1975 – Gerber Wears Raceway Crown

 

Jim Gerber

East Moline, Ill. (September 14, 1975) – The point race at Quad City Raceway was so close between Jim Gerber of Long Grove, Iowa, and Duane Steffe of East Moline, that the winner of the season championship feature would also be crowned point champion for 1975.

It would be a see-saw battle for a while.

Gerber took the lead at the start, but Steffe got by on lap 3 and seemed to have things well under control, but his car wasn’t up to the task. He had a new engine and the car had been running hot all night long. It was still running hot by feature time and Steffe had no choice but to back off a little.

Gerber sped past Steffe on the 18th circuit and then took over from there. He lapped everyone except the top-five finishers en route to an easy victory in the 50-lap feature, thus earning himself the point title.

Bob Stogdell of Silvis would get past Steffe in the late stages of the race and take runner-up honors. Steffe finished third while defending track champion Ron Weedon of Pleasant Valley was fourth. Lyle Gehn of Port Byron rounded out the top five.


Results –


Heat #1 – Doug Crawford, Geneseo
Heat #2 – Mike McGrew, Coal Valley
Heat #3 – Bob Stogdell, Silvis
Semi-main – Duane Steffe, East Moline
Consolation – Doug Crawford
Feature –
1. Jim Gerber, Long Grove, Iowa
2. Bob Stogdell
3. Duane Steffe
4. Ron Weedon, Pleasant Valley, Iowa
5. Lyle Gehn, Port Byron