1975 – Woodward, Clark Top Missouri Nationals

Gary Scott won the overall point title during the running of the Missouri Sprint Nationals at the Missouri state Fairgrounds. Presenting the trophy is Jennifer Herman. - Ivan Jackson Photo

 

Sedalia, Mo. (July 12-13, 1975) – Gary Scott of Holts Summit, Mo., was the bride’s maid in both evenings of competition at Sedalia’s Missouri Sprint Nationals but won the overall point title for his consistency.

It was Cliff Woodward of Kearney, Mo., and Larry Clark of Tolleson, Ariz., who each took home the $1,000 first place money after splitting the 20-lap features.

Woodward would out-distance a 26-car field on Saturday night after starting on the outside of the front row on the dry slick flat half-mile dirt oval. Woodward would lead green to checkered with Scott not far behind in second place.

Clark would start on the pole for the Sunday afternoon matinee and like Woodward, lead start to finish with Scott again claiming runner-up honors.

Fifty-eight cars timed in on Saturday night with Bubby Jones of Danville, Ill., setting fast time with a 24.20 second clocking.

Besting a field of 60 cars on Sunday afternoon, Edd French of El Paso, Tex., and Ralph Blackett of Des Moines would share identical times of 24.23 seconds.

Results –

Saturday - 

Fast time – Bubby Jones, Danville, Ill. (24.20)

Heat #1 – Edd French, El Paso, Tex.

Heat #2 – Jan Opperman, Noxon, Mont.

Heat #3 – Rick Ferkel, Tiffin, Ohio

Heat #4 – Cliff Woodward, Kearney, Mo.

Heat #5 – Eddie Leavitt, Kearney, Mo.

Heat #6 – Bob Thoman, Higginsville, Mo.

Consolation – Bubby Jones

Feature –

1.     Cliff Woodward

2.     Gary Scott, Holts Summit, Mo.

3.     Dean Shirley, Middletown, Ill.

4.     Eddie Leavitt

5.     Steve Schultz, Indianapolis, Ind.

6.     Jan Opperman

7.     Bill Utz, Sedalia, Mo.

8.     Jay Woodside, Wichita, Kan.

9.     Tom Corbin, Carrollton, Mo.

10.   Ralph Blackett, Des Moines

Sunday –

Fast Time – Edd French/Ralph Blackett (24.23)

Heat #1 – Rick Ferkel

Heat #2 – Dick Forbrook, Morgan, Minn.

Heat #3 – Gary Johnson, Newton, Iowa

Heat #4 – Sonny Smyser, Glenwood, Mo.

Heat #5 – Larry Clark, Tolleson, Ariz.

Heat #6 – David Dwyer, Columbia, Mo.

Consolation – Ralph Parkinson Sr., Kansas City

Feature –

1.     Larry Clark

2.     Gary Scott

3.     Ralph Blackett

4.     Rick Ferkel

5.     Bill Utz

6.     Jan Opperman

7.     Jay Lyle, Warrensburg, Mo.

8.     Larry Kirkpatrick, Wood River, Ill.

9.     Edd French

10.   Thad Dosher, Topeka, Kan.

Larry Clark won Sunday's feature in the running of the Missouri Sprint Nationals. Jennifer Herman makes the trophy presentation and Jack Guthrie holds the checkers. - Ivan Jackson Photo

1971 – Derr Outlasts Stott to Win Iowa 300

Ernie Derr en route to winning the 1971 Iowa 300.

Des Moines, Iowa (July 11, 1971) – It was billed as a battle between two champions – IMCA champ Ernie Derr and ARCA kingpin Ramo Stott, both of Keokuk, Iowa, and the 15th annual Iowa 300 new model stock car race at the Iowa State Fairgrounds shaped up to that, and much, much more. Derr won the race, his sixth straight, but queer twists of fate kept Stott from victory lane.

Stott and Derr battled for the lead throughout the race, keeping the 10,150 race fans on their feet, with Ramo leading more laps, and stretching out a four-second margin at one point.

On lap 250, Derr attempted to move around Stott on the outside, but lost his 1970 Dodge Charger in the loose dirt, pulling him into the wall. It would be eight laps later before his car was “race-ready”, and it appeared that Derr was content on settling for second place. Ramo had slacked off, looking like a sure winner in the race he had won three times before.

But trouble was lurking for Stott and his 1970 Plymouth. On lap 277, a ball joint on the left front wheel of his Roadrunner snapped, jamming the wheel and blowing a tire.

Ramo Stott's wheel snapped while leading the race.

 

Stott would continue to race, changing the tire three times, and Derr slowly started to narrow the eight-lap deficit. On lap 291, the wheel on Stott’s car came off, prompting the black flag and ending his day.

Ernie and Ramo had enough laps on the rest of the field to give Stott second place, four laps behind Derr. Mike Petrucci of St. Paul, Minn., brought his 1971 Ford Torino home in third place, eight circuits behind. Gary Martin of California, Mo., was fourth, having completed 287 laps and Don Cooper of Sedalia, Mo., rounded out the top five, completing 275 circuits.

The afternoon race, which took Derr 2 hours, 34 minutes and 17 seconds to complete, was worth $1,550 to the winner. The STP corporation added $250 to the winner’s prize $150 to the second-place finisher and $100 to the third-place finisher.

Ramo picked up $1,100 for his efforts, including the $100 he picked up for setting fast time in qualifying.

Ron Hutcherson, also of Keokuk, Iowa, was trailing Derr by only 50 points entering the contest but Hutch and his 1971 Ford Torino were plagued by a variety of problems, forcing him to settle for 14th place.

Hutcherson got off to a bad start in a race he had hoped to win. He blew his oil filter on lap 116 but didn’t re-enter the race until the halfway point. Fifteen laps later, Hutcherson would pull in again with what he thought was a blown radiator but it was only a split hose that caused him to lose water. He went back on the track, only to pit again with overheating issues.

Thirty-three new models started the longest race in the state, with Iowa Governor Robert Ray giving the field the green flag. Less than half the field was still running at the end, with the high temperatures and a bumpy track both taking their toll on man and machine.


Results –


1. Ernie Derr, Keokuk, Iowa
2. Ramo Stott, Keokuk, Iowa
3. Mike Petrucci, St. Paul, Minn.
4. Gary Martin, California, Mo.
5. Don Cooper, Sedalia, Mo.
6. Glenn Arnold, Sweet Springs, Mo.
7. Jerry Covert, Topeka, Kan.
8. Irv Janey, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
9. Butch Hall, Russell, Minn.
10. John Farmer, Sweet Springs, Mo.
11. Dean Roper, Springfield, Mo.
12. Jerre Wichman, Kansas City
13. Gerry Harrison, Topeka, Kan.
14. Ron Hutcherson, Keokuk, Iowa
15. Joe Wallace, Leavenworth, Kan.
16. Mike Derr, Keokuk, Iowa
17. Jim Hager, Liberty, Mo.
18. Thurman Lovejoy, Kansas City
19. Gordon Blankenship, Keokuk, Iowa
20. Verne Covert, Topeka, Kan.
21. Roger Brown, Waverly, Iowa
22. Terry Ryan, Davenport, Iowa
23. Bill Stahl, St. Paul, Minn.
24. Bill Stark, Des Moines

Today in Racing History

 

 

July 8, 1979

 

 

 

 

1959 – Ernie Derr captures IMCA Topeka 200

Ernie Derr

 

Topeka, Kan. (July 7, 1959) – Ernie Derr threaded his way through mishaps and a bulky field on Saturday afternoon to win the 200-lap Independence Day stock car race at the Mid-America Fairgrounds.

Derr, the little veteran from Keokuk, Iowa, took the lead on the 38th lap, lost it momentarily on the 122nd lap when he stopped for gas, then grabbed it right back and held on to it the rest of the way.

Derr drove his 1957 Pontiac to a new 100-lap record while speeding to victory, and just missed the 200-lap mark by just 13 seconds. He was pushed hard the last 100 laps by another Keokuk driver, Dick Hutcherson, who also pilots a 1957 Pontiac.

The crowd of 7,500 witnessed all sorts of action during the IMCA-sanctioned endurance test over the half-mile dirt track. Four cars smacked into fences, and one spectacular skid in front of the stands saw starter Gene Van Winkle barely escape serious injury.

On the 122nd lap, a 1956 Chrysler, driven by Bruce Nystrom of Oshkosh, Wis., broke an axle while bearing down the home stretch and went out of control.

Van Winkle, stationed on the track, leaped toward the infield and was only nicked in the leg by the skidding car. The car then smashed into a light tower and started on fire as Nystrom escaped. The fire was quickly extinguished by the emergency crew.

 

Van Winkle, the veteran starter from Lincoln, Neb., was knocked to the ground in the mishap and came away with slightly torn trousers. He changed clothes, limped back to the track and finished flagging the race.

Results –

1.       Ernie Derr

2.       Dick Hutcherson

3.       Lenny Funk

4.       Ramo Stott

5.       Shorty Ebert

6.       Bill Harrison

7.       Newt Bartholomew

8.       Bob Hardy

9.       Harlan Richardson

10.     Bob Kosiskie

1967 - Richert Wins July 4th Sprint Main

Jerry Richert won the 30-lap IMCA sprint car feature at Hawkeye Downs on July 4th.  

Cedar Rapids, Iowa (July 4, 1967) – Jerry Richert, the three-time International Motor Contest Association sprint car champion from Forest Lake, Minn., led from start to finish in the 30-lap Independence Day Classic before 5,500 race fans at Hawkeye Downs.

It wasn’t all that easy though. Richert, driving the Wagner Chevy, had plenty of pressure from Tom Corbin of Carrollton, Mo., Jay Woodside of Kansas City and Karl Busson of Toledo, Ohio.

Busson latched on to second place early in the race and several times nearly pulled up aside Richert. Towards the end of the feature, Woodside slipped past Busson and nearly got the job done.

But Richert employed his rim-riding tactics to get a hold of the lead and Woodside would settle for runner-up honors. Busson would hold on for third, Corbin was fourth and Buzz Barton of Tampa, Fla., was fifth.

The race was close all the way, and you could have thrown a blanket on the top four places for the entire 30 circuits.

Local favorite Lee Kunzman of Guttenberg, Iowa, dropped out of the feature early when wasn’t handling properly. But he would serve notice early in the program when he ran away from the rest of the field in the first heat and set a new world record in the 10-lap heat.

The other heat win went to Bob Tomlinson of Palo Park, Ill., with Hank Smith of Mt. Ayr copping the 7-lap STP trophy dash and Dale McCarty of Kansas City winning the semi-main.

Cliff Blundy of Galesburg, Ill., the 21-year-old son of sprint car ace Jerry Blundy, suffered possible serious injuries when he lost a wheel at the start of the second heat and went into a violent flip. Blundy flipped over the guard rail on the third turn and reportedly landed upside down outside the racetrack. 

His father Jerry, who set fast time in qualifying at 22.08 seconds, scratched from the feature to be at Cliff’s bedside at the hospital.


Results –


1. Jerry Richert, Forest Lake, Minn.
2. Jay Woodside, Kansas City
3. Karl Busson, Toledo, Ohio
4. Tom Corbin, Carrollton, Mo.
5. Buzz Barton, Tampa, Fla.
6. Jim Moughan, Springfield, Ill.
7. Darl Harrison, Tiffin, Ohio
8. Tom Custer, Rock Island, Ill.
9. Hank Smith, Mt. Ayr
10. Russ Laursen, Cumberland, Wis.

1979 – Knaack brings low-cost racing to Vinton track

Mike Schulte

Vinton, Iowa (July 3, 1979) – Keith Knaack, auto racing promoter, official, driver and publisher, has brought a new type of auto racing to Iowa.

While the crowds aren’t exactly rushing to the Benton County Fairgrounds in Vinton, Iowa, for his Saturday night programs, interest is growing.

Knaack calls his new class of cars “International Motor Contest Association modifieds”. They have full-sized car frames but the bodies are from Pinto, Vega, Gremlin and Monza.

And in the interest of conserving gasoline, Knaack requires all cars competing to use gasohol. He also makes available for the cars methanol alcohol, a non-petroleum based fuel popular with sprint car racers.

He’s converting his modified to burn alcohol at a cost of $125 for a different carburetor.

The engines don’t have to correspond either. In his own car, Knaack has a V-6 Buick engine and plan to change to a Buick V-8.

Long an advocate of inexpensive race cars, he is following the philosophy of Vinton.

“The frames can be bought for $20 at a junk yard,” he noted. “A Monza body costs about $50. They can be race-ready for $500. These modifieds are fast.”

They’re so fast Knaack hopes to challenge and beat a sportsman car on the quarter-mile track at Vinton later the season.

The tread on the modified’s tire can be no wider than 9 inches. “That takes away the exotic cams and powerful engines,” he said. “With such small tires, a lot of power won’t do a person any good. He can’t get it to the ground.”

Knaack said seven modifieds are racing and eight are being built. He hopes to have 12 for Saturday night’s races.

“We’ve had rain or potential rain every night we’ve run,” said Knaack, publisher of Hawkeye Racing News. “That has kept our crowds down. We had about 700 fans last week. We need about 1,000 to be successful.”

Why does he call it International Motor Contests Association modifieds? He is one of three owners of IMCA, which was a noted stock car and sprint car circuit until recent years.

Knaack also has Roadrunner 200 and Roadrunner 400 racing. They are also low-cost race cars and are required to have only roll bars and safety belts. A driver must wear a helmet.

The Roadrunner 200 cars can be claimed by anyone who wants to pay $200 for them. If somebody wants a “200”, the car owner has the option of selling it to the claimant for $200, moving up to the “400” class or not racing it again.

The Roadrunner 400 can be claimed for $400. If the owner won’t sell, he also must retire it.

Knaack’s racing program also consists of spectator one-on-one racing and Hare ‘n Hound, a demolition-like race.

“We want to have fun here,” he said, “And we’ve gotten rid of a lot of junk cars around town.”

1981 - Record 7,814 See Ziegler End Sauter WIR Streak

John Ziegler stopped Jim Sauter's feature winning streak at seven at Wisconsin International Raceway. Starter Dick Witt joins the winner in victory lane. - Jim Vercauteren Photo

Kaukauna, Wis. (July 2, 1981) – Jim Sauter’s seven-week winning streak was snapped by John Ziegler Thursday night at Wisconsin International Raceway before a record crowd of 7,814 wildly cheering fans.

Ziegler won the 20-lap late model event by six inches at the finish as he and Sauter came down the front stretch of the half-mile paved oval door-to-door with Ziegler on the inside and Sauter on the outside.

The huge crowd established a modern-day record for Wisconsin weekly auto races, Fox River Racing Club officials noted that nearly 1,000 rain checks from the previous week had not been used, upping the paid attendance for the event to 8,797.

Earlier in the evening, Sauter’s car was damaged by another driver who was irate after an accident in the fifth heat. Sauter and Wayne Roffers were battling for second position when on the final lap, the two collided, sending Roffer’s car into the front stretch wall at full speed.

Afterwards, Roffers took a hammer to Sauter’s parked car and smashed the windshield and then proceeded to hammer away at the hood of the car. Roffers was immediately barred from racing for two weeks by racing club officials. Sauter’s crew was able to make the necessary repairs to get it into the feature race.

Jim Vandenberg came off the front row to pace the feature field for the first five laps. Ted Musgrave slipped around Vandenberg and pulled to a 10-car length lead as Alan Kulwicki moved into second position followed by Sauter and Ziegler.

Ziegler got under Sauter for third place on lap 13 and he and Kulwicki came together in the first turn on lap 15, sending Kulwicki’s car into a spin.

The race was restarted with Ziegler and Sauter glued to Musgrave’s bumper. Ziegler motored to the inside of Musgrave entering turn one on the 17th round and Sauter followed him through the hole and chased him right down to the checkered flag.
Musgrave finished third, not far off the pace, followed by Rich Somers, Cliff Ebben and Terry Baldry.


Results –


Heat #1 – Jim Weber, Roseville, Minn.
Heat #2 – Bob Loch, Greenfield
Heat #3 – Gordie Sannes, De Pere
Heat #4 – Ted Musgrave, Grand Marsh
Heat #5 – Alan Kulwicki, Milwaukee
Semi-feature – Dave Valentyne, Kimberly
“B” Semi-feature – Jim Weber
Feature –
1. John Ziegler, Madison
2. Jim Sauter, Necedah
3. Ted Musgrave
4. Rich Somers, Minocqua
5. Cliff Ebben, Appleton
6. Terry Baldry, Omro
7. Willie Goeden, Kewaskum
8. Jerry Wood, Cottage Grove
9. Terry Anvelink, Naverino
10. John Geske, Appleton