Butch Miller on his second ARTGO Racing Series feature in as many nights
at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway, the Special Export Light 100. – Russ Lake
Photo
West Salem, Wis. (June 24, 1987) – Butch Miller squeezed past Dick Trickle with just 11 laps remaining to win the Special Export Light 100 Wednesday night at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway before the largest ARTGO crowd ever assembled here.
The conclusion brought the crowd of 5,771 to their feet repeatedly in the final 30 laps as six-time ARTGO champion Trickle and current American Speed Association point leader Miller dueled side-by-side, interrupted only by lapped traffic.
Finally, on the 89th lap, Miller once again dipped low coming off the second turn, some say through the grass, and edged inside the crafty Wisconsin Rapids ace to gain the lead and score the victory 11 circuits later.
Trickle took runner-up honors as Miller sliced into Trickle’s ARTGO point lead with a 100-lap victory Tuesday night at Raceway Park in Shakopee, Minn., and Wednesday’s triumph at La Crosse.
Joe Shear, after challenging for the top spot early on, settled for third with Tom Reffner and Dave Watson rounding out the top-five.
Trickle, formerly the weekly hero at the 5/8-mile paved oval, set fast time with a 19.537-second clocking over the 45-car late model field which included NASCAR Winston cup point leader and two-time champion Dale Earnhardt.
Earnhardt, whose 13th quickest qualifying time placed him on the outside of the front row, blasted into the feature lead over Rich Bickle Jr. at the drop of the green.
A serious crash on the ninth lap involving Doug Herbst brought out the yellow flag. On the restart, Reffner passed Bickle for second and closed in on Earnhardt, wrestling the lead away on lap 19 with Trickle following through the second spot.
On the 22nd lap, Earnhardt displayed some instinctive driving skills by miraculously keeping his car straight after a skid into the second turn “marbles”. He retired after 40 laps with handling issues and scored as 16th.
Trickle was the next one to bring the crowd to its feet as he and his archrival Reffner diced for the lead with Trickle taking the top spot on lap 25 homestretch pass. But the fireworks were far from over as now Shear mounted a charge racing side-by-side with Trickle for 10 laps before dropping back. Miller took second on lap 40.
Results –
1. Butch Miller, Coopersville, Minn.
2. Dick Trickle, Wisconsin Rapids
3. Joe Shear, Clinton
4. Tom Reffner, Rudolph
5. Dave Watson, Milton
6. Steve Holzhausen, Bangor
7. Rich Bickle Jr., Edgerton
8. Scott Hansen, Green Bay
9. Rick Wateski, La Crosse
10.Tom Carlson, La Crosse
11.Steve Carlson, West Salem
12.Burt Weitemeyer, Lansing, Ill.
13.Robbie Reiser, Allenton
14.Don Turner, La Crosse
15.Tim Wood, McFarland
16.Dale Earnhardt, Kannapolis, N.C.
17.Steve Murgic, Rosemount, Minn.
18.Frank Gawlinski, Lyndon, Ill.
19.Craig Peterson, Minneapolis
20.Jim Weber, Roseville, Minn.
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