1967 – Saldana is Knoxville Champ

Joe Saldana (bottom right) won the 30-lap super modified season championship at the Marion County Fairgrounds. Joining Saldana in victory lane are the top five finishers of the race. for the season. Ralph Blackett (4th) joins Saldana on the bottom row. Top row (l-r): Bill Utz (2nd and point champion), Tom Corbin (3rd), and James Bond (5th). – Beetle Bailey Photo

Knoxville, Iowa (September 2, 1967) – Joe Saldana of Lincoln, Neb., led all the way in the 30-lap super modified season championship on Saturday night before a crowd of 2,100.

Saldana earned $450 for the victory.

Bill Utz of Sedalia, Mo., who arrived late at the track after competing in an International Motor Contest Association program that afternoon at Lincoln, Neb., finished second in the main event, good enough to clinch the point championship at the Knoxville half-mile.

Tom Corbin of Carrollton, Mo., was third followed by Ralph Blackett of Des Moines and James Bond of Edwardsville, Kan.

Earl Wagner of Pleasantville, Iowa, lost a wheel on lap 24 and hit the outer fence hard but was not hurt.


Results –


Trophy dash – Bill Utz, Sedalia, Mo.
Heat #1 – Bill Utz
Heat #2 – James Bond, Edwardsville, Kan.
Heat #3 – Joe Saldana, Lincoln, Neb.
Handicap – Tom Corbin, Carrollton, Mo.
Feature –
1. Joe Saldana
2. Bill Utz
3. Tom Corbin
4. Ralph Blackett
5. James Bond
6. Stacy Redmond, Mason City