed his 300-lap ride, especially his time up front.
“It felt good,” he
said. “I was just taking it easy. The slower I went, the faster I went, if you know
what I mean. When I was trying too hard, (the other drivers) would catch me.
When I’d stop paying attention to where they were at, I'd start pulling away.”
Results -
1. Bob Senneker,
Dorr, Mich.
2. Steve Holzhausen,
Bangor, Wis.
3. Scott Hansen,
Milwaukee, Wis.
4. Mike Miller, Marietta, Ga.
5. Dave Sensiba,
Middleville, Mich.
6. Tony Raines,
Milwaukee, Wis.
7. Gary St. Amant,
Columbus, Ohio
8. Johnny Spaw, Cedar Rapids
9. Kevin Cywinski,
Menominee, Mich.
10. Ted Smokstad,
Bloomington, Minn.
11. Tony Roper, St.
Louis, Mo.
12. Rick Miller,
Dunbar, Pa.
13. Joe Nott, Grand
Haven, Mich.
14. Mike Garvey, Sewanee,
Ga.
15. Tim Sauter,
Necedah, Wis.
16. Carl Miskolten,
Fort Wayne, Ind.
17. Harold Fair,
Detroit, Mich.
16. Dennis Lampman,
Oak Creek, Wis.
19. Eddie Sharp,
Concord, N.C.
20. Dennis Berry,
Franklin, Wis.
21. Tom Jones,
Gurnee, Ill.
22. Cale Conley,
Vienna, W.V.
23. Bob Dorstewitz,
Waterville, Mich.
24. Doug Mayr,
Franklin, Wis.
25. Jack Landis,
Edgerton, Ohio
26. Mike Cofer,
Brownsburg, Ind.
27. Bill Baird,
Sturgis, Ky.
28. Bo Lemler, Bonita,
Calif.
29. Samuel Gottwald, Willmar,
Minn.
30. Brett Bell,
Pittsboro, Ind.
31. Brandon Sperling,
Rockford, Mich.
32. Brad Loney, Cedar Rapids
33. Mike Eddy,
Midland, Mich.
34. Aaron Hough, New
Palestine, Ind.
35. Billy Turner, El
Reno, Okla.
36. Carroll Adamy,
Bellwood, Neb.
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