1980 - Two Triumphs for Sanger in East Moline Twin 50s

 

Ed Sanger

East Moline, Ill. (August 7, 1980) – Ed Sanger of Waterloo, Iowa, drove his Camaro to two feature wins and a $1,200 first place prize Sunday night in East Moline Speedway’s Twin 50s.

Sanger’s 469-cubic0inch powered Camaro left both 20-car fields behind as he grabbed the checkered flags at the popular high-banked quarter mile.

The first 50-lap feature went 19 laps without interruption before Jerry Wolland hit the wall on the grandstand straightaway.

Once restarted, the race continued accident-free and by lap 26, Steve Fraise of Montrose, Iowa, had snuck by Sanger to grab the lead.

Sanger came on strong a lap later to work his way back to the head of the pack and never relinquished it thereafter.

Fraise settled for second while Tom Hearst of Wilton, Iowa, was third, Tom Bartholomew of Waterloo, Iowa, was fourth and Herb Shannon of Hanna City rounded out the top five finishers.

The first race’s order of finish was inverted to determine starting positions for the second 50-lapper and Sanger found himself starting in the 19th position.

Keith Remley of Blue Grass, Iowa, had the pole but it was Denny Miller of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, grabbing the lead at the wave of the green flag. He would lead until lap 9 when Pete Parker of Kaukauna, Wis., took over.

The red flag stopped the race on lap 16, and again on lap 17 when a massive pile-up occurred in the fourth turn.

Three laps later, Ron Weedon of Pleasant Valley, Iowa, tagged the wall in the fourth turn.

Parker’s Camaro maintained a healthy lead throughout the mishaps until lap 29 when Sanger, who had made his way steadily through the field, crept up on Parker and started challenging on the inside grooves of the corners.

Sanger lost little ground on the straights and once switched to an outside groove attack before finally pulling ahead of Parker on lap 39 with a move to the inside of the second turn.

From there, Sanger distanced himself and won handily over Steve Fraise, who had passed Parker on the white flag lap. Parker settled for third, Bartholomew was fourth and Johnny Johnson of Morning Sun, Iowa, was fifth.

Results –


Feature #1 –

1. Ed Sanger, Waterloo, Iowa
2. Steve Fraise, Montrose, Iowa
3. Tom Hearst, Wilton, Iowa
4. Tom Bartholomew, Waterloo, Iowa
5. Herb Shannon, Hanna City

Feature #2 –

1. Ed Sanger
2. Steve Fraise
3. Pete Parker, Kaukauna, Wis.
4. Tom Bartholomew
5. Johnny Johnson, Morning Sun, Iowa