Doug Herbst is congratulated by Miss WIR, Debbie Ashauer, after winning
the 100-lap late model feature that highlighted the annual Budweiser Spring
Classic 100 at Wisconsin International Raceway. - Dan Lewis Photo
By Gary Vercauteren
Kaukauna, Wis. (May 7, 1989) – Doug Herbst, a 27-year-old charger from Wausau, scored the biggest win of his short racing career with a thrilling come-from-behind victory in the Budweiser Spring Classic 100-lap late model stock car race Sunday afternoon at Wisconsin International Raceway.
With 4,048 watching the action, Herbst had a hood pin break at the start of the race, and he dropped to the rear of the 20-car starting field with a portion of his fiberglass hood flapping in the breeze. A caution on lap 9 allowed Herbst to duck into the pit area where his crew was quick to make repairs.
At that point, Herbst had no idea he would end up in victory lane with his first-ever special event win at the track and take home the $2,000 first-prize.
“The hood pin came out and I couldn’t see,” said an excited Herbst after the race which saw three lead changes in the final five circuits.
Al Laufer took the lead at the start, but he and second-running Dennis Lampman clipped one another coming off the fourth turn sending Laufer into a wild spin, necessitating a yellow flag. Laufer was sent to the rear of the pack for the restart as Lampman inherited the top spot with three-time WIR champion Terry Baldry on his rear bumper.
After another caution lap 16, Baldry raced outside of Lampman on the restart and four-time track champion Scott Hansen powered by Lampman into second position a lap later.
Baldry, Hansen, and J.J. Smith waged a three-way battle for the top spot until lap 46 when Herbst and Rich Somers tangled on the frontstretch, sending Somers whirling in a cloud of smoke.
Smith, the winner of the event last year, dropped out of the race while running in third on lap 70, when his right rear tire began rubbing on the body of his car after an encounter with a slower car.
Hansen, after trying for more than 50 laps, finally slipped around Baldry for the lead on lap 73. Herbst, meanwhile, had worked his way into third place and roared around Baldry for second on lap 89. Baldry, in a truly determined drive, fought back around Herbst for second on lap 93 with Hansen just three-car-lengths ahead.
Looking for his first special event win at the D-shaped Kaukauna oval, Hansen appeared to have things in hand only to have a carburetor cap on his engine loosen up, resulting in a flooded and sputtering motor. Hansen slowed dramatically and dropped down to the lower apron of the track on lap 95 as Baldry and Herbst raced past him.
Baldry had Herbst on his rear bumper until the 97th circuit when he drifted a little high going into the first turn and Herbst immediately jumped at the opportunity, putting the nose of his racer inside of Baldry’s. The two drivers raced side-by-side the final three laps with Herbst winning by less than a car-length.
Steve Holzhausen finished a distant third with Allen Check edging a hard-charging Laufer for fourth and Lampman coming home in sixth.
Hansen led the 53-car late model lineup in qualifying with a 19.713-second clocking.
Results –
1. Doug Herbst, Wausau
2. Terry Baldry, Omro
3. Teve Holzhausen, Bangor
4. Allen Check, Stevens Point
5. Al Laufer, Hartford
6. Dennis Lampman, Racine
7. Tom Reffner, Rudolph
8. Tod Kropf, Watertown
9. Lowell Bennett, Neenah
10.Scott Hansen, Green Bay
11.Kevin Servais, New Franken
12.Rich Somers, Stevens Point
13.J.J. Smith, Appleton
14.Kevin Cywinski, Mosinee
15.Pete Berken, Appleton
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