1975 - Kosiski (Who Else?) Gets Annual State Fair Stock Win

Bob Kosiski

 

 

Lincoln, Neb. (September 6, 1975) - They’re thinking of renaming the Nebraska modified stock-car championships at the state fair, the Bob Kosiski auto racing exhibition.

For the fifth straight year the Omaha driver captured the 25-lap main event after taking the lead on the 19th lap and holding off a serious challenge from Grand Island’s Clayton Petersen Jr., Saturday afternoon at the Fairgrounds.

“Every year it gets tougher,” said Kosiski, “and this year was the toughest race yet.”

Larry Stromer took the lead from the start and held it through eight restarts in 19 laps before dropping from the race with an overheated engine a conceding the lead to Kosiski, vivid running a close second.

The Omahan took the lead briefly on the 18th lap when he dropped to the inside of the main straightaway passing Stromer. But going into the first turn on the half-mile dirt oval Kosiski became trapped in traffic and Stromer regained command.

On the following lap Lincolnite Jay Sterns spun trying to pull into the infield bringing up caution flag for the ninth time in the race.

The swelling caused the overheating in Stromer's car and forced him to drop from the race giving Kosiski the lead.

Petersen, who started on the inside seventh row of the 24 car field, and work his way up to second place by this time, then glued his car to Kosiski’s bumper providing a wild for lap dash to the finish.

On the 23rd lap Petersen roared past Kosiski on the backstretch, but a spin out at the same time on another part of the track brought up the yellow flag rescinding the change of the leaders.

Petersen trailed closely on the restart and got to the inside on the first turn of the final lap but the Omaha driver held off the challenge and finished just a few feet ahead at the finish line.

Lincolnite Don Droud, who won his heat leading from the start, past Joe Wade on the second to last lap to finish third in Omahan Jerry Wancewicz placed fifth.

Spin outs sent local favorites Dick Jensen, Ardean Buller, Al Humphrey and Jerry Reeder to the pits early in the race.

“I didn't realize that Petersen was that close to me until we got into traffic,” said Kosiski. “He was really coming on strong and I don't know if I could have got him if he had taken the lead.”

His face covered with dust from the track Kosiski smiled and added, “I guess they're leaving this state fair race for me. Stromer dropped out and Petersen had to go back on the yellow flag which gave me the lead. And on this slick track with only one groove to drive in, it's the only way you can win.”

Petersen said he felt that with the break on the yellow flag all he could do was wait for Kosiski to make a mistake.

“You really can't pass on the outside of this track because it's slow slick, so all I could do was wait for him (Kosiski) to bobble and slip a little high on the track,” said Petersen. “But he's such a good driver and had the luck this time. Maybe next time either breaks going for me.”

Mike Dizona won the B feature after taking the lead on the eighth lap of the 10 lap race when leader Larry Jiskra, dropping the race with mechanical troubles.

Heat winners included Don Styskal, Stromer, Droud and Chuck Kidwell. Styskal placed sixth in the main event after running in the top three for the first 10 laps.

Midwest Speedway point champion Kent Tucker didn't compete in a feature races when a radiator hose snapped during a collision in his heat race.

 

Results -

First Heat: Don Styskal, David City, Neb.

Second Heat: Larry Stromer, Grand Island, Neb.

Third Heat: Don Droud, Lincoln, Neb.

Fourth Heat: Chuck Kidwell, Hastings, Neb.

B-Feature: Mike Dizona, Omaha, Neb.

Feature:

1. Bob Kosiski, Omaha, Neb.
2. Clayton Petersen Jr., Grand Island
3. Don Droud
4. Joe Wade, Lincoln
5. Jerry Wancewicz, Omaha
6. Don Styskal
7. Gene Hromas, Ulysses, Neb.
8. Stu Vavra, Milligan, Neb.
9. Rex Nun, Lincoln
10. Gates Kess, Grand Island

1971 – Verlin Eaker takes Du Quoin Stock Car honors

Verlin Eaker

 

 

Du Quoin, Ill. (September 5, 1971) - A near capacity crowd of 17,500 stock car race fans sat quietly through almost 90 laps Sunday, then rose to its feet for a roaring finish in which nobody knew who the winner was.

“Won won?” asked reporters who had charted the leader for each of the laps in the 100-mile race.
Verlin Eaker of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, driving a 1971 Plymouth, was announced as the winner even though he finished third behind Don White of Keokuk, Iowa, and Lem Blankenship, also of Keokuk.

Confusion at the finish had been caused by three caution slowdowns of about five laps each on the 25th, 71st and 82nd laps.

Jack Bowsher of Springfield, Ohio, driving a 1971 Ford, had led throughout the race and had pulled away more than half a lap in front.

After the third caution period, both White and Blankenship again were running almost on Bowsher's tailpipe.

On the 90th lap, White passed Bowsher to take the lead. Two laps later White went wide in the north turn and Bowsher and Blankenship both passed him.

Hitting the north turn on the next lap, leader Bowsher blew his right rear tire and had to go to the pits. White led until Blankenship passed him on the 98th lap only to have White pass Blankenship on the north turn of the last lap.

The pair streaked past the finish line but the excitement had not ended. Rich Oertel of Palatine, Ill., spun going into the south turn and Norm Nelson bumped into him for the only near-accident of the race. Neither car turned over and nobody was injured.

Race winner Eaker had claimed the pole position with the best qualifying time of 39.24 seconds for a speed of 91.743 mph.

Les Snow of Bloomington, driving the Dodge of 1970 vintage, led for the first lap before Eaker regained the lead through laps two to seven.

Bowsher, only the seventh fastest qualifier, was charging through the field and took the lead on the eighth lap. He was still on top until he made his mandatory one pit stop during the first caution period and dropped back to fourth place behind Blankenship, Butch Hartman of Zanesville, Ohio and White.

Bowsher passed Hartman on the 38th lap, took White on the 39th and swept past Blankenship on the 42nd to reclaim the lead.

The first caution period on the 25th lap had come after Sal Tovella and Dave Whitcombe had spun together on the east straightaway.

The caution at the 72nd lap was confusing because no car was stalled on the track. Oertel had hit the rail on the inside north turn but was able to continue into the pits. Parts of his car had been jarred loose on the track, however, and the yellow caution flag was hoisted to allow workers to clear the track.

The third caution on the 82nd lap came after Oertel spun and stalled on the east straightaway. That allowed the cars to bunch again for the climactic finish.

Eaker was the first driver making his mandatory pit stop during the first caution period. He apparently had gained a lap on the whole field in subsequent pit stops by other drivers. Thus was the first to complete 100 miles even though he was running third at the time.

Bowsher was originally placed seventh but long after the crowd had filed out, he was dropped to 30th and last position. His crew had made an illegal tire change after the time trial.

Eaker's winning time of one hour, 10 minutes and 56 seconds at a speed of 84.586 miles per hour earned him $5,821 out of the total purse of $30,642. White got $3,983 for second, Blankenship $2,757 for third. The next finishers in order were Bay Darnell, Norm Nelson, Butch Hartman, Paul Feldner, Ted Dolan, Harold Fair and Leonard Blanchard.

Results -


1. Verlin Eaker
2. Don White
3. Lem Blankenship
4. Bay Darnell
5. Norm Nelson
6. Butch Hartman
7. Paul Feldner
8. Ted Dolhun
9. Harold Fair
10. Len Blanchard
11. Joe Booher
12. George Giesen
13. Rich Oertel
14. Lefty Robinson
15. Tom Klippel
16. Bobby Wawak
17. Larry Berwanger
18. Bill Moyer
19. Dick Trickle
20. Mark Dinsmore
21. Bruce Jacobi
22. Les Snow
23. Sal Tovella
24 Dave Whitcomb
25. Roland Van Arsdale
26. Paul Sizemore
27. Larry Cannon
28. Al Bunkofske
29. Bill Puterbaugh
30. Jack Bowsher

1967 – Woolley finds His Groove at Fairground Races

Jerry Blundy receives trophy and congratulations from Nebraska State Fair's Henry Brandt. NSI official Woody Brinkman presents the checkers. 

Lincoln, Neb. (September 4, 1967) – Jerry Blundy set the record but Gordon Woolley was the one who found the groove as sprint car racing came to a close Monday at the fairgrounds track.

Blundy, the cagey veteran from Galesburg, Ill., held the lead all 30 laps in cutting almost three minutes off the track record while winning and Nebraska Sweepstakes feature.

Blundy’s victory was so convincing that fans might have been lulled to sleep if it wasn't for Woolley.

The wily Waco, Tex., speedster exploded from 14th place at the start of the race to finish in fourth place just ahead of Lincolnite Joe Saldana.

“I was riding along not doing much,” said Woolley, “when I found myself in this groove on the track. I just stayed in and kept moving. I felt like I was passing everybody.”

The balding veteran couldn't catch up to Blundy, however.

“I really didn't think I could overtake the leaders,” he explained, “but I was passing so many cars I really didn't know where I stood.”

Woolley’s dash was accomplished in a car here been driving for only three weeks – the Charlie Goodrich special.

Track records were fair game on Monday with the Fairgrounds half-mile oval blazing fast. The rain that washed out Sunday schedule races soaked the track just about perfectly.

“Most of our track records are set just after a good rain,” noted race promoter Al Sweeney. “And this track today was as fast as I've ever seen it.”

The 8-lap record was snapped in the first heat race by Jerry Richert but Norm Fall of Auburn, Calif., cracked it again moments later in the second heat.

The expected duel between Richert and current IMCA point leader Karl Busson failed to develop – and a lack of time in the sack probably had a lot to do with it.

Richert, whose motor conked out after 21 laps in the feature, probably was lucky he didn't conk out himself. The Forest Lake, Minn., driver raced Friday and St. Paul came to Lincoln for Saturday's race, returned to St. Paul for a 200 lapper on Sunday and return to Lincoln again for Monday's race.

“I haven't slept in a bed since Thursday night,” Richert said. “And I have to be at work at quarter to seven on Tuesday morning.”

Busson who finished eighth in the feature was in the same boat as Richert. The two rode together during this weekend’s grueling shuttle between Lincoln and St. Paul.


Results -

First Heat: Jerry Richert, Forest Lake, Minn.
Second Heat: Norm Fall, Auburn Calif.
Third Heat: Bob Tomlinson, Palos Park, Ill.
STP Handicap: Jerry Blundy
Nebraska Sweepstakes:
1. Jerry Blundy
2. Don Mack, Grand Forks, N.D.
3. Chuck Lynch, Springfield, Ill.
4. Gordon Woolley, Waco, Tex.
5. Joe Saldana, Lincoln, Neb.
6. Jim Moughan, Springfield, Ill.
7. Roger Lane, Blue Springs, Mo.
8. Karl Busson, Toledo, Ohio

1967 - Norm Nelson wins Du Quoin 100-mile stock car race

Norm Nelson signs autographs for some young fans after winning the 100-mile USAC stock car race at Du Quoin. - Doug Schellinger Collection

 

Du Quoin, Ill. (September 3, 1967) - Don White was crowned as the 1967 United States Auto Club stock car driving champion at Du Quoin Sunday even though last year's champion, Norm Nelson, won the race in a 1967 Plymouth.

White was the fastest qualifier at 39.54 seconds in his 1967 Dodge Charger but after leading for a dozen laps, he smashed into the north fence and his car was disabled.

“You take the money and I'll take the points,” White told Al Unser in the pits a few minutes later. So White took Unser's 1967 Dodge Charger and finished sixth.

The 80 points he gained gave him a total of 2,698 for the season and put him out of reach of second place Jack Bowsher, who has 2,064 points with only one more big race left this season.

So that means next year White will drive car #1 all season and also collect the considerable amount of dollars the accessory people pay the top driver in any classification.

Although the standing-room only crowd of 23,400 fans saw no major racing mishaps Sunday, there were enough spills to cause the race to be run under the caution flag no less than six times.

The delays pushed the race time to a slow one hour, 14, minutes and 11.34 seconds at an average speed of 80.875 miles per hour. This compares with the 1:09:50.42 track record White set last year in a 1966 Dodge.

Nelson never appeared on his way to victory until the last few minutes of the race when leader Parnelli Jones, driving a 1967 Ford, and A. J. Foyt, another Ford man, hit the pits on the 92nd and 96th laps with right rear flat tires.

Nelson made his mandatory one pit stop early in the race and was running well behind the leaders until they also took advantage of caution periods for pit stops. Nelson led from lap 42 to 58 until Jones passed him to take the lead.

At 75 laps Butch Hartman of South Zanesville, Ohio, slipped his 1965 Dodge past both Nelson and Foyt and five laps later Foyt also passed Nelson. Hartman later bumped into the north fence and spun completely around in the south turn to lose his position.


Results -


1. Norm Nelson, Racine, Wis.
2. Butch Hartman, South Zanesville, Ohio
3. A.J Foyt, Houston, Tex.
4. Whitey Gerken, Melrose Park, Ill.
5. Parnelli Jones, Torrance, Calif.
6. Don White, Keokuk, Iowa
7. Jack Bowsher, Springfield, Ohio
8. Bay Darnell, Deerfield, Ill.
9. Gene Marmor, Chicago
10. Paul Feldner, Colgate, Wis.

Today in Racing History

 

 

September 2, 1990

 

 

 

1963 – Horstmeyer breaks record in Minnesota State Fair win

Bill Horstmeyer

 

 

 

St. Paul, Minn. (August 31, 1963) – Bill Horstmeyer, a 32-year-old electrician from Stoughton, Wis., won the 25-lap IMCA championship speedway race at the Minnesota State Fair before 21,083 fans.

Riding the high rim, Hortsmeyer cracked the track record of 10 minutes and 23 seconds established by Leroy Neumayer on August 31, 1960.

Hortsmeyer grabbed the lead almost from the opening green flag and roared around the dirt oval. Spinouts on the first turn by Buzz Barton and on the second turn by Red Amick slowed the drivers for four laps, but when the green flag went back up, Horstmeyer poured on the gas, eventually lapping most of the field.

A broken connecting rod during the first turn of the first lap scratched Jerry Daniels. Prior to Saturday’s misfortune, Daniels had won six straight events, including three features. But he bowed out after seven circuits when his engine blew and he was unable to get a chance at a fourth straight feature victory.

With Daniels out of the picture, Forest Lake’s Jerry Richert was able to capture his fifth Minnesota State Championship, the $200 first prize money and the Governor’s Cup, which was presented by Minnesota governor Karl Rolvaag.

Results –

1.   Bill Horstmeyer

2.   Dean Mast

3.   Harold Leep

4.   Jerry Richert

5.   Carl Williams

6.   Sonny Helms

7.   Bill Burdick

8.   Calvin Gilstrap

9.   Dale Reed

10.Buzz Barton

1974 - Haugan captures State Fair 50

Huron, S.D. (August 30, 1974) - After some hearty handshakes from his pit crew and a kiss from his girl, Mike Haugan of Sioux Falls received the silver cup and a bottle of champagne from the South Dakota Motorsports Association for his victory in the State Fair 50 here Friday night at the South Dakota State Fair.

The 22-year-old Sioux Falls ace, who qualified 15th in the time trials, took over the lead with only seven laps to go in the 50-lap feature race and no one could come near him after that as he headed his #4 Plymouth to the checkered flag.

For Haugan, it was his second big victory of the year at the Huron oval as he also claimed the Challenge Cup III race. “I was lucky,” he said after he popped the cork to the bottle of champagne and passed it among his jubilant crew members. “It was a tough race and seemed like anybody could win,” he added.

But, it was Haugan who collected the $500 first place prize money and for everybody else, it was not their race.

Joining Haugan in the group of winners was Chet Danburg of Miller, who topped the 50-car field in the lime trials, turning a 28.82 second lap. Watertown's Roger Swenson, who won the State Fair 50 one year ago, was the winner in the Race of Champions while Gary Nagel of Gettysburg topped the semi-main event.

Swenson appeared to be headed for his second State Fair 50 victory as he gained the lead on the third lap and was the leader until the 39th lap. A broken axle forced him to cut his torrid pace as he finished the face for fifth place prize money. Miller's Bob Tong would inherit the top spot, but five laps later Haugan had worked himself into the lead.

Don Pruess of Pierre joined Haugan in being the only two cars in the 23-car starting field to complete all 50 laps. Pruess finished in second place and was followed by Gary Sieber of Columbia, Roger Saathoff of Estelline and Swenson.

Rounding out the top-10 finishers were Leland Cain of Miller followed by Ray Hunsley of Pierre, Jim Zimmerman of. Slayton, Minn., Carroll Priebe of Pukwaria and Tong.

The race of champions, the first ever handpicked field of the fastest cars in the state, turned into an instant success as 15 of the area’s finest displayed quite a show; with only two laps to go, Swenson passed Pruess and Aberdeen's Ron Droog around the outside to gain the lead and the win.

Pruess finished in the runner-up spot in the 15-lap race with third going to Saathoff and fourth to Lynn Arment of Aberdeen. Chet Danburg was fifth.

Only 10 of the starting 32 cars in the semi-main event were able to finish the grueling affair with Nagel pulling out the win. He took the lead with five laps to go and was followed across the finish line by Steve Oanburg of Miller, Don Wagner of Miller, Ronnie Muth of Huron and Erv Beckman of Chamberlain.

Only two drivers were able to break the 28-second barrier in the time trials with Chet Danburg earning a 28.82 mark and Arment very close behind with a 28.83. Nine cars finished in the 29-second bracket.