1975 – Hoffman Grabs Illiana Finale

 

Ed Hoffman celebrates his victory in the Tony Bettenhausen Memorial with family and friends. 

Schererville, Ind. (October 5, 1975) – Grabbing the lead on the final lap, Ed Hoffman of Niles, Ill., captured the 14th annual Tony Bettenhausen Memorial Classic late model stock car race at Illiana Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Hoffman, wheeling a 1975 Camaro, became the eleventh different winner in the history of the event.

Thirty cars pounded the pavement for the start of the race, with Dave Evans of Crystal Lake, Ill., taking the lead from his outside front row starting position. Evans and his Camaro led the first three circuits with Jerry Kemperman of Blue Island, Ill., taking over the top spot on lap 4. Kemperman would attempt to pull away from the rest of the pack, but yellow flags erased any margin Kemperman built.

Kemperman and his 1975 Camaro maintained the lead for 91 laps with Bob Carnes of Grand Rapids, Mich., and Larry Schuler of Lockport, Ill., pressuring him all the way.

Meanwhile, Hoffman, who dropped back seemingly out of contention midway through the race, made it a four-car battle with 20 laps to go.

Hoffman, running in fourth position most of the day, moved into third on lap 89, second on lap 91 and took over the top spot on lap 95. Schuler would slip past Hoffman to take the point on laps 98 and 99.

But it was Hoffman, who gave credit to a late race tire change for his late race surge, who charged past Schuler on the backstretch of thee final lap and held the lead for the final quarter-mile to the checkered flag.

Several accidents slowed the race, one of them involving early race leader Dave Evans when the throttle on his car stuck sending him crashing into the guardrail in the second turn. He was taken to a local hospital with a broken foot, neck injuries, cuts and bruises.

Schuler, the Illiana track champion, paced a field of nearly 90 entries during time trials, with a lap of 21.43 seconds on the half-mile oval.


Results –

1. Ed Hoffman, Niles, Ill.
2. Larry Schuler, Lockport, Ill.
3. Jerry Kemperman, Blue Island, Ill.
4. Bob Carnes, Grand Rapids, Mich.
5. Bob Roper, Chicago, Ill.
6. Dave Roahring, Plymouth, Ind.
7. Jim O’Conner, Kankakee, Ill.
8. Ray Baker, Muskegon, Mich.
9. Larry Middleton, East Hazel Crest, Ill.
10. Ron Dole, Oak Forest, Ill.