Buck Simmons (left) finished what L.D. Ottinger started to win the Minnesota 400 for NASCAR late model sportsman at the Minnesota State Fair. - Bob Martin Photo
St. Paul, Minn. (August 24, 1975) – Buck Simmons lot his grip on the liter-sized bottle of 7-Up when he reached for the Minnesota 400 trophy on Sunday afternoon at the State Fair. The bottle dropped and shattered at his feet. Simmons was embarrassed, but it was the only mistake he made all weekend.
Simmons, from Baldwin, Ga., let his friend, L.D. Ottinger of Newport, Tenn., drive the first half of Sunday’s NASCAR late model sportsman 400-lap race. Then he climbed in, and although they already had a comfortable lead, Simmons did what he had done the two previous days and blitzed the field to secure another victory.
Having set the fastest qualifying time on Friday, a record 20.61 seconds, Simmons drove his Camaro from last-to-first to win Friday’s feature. Saturday, he led all the way to win the 75-lap feature, also in record time. That made it seem a cinch to run away with the 400-lapper on the paved half-mile oval, and 10,000 fans watched as he did just that.
When the checkered flag waved over Simmons first, runner-up Marv Marzofka of Nekoosa, Wis., and third place finisher Larry Detjens of Wausau, Wis., were a full five laps behind.
The Ottinger – Simmons team won $5,500 for their combined efforts, giving the Camaro $6,475 – the maximum possible in the three days. They won in 2 hours, 35 minutes and 16 seconds, another record, more than two minutes better than Butch Lindley’s year-old record.
Several top contenders were wiped out by mechanical issues when they may have offered a stiff challenge. Tom Reffner of Rudolph, Mark Lamoreaux of Bloomington, Minn., John Boegeman of Shakopee, Minn., Dick Trickle of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., and Harry Gant of Taylorsville, N.C., headed the list.
Reffner made the best bid. At the start, Reffner and his “Blue Knight” Javelin moved into first place. “I was just getting used to Buck’s car,” Ottinger said. Reffner led Ottinger on a merry chase for the first 22 laps until Reffner got boxed in by some slower cars, and Ottinger slipped by for the lead.
“Even when I was leading my engine was blubbering and missing,” Reffner said. Reffner regained the lead when Ottinger dashed into the pit area during a caution on lap 68. But Reffner was forced to pit during green flag racing on lap 99.
The “blubbering” got worse for Reffner, and on lap 122, he started a string of pit stops that removed him from contention. “I thought it was in my points, but it turned out to be the starter switch.”
Gant, the other Dixieland flash who dominated on Saturday, ran a strong third behind Ottinger and Reffner but his rear end locked up on his Nova on lap 34 and he was done. Trickle’s “Purple Knight” had the same issues and retired early as well.
At the halfway point, Lamoreaux, driving a Camaro, was running second. Simmons replaced Ottinger on lap 219, and Lamoreaux, with an eye on the $3,700 second place money, had a valve go on his engine on lap 358.
Boegeman, the “Black Knight” in Superamerica’s flashy trio that included Trickle and Reffner, inherited second. But second place was ill-starred. With two laps to go, the rear-end on Boegeman’s Camaro locked up. Boegeman hoped to limp his car to a second-place finish, but Marzofka and Detjens both slipped ahead of him on the final lap, leaving Boegeman to settle for fourth.
Banjo Matthews of Arden, N.C., built Simmons’ race car. “A new one like that would cost about $30,000,” said Matthews, who was in attendance for the race. “We build 40% of the Grand National cars. Can build a rolling kit car for around $11,000 if you can’t afford $30,000. We don’t build too many. We’re not interested in volume; we build them for guys who like to win races.”
Results –
1. L.D. Ottinger/Buck Simmons, Baldwin, Ga.
2. Marv Marzofka, Nekoosa, Wis.
3. Larry Detjens, Wausau, Wis.
4. John Boegeman, Shakopee, Minn.
5. Mike Miller, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.
6. Rich Somers, Stevens Point, Wis.
7. Joe Shear, South Beloit, Ill.
8. Dave Roahrig, Plymouth, Ind.
9. Dan Prizborowski, Bloomington, Minn.
10.Mike Murgic, Rosemount, Minn.
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