Oelwein’s
Chub Liebe and Harlan’s Johnny Beauchamp
Des Moines, Iowa (September 2, 1956) – Johnny Beauchamp, the stock car front-runner from Harlan shattered a world record before 22,000 spectators at the Iowa State Fair’s racing windup on Sunday night.
Beauchamp, behind the wheel of a 1956 Chevrolet with a Corvette engine, covered the 100 miles in 1 hour, 41 minutes, and 35.02 seconds to better Don White’s mark of 1 hour, 45 minutes, and 13.47 seconds he set at the Minnesota State Fair in 1953.
White’s Iowa State Fairgrounds’ mark of 1 hour, 48 minutes, and 5.15 seconds fell also.
On three different laps, en route to the world record, Beauchamp was clocked under 30 seconds. On of them was on the 190th lap, when the “Flying Frenchman” was engaged in a torrid duel with Chub Liebe of Oelwein.
Liebe had been attempting to get by Beauchamp for nearly 10 laps and was infuriated by Beauchamp’s blocking tactics. On several turns, Liebe rammed Beauchamp’s rear bumper in frustration.
Then, on the straightaway coming into the 190th go-round, Liebe almost lost control of his car after bumping Beauchamp again. Thereafter, Beauchamp punched the accelerator and lost Liebe in traffic.
Liebe, who ran in second place for most of the race, ran out gas on lap 195 and as a result, settled for third place behind Ernie Derr of Fort Madison, who was recently reinstated by the International Motor Contest Association after being suspended.
White wound up fourth after the judges worked overtime to straighten out the finish.
Seventeen cars finished the grind, which sent several prominent contenders to the sidelines.
Among them were Sonny Morgan of Beaumont, Tex., who was currently second in the IMCA point standings. Morgan broke a gas line on lap 158. Morgan had been running in third place from the 20th to the 90th lap, then stopped briefly to check on his overheating motor, got back into the race in seventh place, and was gaining on the lead pack when he retired for good.
Derr, meanwhile, ran behind Liebe all the way after his brother-in-law, White, had to leave his second spot to come in because of a low front tire on lap 95.
The bumping incidents were brushed aside by Beauchamp who declared, “We frequently hit each other on the curves when the track becomes slick.”
However, the Harlan driver, passed once by Liebe, never let his Oelwein rival get a clear path after Beauchamp passed him in traffic at the halfway point.
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