Roger Dolan
By Jeanne Niner
Eldon, Iowa (July 22, 1978) – Roger Dolan of Lisbon decided to change the scenery Saturday night, from racing at West Liberty to competing at Eldon.
A former track champion at the Wapello County Fairgrounds, Dolan proved he hadn’t lost his touch on the big half-mile, winning the late model feature.
Until this season, Dolan had been a regular at the Eldon track, but his car owner complained of the 12-place inverted start being too rough on the machinery and tearing up equipment coming through heavy traffic, and so they decided to race weekly at the West Liberty half-mile instead.
With West Liberty rained out, Dolan and crew came back to his old stomping grounds, and once again, had to work his way through the talented field to score the victory.
There were four leaders prior to Dolan taking over on lap 19. Bill Earley of Edina, Mo., led the longest but he would eventually finish fourth. Bill Rice of Des Moines would finish second with Lem Blankenship of Keokuk taking third.
Steve Fraise of Montrose, Dolan, and Pokey West of West Chester were heat winners and Jim Swank of Hamilton, Ill., won the consolation.
Tony Stewart of Washington won his second sportsman feature of the season, holding off current point leader Mike Benjamin of Keokuk. Benjamin came on strong in the second half of the race and on a couple of occasions, the two were side-by-side but the rear end of Benjamin’s car had been slightly damaged in his heat race and wasn’t handling well. Ed Pilcher of Bloomfield, who won the third heat, finished third in the feature.
Results –
Late Model –
1. Roger Dolan, Lisbon
2. Bill Rice, Des Moines
3. Lem Blankenship, Keokuk
4. Bill Earley, Edina, Mo.
5. Bill Zwanziger, Waterloo
6. Jerry Pilcher, Ottumwa
Sportsman –
1. Tony Stewart, Washington
2. Mike Benjamin, Keokuk
3. Ed Pilcher, Bloomfield
4. John Miller, Keokuk
5. Jim Dorothy, Keosauqua
6. Dave Marks, Ottumwa
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