It was a happy day for Ernie Derr as he blazed to victory at Lakewood
Speedway near Atlanta. – Bill Young Photo
Atlanta, Ga. (October 14, 1962) – An old ghost – and Ernie Derr – returned to haunt Iggy Katona on the 1-mile dirt track at Lakewood Speedway on Sunday.
Derr, the 40-year-old father of six from Keokuk, Iowa, drove the 100 miles in 1 hour, 14 minutes, and 42 seconds to record another Pontiac victory and add to Katona’s misery at Lakewood before an estimated 3,000 spectators.
The 220-pound Katona, the MARC racing champion from Willis, Mich., has never been able to run his usual race over the Atlanta track. First one thing and then another, from bent A-frames to empty gas tanks, have managed to cast a voodoo spell over his attempts for victory here.
This time it was a combination of circumstances.
Derr, winner of 28 features and champion of the International Motor Contest Association, led the first 50 laps of the race. Then he pulled into the pits for a few gallons of fuel, and Katona roared to the front of the field in his sleek 1962 Ford.
Dick Hutcherson of Keokuk, Iowa, another Ford driver, made the race a three-car affair all afternoon. He never had the lead but stayed close the entire distance.
Knowing he needed fuel – MARC allows 15 gallons at the start of the race – Katona postponed his stop until a lap too late in the race. This, it turned out, was a mistake.
Homer Newland of Detroit slammed into the fourth turn wall on the 68th lap and the yellow flag came out for the first and only time.
Since MARC regulations prohibit pit stops on cautions, Katona found Derr uncomfortably close when the cars bunched for the restart. His 36-second lead was no more, and clearly, he was in a dilemma with little likelihood of escape.
Now he could not hope to stop and still maintain his lead. His decision was to pull in the pits on the green flag after the restart. This he did – and, of course, he lost too much time to overtake Derr, who breezed home for his second straight first-place payoff at Lakewood, $750.
Hutcherson would finish second and Katona, later experiencing difficulty due to a broken A-frame, wheeled home in third.
“Those guys really put the pressure on me,” smiled Derr after the race. “And the track was so hard I decided not to hit it flat out early.”
Results –
1. Ernie Derr, Keokuk, Iowa
2. Dick Hutcherson, Keokuk, Iowa
3. Iggy Katona, Willis, Mich.
4. Jack Bowsher, Springfield, Ohio
5. Keith Ploughe, Indianapolis
6. Danny Byrd, Detroit
7. Dick Freeman, Dayton, Ohio
8. Em Ruebush, Dayton, Ohio
9. Jack Shanklin, Indianapolis
10.Tony Lavati, Cleveland, Ohio
11.Charlie Glotzbach, Louisville, Ky.
12.Neil Castles, Charlotte, N.C.
13.Bob Bachelor, Washington
14.Jim Cushman, Detroit
15.Charles Mincey, Atlanta
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