August 8, 1960

 

 

 

 

The Bobby Ball Memorial

Bobby Ball

By Kyle Ealy

Phoenix, Ariz. – The Bobby Ball Memorial was a tribute to a young driver who had a promising racing career snuffed out at the age of 25.

Bobby Ball started his racing career in roadsters, competing in the Arizona Roadster Association. The skinny 6-foot-1 inch, 140-pound driver won so much and so often, promoters begged him to back down.

He switched from roadsters to midgets, which in 1949 and 1950, was sweeping the nation. Once again, success came naturally, with Ball winning the Arizona State Midget Association championship in 1949 and ’50.

In 1950 he got his first opportunity to get behind the wheel of an American Auto Association (AAA) championship car. Competing in the 100-miler at the Arizona State Fairgrounds, Ball won the pole and led the race until a crankshaft sent him to the sidelines.

That performance got Ball to Indianapolis in 1951. Driving the Blakely Oil Special, he barely qualified for the 33-car field, but made the most of it, charging from his 29th starting position to finish fifth. Great things were predicted for this young driver.

His run on the 1952 championship trail continued to fulfill his potential. He scored a victory at San Jose and had seven more top-five finishes.

The 1953 season was full of expectations but on January 4, at a midget race in Los Angeles, Ball was involved in a multi-car crash. He would survive but suffer massive head injuries. He fought off death for more than a year but finally succumbed on February 27, 1954.

In October of 1954, it was decided that the traditional 100-miler held every November at the Arizona State Fairgrounds’ one-mile dirt oval would be aptly named The Bobby Ball Memorial.

To give a little background on the race itself, the event started on November 11, 1948. Under the sanctioning rules of the American Auto Association (AAA), Rex Mays would win the inaugural event.

Jimmie Davies would take the second annual event on November 12, 1950, while Johnnie Parsons would follow with two wins in two years, November 4, 1951 and November 11, 1952. Tony Bettenhausen would win the fifth annual event on November 11, 1953.

The Bobby Ball Memorial would get the green flag on November 7, 1954 but wave the checkered flag on November 8.

The race would be halted at lap 28 to water the track and then suspended after 35 laps because of excessive dust. Gordon Betz, a AAA supervisor for the western zone, decided the dust was a danger to drivers and decided to put a halt to the race. At the time, Jimmy Bryan, the hometown favorite and defending national AAA champion, had a quarter of a lap lead on Sam Hanks, the 1953 AAA national champion.

On Monday afternoon, the green flag waved again but it was Manuel Ayulo of Burbank, Calif., jumping ahead of Bryan and taking the lead. Ayulo would continue to lead with Bryan in tow until lap 89 when Bryan powered past Ayulo and led the final 11 miles to score the victory.

Bryan’s win paid $2,500 but more important to Bryan was winning the race named after his good friend Bobby Ball. He won the race in 1 hour and 6 minutes.

Ayulo settled for second place while Bob Sweikert of Hayward, Calif., who led the first 3 laps of the race, finished third. Andy Linden of Los Angeles grabbed fourth and Sam Hanks took fifth.

Jimmy Bryan accepts his trophy after winning the 1955 tragedy-marred Bobby Ball Memorial.

Tragedy would come to the second annual Bobby Ball Memorial on November 6, 1955. Jack McGrath of Los Angeles, a 35-year-old driver who held track records at Indianapolis, was killed when his car when into a spectacular flip on the 86th lap of the 100-mile race.

McGrath was running third when his car struck a heavy shoulder in the turn and sprang into the air. Witnesses said his front axle folded. Sadly, the accident happened only 14 laps away from the end of his dirt track career. Before the race McGrath had stated that the Bobby Ball Memorial was his last race and he was entering private business in 1956.

The race stopped, after 97 miles and four cautions was won by Jimmy Bryan, the defending champion, in 1 hour and 9 minutes. Bryan collected $3,100 of the $12,100 purse.

Johnny Thomson of Springfield, Mass., took runner-up honors, George Amick of Los Angeles was third, Andy Linden, now of Indianapolis, fourth and Pat O’Conner of North Vernon, Ind., finished fifth.

The other news of the day was the American Auto Association’s decision to end its 46-year run of championship racing. The AAA stated that there was too much emphasis on speed, power, and driver endurance and those objectives were not in line with AAA’s safety program.

1956 Bobby Ball Memorial program

Now under United States Auto Club sanctioning, George Amick would stop Jimmy Bryan’s domination of the Bobby Ball Memorial when he scored the win on November 12, 1956. Amick, driving Lindsey Hopkins’ Offenhauser, started on the pole and led all 100 miles.

Bryan started ninth in the 18-car field and gradually worked his way into contention behind Amick but ran out of steam at the end and settled for second. Jimmy Reece of Oklahoma City was third, Andy Linden finished fourth and Johnny Tolan of Norwalk, Calif., rounded out the top five.

Finishing second in the Bobby Ball Memorial not only didn’t sit well with Jimmy Bryan but his hometown fan either. So, both Bryan and his followers walked out of the Arizona State Fairgrounds happy on November 11, 1957, after Bryan won a hard-fought victory on the one-mile dirt oval.

Jimmy Bryan and Pat O'Conner in victory lane after the 1957 Bobby Ball Memorial. O'Conner said afterwards,"I could hear that sonofabitch coming and I decided that if he wants to win that bad, he can have it." - Ron Rose Collection

Johnny Boyd of Fresno, Calif., would lead the first 55 laps from his outside front row starting position. Pat O’Conner would slip by Boyd on the next lap and lead defending race winner George Amick and Bryan. Bryan would break a three-way scuffle and take the over the lead on lap 70.

Bryan would continue to lead with O’Conner right on his bumper every lap. It was a tight duel the rest of the way, one the two-time national champion almost lost.

Bryan, attempting to lap Jim Rathmann of Miami, Fla., on lap 98, was forced wide and crashed through several posts, tearing out sections of railing in the process. O’Conner sped by Bryan and took the lead, but Bryan managed to recoup, and with chunks of fence spewing from his racer, chased O’Conner down, pass him on the white flag lap, and win by a car length at the wire.

Bryan’s winning time was 1 hour, and 9 minutes and he collected $3,183 for his efforts. With the victory, Bryan earned his third national championship, his second under the USAC banner. Pat O’Conner would settle for second with Boyd in third. Art Bisch of Phoenix finished fourth and Johnny Tolan took fifth.

1958 Bobby Ball winner Jud Larson (left) congratulates newly-crowned USAC national champion Tony Bettenhausen.

Tony Bettenhausen and Johnny Thomson were racing for a national championship and Jud Larson was just racing to win. Larson would do just that, winning the 100-mile Bobby Ball Memorial on November 11, 1958. Bettenhausen would finish five seconds behind Larson and clinch his second national championship (1951 – AAA, 1958 – USAC).

A crowd of more than 8,000 were greeted with intermittent showers in the morning which delayed time trials but by race time the event was run in near-perfect weather.

Larson grabbed the lead on the first lap, but first place was juggled back and forth between Larson and Bettenhausen until the Tampa, Fla., hard charger tucked it away for good on lap 31.

But Larson had to hustle to keep ahead of Bettenhausen and Thomson, a 150-pound lightweight from Boyertown, Penn. Thomson started 10th in the field of 18 but was in the lead pack by lap 10. On lap 80, Thomson passed Bettenhausen for second place, and trio battle lap after lap for the lead, often crossing the start/finish line in a dead heat.

On lap 87, engine trouble knocked Thomson out of contention and Larson started opening a wider margin over Bettenhausen and was never in trouble the rest of the way. The victory earned the crew-cut blonde $3,730 of a $12,090 purse.

Larson also broke George Amick’s two-year old race record of 1 hour and 5.20 minutes with a new time of 1 hour and 4.41 minutes.

Bettenhausen’s second-place showing gave him the USAC national title, the first driver ever to win a title without winning a race.

Eddie Sachs of Center Valley, Penn., squeezed his way up from his 13th starting spot to finish third, A.J. Foyt of Houston, Tex., driving Jimmy Bryan’s old car, took fourth and Rodger Ward of Los Angeles was in fifth.

 

1959 Bobby Ball Memorial Program

Tony Bettenhausen would charge from the outside of fourth row to win his second Phoenix 100-miler on October 18, 1959. The victory in 1 hour and 49 minutes was worth $2,250 to the two-time national champion.

Bettenhausen appeared in the top-five after only six circuits ad moved up to fourth by lap 10 when polesitter Lloyd Ruby of Houston, Tex., lost control, tagged the guardrail and flipped four times. Ruby was unhurt, but his car was destroyed.

Bettenhausen would pass Rodger Ward on the lap 15 restart and settle in behind race leader Len Sutton of Portland, Ore., and Don Branson of Champaign, Ill. On lap 43, Sutton was forced to leave with ignition problems, giving Branson the top spot.

Bettenhausen would trail Branson for three laps before pulling past him for the lead. From there, it was all Bettenhausen behind the wheel of the Lindsey Hopkins Special. Branson would keep the pressure on Bettenhausen but by the time the lead duo caught up with the tail-end of the field, Bettenhausen extended his margin. At one time, Bettenhausen would have an 18-second lead and at the finish, he was ahead by more than six seconds.

A.J. Foyt, wheeling the Dean Van Lines Special, moved into fifth when Sutton dropped out, worked his way to the front and finished second. Rodger Ward was third followed by Gene Force of New Madison, Ohio, and Branson.

In the winner’s circle, Bettenhausen spent several minutes washing the dust from his throat and cleaning up before accepting kisses from his wife. “More water,” were his first words, but, he was soon talking freely. “After I got in front, I didn't have much trouble, although I did wear out a tire and have to slow down towards the end,” he said.

1960 Bobby Ball Memorial program

A.J. Foyt would be in the thick of the chase for the USAC national crown in 1960 and when the 25-year-old driver won the annual Bobby Ball Memorial on November 20, it clinched his first national driving championship.

The Houston, Tex., speed demon would take the lead on lap 25 and never relinquish it en route to victory before a crowd of 10,000. Rodger Ward, only 120 points behind Foyt when he entered the contest, was never a factor, finishing 10th in the race and placing second nationally in points.

The race started with Al “Cotton” Farmer of Tucson, Ariz., taking the lead from his outside front row starting berth. He would hold that lead for the first four circuits before Jim Hurtubise, of North Tonawanda, N.Y., who started fifth, took over the lead.

A.J. Foyt won the Bobby Ball Memorial in 1960.  

Foyt started on the inside of the fifth row, moved to fifth place by lap 5, and had worked his way to the front to threaten Hurtubise’s lead by lap 22. On lap 25, Foyt powered past Hurtubise for the lead and never looked back, finishing the race in 1 hour,7 minutes, and 21 seconds.

As the finish was posted, a protest was filed on the order of finish. Behind Foyt at the checkered was Don Branson, Jim Hurtubise, and Wayne Weiler of Phoenix. Weiler was running second when misfortune struck on lap 99 when his rear end went out, bringing up the question whether the race was over before he quit running. After discussion among officials, it was determined the order of finish would stand.

Numerous spin outs and accidents left only 9 of 18 starters at the finish. Foyt earned $2,955 of the $11,820 purse.

1961 Bobby Ball Memorial program

Al Keller of Greenacres, Fla., never saw the new set of tires and other prizes for setting fast time at the Bobby Ball Memorial on November 19, 1961. Less than a half hour after hearing the command, “Gentlemen, start your engines”, Keller lay dead under the wreckage of his machine after a violent crash. The only movement was the spinning of the wheel which landed on atop a chain-link fence in the infield.

Keller’s tragedy was “one of those things” race fans sensed was coming. The track surface was lumpy on the south side of the track and slick on the north. Almost as soon as the race started, the surface began to break up, developing ruts and spewing clods under the 100 miles per hour wheels of the 18 competing cars.

On lap 41, Keller skidded out of the north turn and lost control. He went end for end, then his machine went broadside in the air and continued to flip violently, landing on top of the chain link fence.

Astonishingly, official slowed but didn’t stop the race. The flagman gave the field the one lap to start signal and to resume speed. It was explained later that the wreck was in the infield and not blocking traffic.

But when other cars floundered through the north turns on the restart, the race was stopped on lap 49. A capacity crowd of 10,000 then went through an hour and a half delay as the track was repaired.

With attention focused on the wreck, few fans saw Parnelli Jones of Torrance, Calif., pass race leader Rodger Ward on lap 45 for the lead. Along with defending winner A.J. Foyt, the trio had waged a furious feud for 40 laps, lapping the entire field.

When the race finally resumed, Jones almost met disaster, spinning in the first turn and losing almost four seconds to Ward. Jones would get the lead back on lap 65 and maintain the lead until lap 89 when officials halted the race because of darkness and deteriorating conditions.

Jones, piloting J.C. Agajanian’s Willard Battery Special, earned $3,539 of the $13,727 purse.

Jones was followed to the finish line by Ward, Don Branson, Jim McElreath of Arlington, Tex., and Al Farmer. After being in contention early on, Foyt developed engine problems on lap 55 and retired for the day.

Ward was hostile about the track conditions afterwards. “Worst track I’ve ever run on,” remarked the former Indy 500 champ. “And I’ve run on a lot of ‘em.”

Elmer George's car dives over the guardrail and into the crowd of spectators during the '62 Bobby Ball Memorial.

Disaster would strike again at the Bobby Ball Memorial on November 19, 1962. Elmer George of Speedway, Ind., would lose control of his racer in the north turn and flip over the guardrail and into an overflow crowd of spectators, bring abrupt termination to the race after 51 laps. The accident happened almost directly opposite of where Keller had met his fate the year before.

George was severely cut around the head and shoulders and 22 spectators were taken to area hospitals for minor injuries but fortunately, no one was killed. The accident occurred on lap 49, but the flagman waved the field around for two more laps to make the race official, then stopped all cars.

After George was dragged from his capsized racer, and the injured removed, USAC officials and promoter Mel Martin announced the race could not continue because of the damage caused to the guardrail in front of the grandstand.

Victory and the $4,800 prize went to Bobby Marshman of Pottstown, Penn., hustling his Hopkins Special into the forefront on lap 30 after a tight duel with polesitter and defending winner Parnelli Jones and A.J. Foyt.

The three had made a runaway of the race and had lapped the entire field by lap 21. Foyt was running hot on Marshman’s tailpipe when the accident occurred. Jones got bogged down in traffic chasing Marshman and was some five seconds behind Foyt when the race was concluded.

The win was the first of the season for Marshman who noted in victory lane, “I’m glad it was stopped. My car was worn out and I don’t think I could’ve held A.J. off for 50 more laps.”

Johnny Rutherford #46 and Chuck Hulse #10 lead the field to start the 1963 Bobby Ball Memorial.

Rodger Ward, driving the Robert Wilkie Offenhauser, would win the Bobby Ball Memorial 100-mile race on November 17, 1963. Ward passed race-leader Chuck Hulse of Tucson, Ariz., on lap 30 and won by a five-second margin.

There was one second of excitement as Ward powered past Hulse for the top spot, but the final 70 miles were a foregone conclusion as the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner drove a near-perfect race, earning his fifth win of the season on the USAC championship circuit.

A crowd packed to the rafters, 15,000, watched a race technically perfect, but what the Arizona Republic described as “offering less wheel banging than a Sunday scramble for a choice picnic table.”

Johnny Rutherford of Fort Worth, Tex., set fast time, touring the mile in 36.62 seconds. Hulse was second with 36.95 seconds, and Ward was ninth fastest with a time of 37.82 seconds.

Hulse, driving the Dean Vans Lines Special, jumped into the lead with Rutherford following and by lap 6, Ward was already in third and closing fast. Ward moved quickly past Rutherford and chose to follow Hulse until the 30th mile when Hulse drifted high in turn four and Ward cut under to take the lead as they roared down the front stretch.

Rodger Ward won the 1963 Bobby Ball, which would be the last Memorial race on the 1-mile dirt oval at the Arizona State Fairgrounds. - Joseph Ramirez Collection

Ward would slip in and out of traffic, building a seven-second lead over Hulse. Rutherford’s power plant went sick on lap 89, allowing Jim McElreath to move up and finish in third. Parnelli Jones and Roger McCluskey of Tucson, Ariz., rounded out the top five.

Unlike the previous two years, the track held together well although turns two and four were badly rutted by the time the race came to an end.

The ‘63 Bobby Ball Memorial would be the last on the one-mile dirt oval of the Arizona State Fairgrounds. The state fairboard was already facing $1,200,000 in damage suits filed by spectators injured in the 1962 race. Mel Martin, the long-time promoter, proposed paving the one-mile dirt oval, but in the end, the commission decided it wasn’t worth the time or investment.

The race would move to the new one-mile paved oval Phoenix International Raceway for the 1964 race.

The following drivers won the Bobby Ball Memorial at PIR…

1964 – Lloyd Ruby
1965 – A.J. Foyt
1966 – Mario Andretti
1967 – Mario Andretti
1968 – Gary Bettenhausen

In 1969, the race was changed to the Bobby Ball 200 with Al Unser winning. In 1970, the race was shortened to 150 miles and renamed the Bobby Ball 150. Swede Savage would win that race.

Happy Holidays

To Our Loyal Readers...

 Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Kyle Ealy & Lee Ackerman

 

 

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1982: Two Big Late Model Races at Knoxville

Jack Boggs is joined by promoter Lefty Robinson after winning the 50-lap late model feature during "Super Race I" at Knoxville Raceway. - Dean Malone Photo

By Lee Ackerman

Knoxville, Iowa - In 1982 the legendary Knoxville Raceway known for sprint car racing hosted two big dirt late model races, one in the spring and one at the end of the year.

The first of these events was held on April 24 & 25, with the running of the Casey’s General Store sponsored event that was labeled “Super Race I”. The purse of over $50,000 paid $12,500 to win the late model feature and $5,000 to win the limited late model show.
 
Freddy Smith of Kings Mountain, North Carolina got things started on the first night by setting a new track record in qualifying of 20.051 seconds. Limited late model heats went to Larry Moore of Dayton, Ohio, Ron Schreiner of Eleva, Wis., and Jerry Holtkamp of Williams, Iowa.

The preliminary feature in the limited late models saw Moore take home the win with Don Hoffman of Des Moines, Iowa second followed by Schreiner, Holtkamp and Mike Smith of Ellsworth, Iowa.
Bill Rice of Des Moines, Tom Nesbitt of Thunder Bay, Ontario and Kevin Gundaker of St. Louis picked up late model heat wins. Tom Nesbitt came home the winner in the preliminary late model feature with Dhon Hauserman of Wichita, Kan., Larry Moore, Rodney Combs of Lost Creek, W.Va., and Freddy Smith rounding out the top five. Boggs would finish seventh.

On Sunday night, Mike Smith beat Don Hoffman in the 5-lap limited late model trophy dash. In the 40-lap, $5,000 to win limited late model feature it was once again Larry Moore taking the win followed by Hoffman, Bob Shryock of Estherville, Iowa, Holtkamp and Gundaker.

"Blackjack" Boggs of Grayson, Ky., held off Rodney Combs to win the late model trophy dash and then came back and once again bested Combs in the 50-lap feature to take home a $12,500 paycheck. Following Boggs and Combs were Kenny Walton of Viola, Iowa, Tom Hearst of Wilton, Iowa, Ray Guss Sr. of Coal Valley, Ill., and Freddy Smith.

On Saturday, September 4, the late models returned to Knoxville for the Autumn Spectacular. Also, racing was limited late models and street stocks. Billy Moyer, Jr. of Des Moines blistered the famous half-mile as he set a new late model qualifying time of 19.718 second just two seconds off the track record for 410 sprint cars.

Rich Beebe of Overland Park, Kan., won the first heat over Moyer and Tom Bartholomew of Waterloo. Fred Strube of Peoria, Ill., won the second heat followed by Roger Chambers of Yates City, Kan., and Joe Kosiski of Omaha.

Sunday’s program was washed out, and these races were rescheduled for Sunday, September 12.

A field of 27 late models, 21 limited late models and 21 street stocks returned to Knoxville for the rescheduled final night of racing. For most of the 50-lap feature it looked like a runaway for Moyer as he built up a quarter lap lead over second place Steve Kosiski of Omaha, but with three laps to go Des Moines’ Don Hoffman ran out of gas bringing out the yellow and allowing Kosiski to close to the back bumper of Moyer.

Kosiski made the most of his new-found fortune and passed Moyer on the last lap to win the event and take home the $4,000 first prize. Following Kosiski and Moyer to the line were Kosiski’s brother Joe Kosiski in third and Rick Beebe finished fourth.

Red Dralle of Evansdale was the apparent winner in the limited late model feature but was found to be 70 pounds light and the win was awarded to Dave Farren of Des Moines with Denny Rosenberg of Grimes getting second and Martin Bennett of Des Moines third. The Street Stock feature found the first three finishers disqualified for having too wide of tires and the win went to fourth place finisher Ted Swartslander of Des Moines.

A crowd of approximately 1,500 fans attended the Sunday event.

The Speed Chumley Memorial

1968 Advertisement

By Kyle Ealy
Waterloo, Iowa – On June 22, 1964, Ira “Speed” Chumley died after suffering a heart attack while driving on old Highway 218 just north of Washburn, Iowa. Chumley was 59 years of age.

For the northern Iowa auto racing community, it was a tough blow. Chumley not only raced and owned cars, but along with Judd Tunis, was instrumental in getting Tunis Speedway started in 1948. It was Chumley who convinced Tunis that Waterloo needed a quarter mile racetrack.

Chumley was so well respected in racing circles he was twice elected president of local racing clubs. In the mid 50’s, Chumley was elected president of the Hawkeye Racing Association and in the early 60’s, he was head of the Cedar-Loo Racing Association, a position he held until his death.

To honor Chumley’s memory, Judd Tunis decided that the mid-season championship at Tunis Speedway would carry a new name.

 
“The Speed Chumley Memorial” was born…

 
On Sunday, July 12, 1964, the first annual Speed Chumley Memorial took place at Tunis Speedway. A capacity crowd of 6,649 watched Lu Vern “Red” Droste of Waterloo, dominate the evening’s program.

Droste, the current point leader, started on the pole and led all 50 laps, winning in record time. In winning his seventh feature of the year, Droste lowered the quarter-mile record for 50 laps from 15 minutes and 50 seconds to 15 minutes and 24 seconds.

 
Mert Williams of Rochester, Minn., finished a distant second to Droste and Verlin Eaker of Blooming Prairie, Minn., took third. Lee Kunzman of Guttenberg, Iowa, grabbed fourth and Bill Zwanziger of Waterloo, rounded out the top five.

 
John Connolly of Delhi, Iowa, set a new 10-lap heat record, winning in 3 minutes and 2 seconds, besting the old mark of 3 minute and 4 seconds.

1965 Advertisement

 

 

John Connolly would win the second annual Speed Chumley Memorial on July 11, 1965. Like Droste the year before, Connolly, the current point leader, started on the pole and led all 50 circuits. Droste, who started alongside Connolly, held second place for the first 35 laps before developing mechanical issues and dropping back, where he finished in fourth place.

Verlin Eaker slipped in when Droste fell back and took runner-up honors. Mert Williams, Droste and Charlie Moffitt rounded out the top five.

Joe Wurst of Blooming Prairie, Minn., was a double winner, copping the first heat and the consolation.
Charlie Moffitt may have been second in the point standings behind Red Droste, but that didn’t deter the Stanwood, Iowa, driver when the green flag dropped on the third annual Speed Chumley Memorial on July 17, 1966.

Moffitt roared to the lead and never looked back in winning the 50-lap mid-season championship. The victory was a popular one with the 5,300 in attendance.

Droste would settle for second (but still maintain his point’s lead) while Mert Williams would grab third place. Roger Klingfus and Gale Card, both of Waterloo, won heat races as did Verlin Eaker. Ty Barger of Cedar Falls, Iowa, won the 35-lap consolation.

The fourth annual Speed Chumley Memorial produced its fourth different winner as Cal Swanson of Reinbeck, Iowa, copped the 50-lap mid-season title on July 16, 1967. Bob Hilmer of Dysart, Iowa, finished second after dueling with Swanson for the top spot.

Point leader Red Droste led the first 35 laps of the race and appeared certain of victory when his engine overheated and he was forced to the sidelines.

Chub Liebe of Oelwein, Iowa, took third behind Swanson and Hilmer with Mert Williams in fourth and “Big” Tom Hughes of Monticello, Iowa, finishing fifth.

 

You never counted Red Droste out…no matter what.

That proved to be the case at the fifth annual Speed Chumley Memorial on July 28, 1968. A crowd of 6,000, the largest at Tunis in nearly five years, watched Droste survive an early-race accident to win the 50-lap mid-season championship.

Droste, the point’s leader at Tunis, was involved in a collision with Mert Williams on the second lap of the 50-lap race, momentarily halting the race. According to the rules, any driver involved in an accident, goes to the rear of the field. So, Droste restarted at the rear of the 17-car field.

Droste would rally, steadily working his way through the field and eventually getting by Dr. Al Mayner of Winthrop, Iowa, for the lead with 10 laps to go. He would have a half lap lead when the checkers waved. Mayner grabbed second while defending champion Cal Swanson took third.

Another new winner graced victory lane for the sixth annual Speed Chumley Memorial on July 27, 1969. A young driver who was quickly making a name for himself, would take the win as 2,446 fans looked on.

Ed Sanger of Waterloo, Iowa, won the 50-lap mid-season title, his fifth feature win of the season, ahead of his brother Karl, who earned second-place money. Paul Fitzgerald of Rochester, Minn., would claim third place. Both Sangers were also heat winners as was Dave Maxson of Cedar Falls.

While Red Droste had been the dominant driver at Tunis Speedway in the 60’s, Ed Sanger was quickly cementing his reputation as the man to beat as the 70’s was getting underway.

The season-long point’s leader at Tunis, Sanger would successfully defend his Speed Chumley Memorial title, winning the 50-lapper on July 19, 1970.

Sanger would have to earn the win, however, as Glen Martin would grab the lead at the start and hold on to it for the first 21 circuits. Sanger, who was playing bumper tag with Martin the whole time, finally got around the Independence, Iowa, veteran and then storm away from the rest of the field en route to a $400 payday.

Sanger, driving a 1970 yellow Monte Carlo, virtually ran away with the race after Martin fell out of contention, lapping every car in the 18-car field except runner-up Jerry LeCroy of Des Moines.
Waterloo's Bill Zwanziger, who fought off Sanger's lapping effort until the 49th circuit, finished third with Dave Bedard of LaPorte City, Iowa crossing the line in fourth.

Karl Sanger of Waterloo and Bill McDonough of Cedar Rapids put on the best show of the feature event, battling side-by-side and bumper-to-bumper for nearly 40 rounds before Sanger finally edged away for the fifth-place spot, leaving McDonough in sixth.

If all the other drivers at Tunis Speedway thought “Fast Eddie” Sanger was tough to beat coming from the rear of the field, imagine their disappointment when they saw Sanger sitting on the pole position for the 50-lap feature event of the seventh annual Speed Chumley Memorial on July 11, 1971.

Sanger, on the pole for the first time that season, charged away at the opening green flag and was never seriously challenged through the 40 laps as he picked up the $550 first prize.

Sanger, the point’s leader at the season’s midway point, inherited the pole because the mid-season championship featured a regular start opposed to the inverted start Sanger was accustomed to during weekly races.

The Waterloo ace, who had won five of the eight features, shot into the lead and won going away, prevailing by a quarter lap margin over Stan Stover of Reinbeck, Iowa. Curt Hansen of Dike, Iowa, finished third and Red Dralle of Evansdale, Iowa, took fourth. Roger Kruse of Independence finished fifth – the rest of the 19-car field was lapped by Sanger.

A Sanger would win the eighth annual Speed Chumley Memorial, but it was Karl, not Ed, who was in victory lane after winning the 50-lap mid-season title. The only driver to win more than one late model feature at Tunis that season, Karl wasted little time in moving from his front row outside starting position to the lead on the first lap.

He would never surrender the top spot, leading all 50 laps, en route to $650 payday - $400 for the win and $250 in lap money. Sanger would win by five car-lengths ahead of Glen Martin – but the distance was deceiving.

Twice during the contest, Karl had built up sizeable leads only to have restarts tighten the pack. Early in the race, he was leading by six car lengths when his brother blew a tire, bringing out the caution flag. On lap 34, D. Arthur Nesteby and Dave Bedard tangled, forcing another restart.

Curt Hansen of Dike had run second on most of the laps between the two restarts, but on the second restart, Martin slipped by into the spot behind Sanger and Hansen never caught up, settling for third. Stan Stover and Jim Burger of Cedar Falls completed the top five.

Curt Hansen had been paying his dues over the last few years and the Dike, Iowa, youngster was starting to see dividends. The hot shoe had won the mid-season title on Saturday at Independence, Iowa, and his good fortune continued on Sunday, July 15, 1973, winning the Speed Chumley Memorial.

Driving a new Chevrolet, Hansen started on the outside of the front row alongside point leader Stan Stover. Stover jumped out to the lead and led for the first 45 circuits of the scheduled 50-lapper. Hansen would patiently wait for Stover to slip up and with five laps to go, Stover drifted high in between turns three and four, allowing Hansen to slip into first place and eventually claiming the mid-season championship.

Stover would recover to take runner-up honors while Karl Sanger, Tom Bartholomew and Bob Hesse, all of Waterloo, rounded out the top five finishers.

1974 Advertisement

 

 

The 1974 Speed Chumley Memorial, held on July 14, would be marred by a serious accident that left one driver in critical condition and the program cut short for the evening.

On lap 38 of the 50-lap late model mid-season championship, the accelerator on Roger Klingfus’ car stuck, causing his car to go off the first turn, through a fence and straight into the pit area.

Klingfus’ car collided with Dennis Peters’ parked roadrunner machine, which was parked 100 yards beyond the retaining wall, critically injuring the 20-year-old Peters who was pinned between two race cars.

The race was called at that point and race leader Tom Bartholomew of Waterloo, Iowa, was declared the winner.

Peters would spend nine hours in surgery at Allen Memorial Hospital. The Denver, Iowa, resident sustained multiple fractures of both legs and severe injuries to the lower body. Klingfus, himself, was treated for shock at Scholtz Memorial Hospital and released.

After he and other track officials were able to clear out a throng of curious on-lookers from the roadrunner pits and get the crash victims on ambulances, promoter Claus Stricker met with the 12 drivers still left in the Chumley Memorial, who agreed to call it a race after 38 laps instead of continuing it next Sunday. The roadrunner feature, which was to be run after the 50-lapper, was postponed until the following Sunday.

The tragedy-marred victory was one of the biggest wins of Bartholomew's career. The crowd of 2,700 witnessed Bartholomew lead the entire race after electing to start on the pole position.

Bartholomew, the point-leader going into the race, had the option of starting at the back of an inverted top 10 order (outside of the fifth row) and gun for a $250 bonus to win or start on the inside of the front row.

The 1974 mid-season championship would be the last one billed as the Speed Chumley Memorial. Tunis Speedway would stop weekly racing in 1979.

1949: The First Year of the IMCA Stock Car Series

Eddie Anderson of Grinnell, Iowa

1949 IMCA Stock Car Champion

 

By Lee Ackerman

Omaha, Neb. - In the last few years, considerable effort has been given to documenting the early years of NASCAR. What many fans are unaware of is that before IMCA became a grass roots racing series famous for its sanctioning of over 100 weekly racing tracks across the country, it had a stock car series that for many years rivaled its southern counterpart, NASCAR.

The International Motor Contest Association (IMCA), organized in 1915, is the oldest active automobile racing sanctioning body in the United States.  J. Alex Sloan, a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., was instrumental in establishing the IMCA, and for years ran more races than all other promoters in the United States combined, all under IMCA sanction.

 After Sloan’s death in 1937, his son John continued the IMCA tradition.  Under his leadership, IMCA continued to grow and reports suggest that IMCA held its first late model stock car race on November 9, 1947 in Lubbock, Tex. Certainly, the first recorded season of IMCA stock cars was 1949.

Today, late models are all specially constructed frames, mass produced on a jig at a chassis companies such as Rocket, MastersBilt, GRT or whomever. In 1949, when IMCA conducted its first year of stock car racing, many of the cars were ordinary passenger cars were driven to the track with license plates remaining on the car during the race.

 As you will see in this story, many car companies were represented, some of which have been all but forgotten. What’s a Kaiser-Frasier you ask, how about a Willy’s? A Nash won several stock car races, you have to be kidding!

Information about that first IMCA stock car season is certainly not complete, but while no points were kept, we do know that it is well documented that Eddie Anderson of Grinnell, Iowa was declared the first IMCA stock car champion.

The first race of the season was held at the Mid-America Fairgrounds on May 30, which became the traditional Topeka Memorial Day Race.  Bob McKim of Salina, Kan., won the 200-lap feature in an Oldsmobile 88 owned by Ron Rice. Ray Rutman finished second, Eldon Burkeholder took third and Frank Winkley was fourth.

Winkley and his wife Verna would later form Auto Racing, Inc. (ARI) and for many years promoted IMCA events. The other group that promoted IMCA sanctioned events for years was National Speedways, Inc. led by Al Sweeney.

 

Herschel Buchanan receive congratulations from IMCA promoter Al Sweeney.

 

It is also reported that Hershel Buchanan of Shreveport, Louisiana won a race at the Louisiana State Fairgrounds in a Nash on the same day that may have been an IMCA sanctioned event. Buchanan had spent a number of years racing in the IMCA big car (sprint car) division prior to racing stock cars. In 1950 and 1951 Buchanan won the IMCA stock car championship.

On July 4, the IMCA stock cars ran a 200-lap race at the Kansas State Fairgrounds at Hutchinson with McKim leading 96 laps in his 1940 Oldsmobile 88 (which carried the number 88), prevailing again before 8,000 fans. Norm Horn finished second, Jim Roper third, Herschel Buchanan fourth and Don Smith fifth.

Also, in the field was Nick Nachicas. Nachicas would later work for Winkley and ARI serving as an announcer of IMCA events for many years.

As for Jim Roper, that’s the same Jim Roper from Halstead, Kan., that won the first ever NASCAR strictly stock car race on June 19, 1949 at the three quarter-mile Charlotte Speedway. Roper pulled a Lincoln all the way to Charlotte, N.C., and ran second to Glenn Dunaway. Roper was awarded the win when Dunaway was disqualified for illegal use of rear springs.

As for Dunaway…

The first National Speedways, Inc., sanctioned stock car race took place on August 20, 1949 at Cedar Rapids, Iowa with Glen Dunaway of North Carolina winning in an Oldsmobile. Yes, the same Glenn Dunaway that was disqualified at Charlotte.

 

A tremendous crowd of 14,000 jam-packed the All-Iowa Fair grandstand and watched Dunaway push his black 1949 Oldsmobile coupe around the half-mile 200 times in 2 hours and 22 minutes. He finished two laps ahead of Herschel Buchanan.

 

"Wild" Bill Harrison of Topeka, Kan. - Photo courtesy of Troy Harrison

 

 

On August 21, Wild Bill Harrison of Topeka, Kansas drove his Lincoln to the 200-lap feature win at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport, Iowa, before 7,052 curious fans. Glen Dunaway followed in an Oldsmobile with Buchanan third in his 46’ Nash. The race took 2 hours, 9 minutes and 30 seconds to complete.

August 23 saw the series back at Topeka, Jim Roper of Great Bend, Kansas winning a 200-lap feature in a Lincoln.  Three days later, on August 26, Herschel Buchanan drove his Nash to victory at the Sioux Empire Fairgrounds in Sioux Falls.

On September 1, 1949, Anderson came alive and drove his 1949 Mercury to a 200-lap victory at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines defeating highly touted Herschel Buchanan.  The car Anderson drove had been wrecked in a highway accident near Grinnell, and Anderson took possession of the car from the insurance company only five days before the race.

On September 2, at the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul, Tom Adelman of Minneapolis drove his 1948 Kaiser-Fraiser to a win in the 200-lap event. Bill Harrison in a Lincoln and Wally Dahl in a Ford finished second and third.

Eddie Anderson scored another win on September 4, at the All-Iowa Fair in Cedar Rapids, Jack Morgan of Duenwig, Mo., ran second driving a 1941 Mercury with Dick Hobel of Cedar Rapids third in a Buick and Harlan Young of Anamosa, Iowa fourth in a 1940 Willys. 

Herschel Buchanan, who set fast time by blistering the half-mile in 34.765 seconds, finished fifth after making a couple of pit stops. Anderson’s winning time was 2 hours, 10 minutes and 35 seconds.

 

IMCA Stock Cars roll down the front stretch at the Nebraska State Fair. A standing room only crowd eagerly awaits the action.

 

On September 9, at the Nebraska State Fair in Lincoln, Eddie Anderson continued his winning ways once again taking a 200-lap win pocketing $500 for his efforts. Herschel Buchanan brought his Nash home second, Wayne Selzer of Omaha was third in a Ford and open-wheel ace Frank Luptow ran fourth.

Anderson kept his streak going by winning the 200-lap race at Topeka, Kansas on October 2. He then added yet another win on October 9 back at Hawkeye Downs where he completed the 200-lap affair in 2 hours and 20 minutes with Don Fischer in a '46 Ford finishing second and Sonny Ebsen in a '41 Mercury third.

The final event of the season was run on October 26 at the Louisiana State Fairgrounds in Shreveport with Buddy Keith winning in a 1939 Lincoln. For a good part of the 29 years that the IMCA stock car series raced, the series started the season and ended the season in Shreveport.

There were several other IMCA events that were reported ran in 1949, but no reliable information is available on those events. In the end, we know that Eddie Anderson in his wrecked '49 Mercury was the class of the field and usually had to battle Herschel Buchanan in his Nash for the win.

The IMCA stock car series grew to be the leading series in the Midwest for many years and in the beginning rivaled NASCAR. IMCA races at the various state fairs routinely drew 20,000 or more fans. Ernie Derr became a legend in the series, winning 12 IMCA national stock car championships, but in the end the series faded into history with 1977 being its last year of competition.