Russ
Laursen, driving Duke DaBruzzi’s Chevy, picked his first victory ever at the
Minnesota State Fair. – Beetle Bailey Photo
St. Paul, Minn. (August 28, 1966) – Russ Laursen, in his Chevy-powered purple and white sprint car, waved his right arm wildly as he took the checkered flag and shouted, “Finally!”
The yell could not be heard above the roar of the motors, but the result was felt way up in his throat – and in his billfold.
The Cumberland, Wis., car salesman whipped across the finish line a surprising first in the North Star “100” International Motor Contest Association sprint car race at the Minnesota State Fair.
Laursen winning time was 37 minutes and 3.73 seconds and he collected $1,500 for his dexterity.
“That flag was the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in a long time,” he said after the race. “I was thrilled. I was all choked up.”
Laursen, a 38-year-old father of three, won his first feature race in two years of competing in IMCA. He finished 20th in the national point standings last year.
“In the big races,” he said, “it seems I always run into trouble of one kind or another. But not today.”
He started the race in the fourth position but quickly moved past third-runner Jerry Poland of Dayton, Ohio, on the first lap.
Laursen stayed there, behind pole-sitter Harold Smith of Dayton, Ohio, and Jerry Richert of Forest Lake, Saturday’s feature winner, until lap 6.
After being lightly bumped from behind by Dean Mast of Dover, Ohio, as he drifted wide on the far straightaway, he shot around Richert for second and was now challenging Smith and his Buick-powered machine.
On the third turn of the 8th lap, Laursen dashed past Smith on the outside to take the lead. That’s where he stayed.
While Laursen increased his margin, a constant shuffling was going on in the pack.
Smith dropped back to third, fourth, seventh and then encountered trouble on lap 56 and drove his car to the grassy infield, a disappointed dropout.
Richert drove a steady race and moved back and forth between the top four positions behind Laursen. He finished third. Jerry Daniels of St. Paul had slowly moved up and finished second. Leo Caldwell of Maumee, Ohio, also stayed up front during the race and finished fifth. Poland grabbed the fourth spot at the finish.
From lap 14 to lap 86, Laursen received his biggest challenge from Dean Mast. But he kept pulling farther and farther away – a straightaway lead gradually became a quarter of a lap lead at the finish on the half-mile asphalt track.
On lap 86, Mast, unfortunately, needed a one-minute fuel stop. It cost him $850 – the difference between second-place prize money and the $150 he took home for his ninth-place finish.
At the finish, Laursen had lapped everyone at least once, except for Daniels, and he was 150 feet away from doing that when the checkered flag waved.
A crowd 18,741 watched as 16 cars finish out of the original 24-car starting field.
Results –
National Race of Champions
1. Jerry Richert, Forest Lake
2. Harold Smith, Dayton, Ohio
3. Jerry Daniels, St. Paul
4. Leo Caldwell, Maumee, Ohio
5. Ron Larson, White Bear Lake
6. John Hesselgrove, St. Paul
Consolation –
1. Casey Jones, South Bend, Ind.
2. Eldon Rasmussen, Edmonton, Alberta
3. Harry Kern, St. Paul
4. Ed McVey, Independence, Mo.
5. Jerry Lepinski, St. Paul
6. Bob Davis, Dayton, Ohio
North Star 100 -
1. Russ Laursen, Cumberland, Wis.
2. Jerry Daniels
3. Jerry Richert
4. Jerry Poland, New Carlisle, Ohio
5. Leo Caldwell
6. Eldon Rasmussen
7. Casey Jones
8. Don Guida, Moorhead, Minn.
9. Dean Mast, Dover, Ohio
10.Karl Busson, Toledo, Ohio
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