Ona, W.Va. (May 31, 1964) - Al Smith led from start to finish in his Buick-powered sprint car to breeze home first in the IMCA feature Sunday at West Virginia International Speedway.
Smith, a newcomer to the IMCA sprint car division this season, gave an indication of things to come by turning the fastest qualifying lap in 17.77 seconds at 88.50 miles per hour to win the pole position for the feature. The Dayton, Ohio driver averaged a sizzling 73.79 mph in outdistancing the field of sprinters in the 30-lap main event.
Jack Lenhout, driving another speedy Buick-powered creation, edged Bob Pratt, who was behind the wheel in a Chevy conversion, for second place. Rollie Beale and Dick Good were fourth and fifth in Chevy-powered cars.
Serge Tesolin brought up the rear of the 17-car feature in a rear-engine Ford - a first of its kind on the IMCA sprint circuit - and Gordon Woolley, defending IMCA king, and Jerry Richert, point’s leader this season, both experienced mechanical malfunctions earlier in the program. Tesolin also never got his car perking at full tilt.
Feature winner Smith said that the cool, overcast day with moisture in the air helped his 420-cubic inch Buick monster perform at full capacity. He also praised the track.
“It felt real good,” he declared and added that his blue and white car “handled fine.”
The weather, however, put a damper on the crowd. An estimated 2,000 fans turned out to see the program. That’s by far the smallest turnout at the four race dates at Ona. The three previous races were late model affairs which are the first love of auto racing fans throughout Southern West Virginia.
No serious accidents marred the action.
Results –
Heat #1 - Dean Mast
Heat #2 - Red Amick
Heat #3 - Bob King
Match Race - Rollie Beale
Consolation - Dick Good
Feature -
1. Al Smith
2. Jack Lenhout
3. Bob Pratt
4. Rollie Beale
5. Dick Good
6. Jim McCune
7. Dick Gaines
8. Jack Thomas
9. Bob Davis
10.Tom York
11.Dean Mast
12.Bob King
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