1964 – Stacy Captures Detroit Century

 

Detroit, Mich. (June 14, 1964) - Nelson Stacy and his 1964 for were in top form, Sunday afternoon, when he and the 100-mile ARCA-sanctioned new car race at the Michigan State Fairgrounds in a close finish over defending champion Jack Bowsher in another 1964 Ford.

The Daytona Beach, Florida, MARC and NASCAR veteran started in the number two position and first grabbed the lead on the seventh lap from Bowsher who regained it at lap 30 when Stacy pitted for gas.

Bowsher then led until the halfway mark when Dick Freeman got by in 1962 Pontiac, leading until the 59th circuit when Bowsher again took over. Stacy got by Bowsher on the 98 go-round, holding on to finish the century in 1 hour and 21 minutes.

Finishing third and fourth, half a lap behind the leaders, were Iggy Katona in 1964 Ford and Freeman, not far apart.

A crowd estimated at 6,000 viewed the fine card that also included three heats and a helmet dash on the one-mile dirt track. Bowsher erased Iggy Katona’s 43.22 second one-lap record with a 42.75 second time trial.

Jim Cushman, who won the helmet dash, took a spectacular flip on the backstretch during the first tee and, although his 1964 Plymouth was demolished, was unhurt. Heat winners were Katona, Don Arnold (1962 Chevrolet), and Bill Douglas (1963 Ford).

A field of 34 cars and drivers were on hand for the Pete Spencer promotion.

Results –

1.     Nelson Stacy

2.     Jack Bowsher

3.     Iggy Katona

4.     Dick Freeman

5.     Wimpy May

6.     Elmer Musgrave

7.     Homer Newland

8.     Clyde Parker

     9.     Cleo Ashley

10.   Les Snow

11.   Ralph Baker

12.   Don Arnold

13.   Don Sawyer

14.  Dick Mitchell

15.  Tom Dill

1970 - John Marcum: The Backbone of Auto Racing

John Marcum (left) with Keokuk, Iowa native Ramo Stott

 

Talladega, Ala. (June 13, 1970) - John Marcum, the amicable president of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), is known on sight to just about very race fan who's clicked a turnstile t watch the new model stock cars of ARCA to battle on a track in the Midwest.

Big John's been praised, cursed, swindled, done a little swindling himself, answered a promoter's dream, created, a few nightmares, been a Godsend to struggling young drivers, a demon to a few hot dogs, and a boot to the sport of speed in general.

Marcum's been called every name in the book, made money, lost money and somehow does it all with a smile on his face and an outstretched hand.

When it comes to putting on a show for the fans, Marcum puts P.T. Barnum to shame. He's spent the last 42 of his 56 years involved with racing. He knows what racing's all about, and he learned the hard way.

"I'll never forget a race I drove back in '35," said Marcum. "I lived in New Castle, Ind., then, and there was this guy racing at the local track I wanted to beat so bad I could taste it. Well, somebody told me to put a half-dozen mothballs in the gas tank of the car. Said that son of a gun would just fly. So what the heck, I dumped a whole pound of mothballs in the tank. It didn't take long. I blew the head gasket on the engine so bad it knocked the floorboards out of the car and I ran the darn thing into a tree."

Benny Parson with John Marcum

A lot of stories have floated around over the years as to the relationship between Marcum and Bill France Sr., president of NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing).

"I first met France at Daytona Beach back in 1936," said Marcum. "I was driving a '34 Ford roadster and I can't remember what Bill was in. Those were the days; we wore a cloth helmet then. I remember I wasn't scared of getting hurt in the race as much as I was of getting bit by a rattlesnake. They were all over the place. They had signs up everywhere warning people to watch out for the snakes. I just knew if I got out of that car I was gonna be eaten alive.”

Marcum worked with the All Star Racing Association, until 1948. In 1949, John went south once again to work for, not race against, Bill France and his new NASCAR organization.

Iggy Katona with John Marcum

In 1951, Marcum left NASCAR and came back to his home in Toledo and formed the Midwest Association for Race Cars (MARC). Frank Canale, who was the All Star champ in '49, came with Marcum as chief scorer and vice president, and he's been with John ever since.

"Boy, that MARC name got us in a lot of trouble," said John. "Everywhere we would go people would say, ‘There's that Toledo bunch again.’ We really had drivers from all over the Midwest, but it didn't mean a thing because of our name.”

"We raced new model stock cars back then just like we do now," continued Marcum. "Then we just made the drivers tape up their headlights. There weren't any big racing tires back then either and roll bars weren't mandatory at all."

One of the oldest stock car racing events in the country is the annual Dayton 500 held at the Dayton, Ohio Speedway.

"Everybody said we couldn't race for 500 laps," said John. "People thought we were nuts, but we held the race anyway and had one of the largest crowds for a stock car show in the country. We had a $71,000 gate. That was in 1953 and Iggy (Katona) won it without changing a tire.”

"Now look at what we're doing. This Sunday (June 14) we're running the Vulcan 500 here at the Alabama International Speedway. That's 500 miles instead of 500 laps and the purse is almost what we had back then for a gate. Iggy's driving in this one too, but he'll be going about 100 miles per hour faster than he did back in '53 and he'll use several dozen tires. It sure is a change from the old days."

 

John Marcum with Jack Bowsher

John Marcum is as colorful as the sport and organization he represents. He gives himself to the sport 24 hours of every day. Few people work as hard for racing's participants; none work harder.

They threw away the mold of John Marcum. He's one of a kind.

 

1949 – Hinnershitz Speeds to Victory at Heidelberg

Tommy Hinnershitz

 

 

Carnegie, Penn. (June 12, 1949) – Tommy Hinnershitz, speed demon from Reading, Penn., stole the show at Heidelberg Raceway on Sunday afternoon when he led the entire distance to capture the 30-lap (15-miles) feature in only 9 minutes and 55 seconds.

Hinnershitz lapped the entire field in the process with the exception of second place finisher Johnny Mantz of Van Nuys, Calif. Hank Rogers of Trenton, N.J., took home third place money while Mark Light of Lebanon, Penn., finished fourth.

The sunbaked crowd of 17,582, the largest crowd of the season and second best in the two-year history of the track, were disappointed when two of the top notchers were forced out of action in the early stages of the headliner.

Bill Holland, another Reading resident, who was making his second start since capturing the 500-mile classic at Indianapolis on Memorial Day, broke a drive shaft before completing the third lap.

Then, Mack Hellings of Van Nuys, Calif., who was waging a terrific duel with Mantz for second place, went into a skid on the south turn on lap 6. He managed to pilot his car to the inner rail, leap out and wave warnings to the rest of the field as they turned on the juice coming out of the bend.

Hinnershitz provided a thrill on the north turn on the first lap when he brushed a pole and his Offenhauser bounced high off the dusty track. However, he quickly got it straightened out and was safely on his way in the long grind to victory.

Still sporting a partially discolored left eye as a result of a crackup he suffered while trying to qualify at Indy, Tommy missed making it a sweep of the program by losing a 3-lap match race to Mack Hellings.

“Hinny” started off the first AAA program of the season by winning the initial qualifying race of 10 laps. His tortoise like time of 6 minutes and 19 seconds was due to a slow drying track.

Promoter Sam Nunis stated that the time of 4 minutes and 21 seconds in the second 10-lap qualifying race won by Johnny Mantz was a record for a semi-banked, half-mile track.

 

Results –

1. Tommy Hinnershitz, Reading, Penn.
2. Johnny Mantz, Van Nuys, Calif.
3. Hank Rogers, Trenton, N.J.
4. Mark Light, Lebanon, Penn.
5. Hal Coles, Los Angeles, Calif.
6. Bill Gause, Bolling Springs, Penn.
7. Fred Bailes, Charlotte, N.C.
8. Carl Ott, Louisville, Ky.
9. Bill Holland, Reading, Penn.
10. Mack Hellings, Van Nuys, Calif

1966 - Old Bodies on Run at New Race Track

Duane Stoneking

 

 

Burlington, Iowa (June 11, 1966) - What is a modified racing vehicle?

It is a $1,000 Model-A Ford body with a 301-cubic inch Chevrolet V-8 engine which will run over 100 miles per hour on a dirt track.

Modified autos are something new in Southeast Iowa this year.

The modifieds run, along with cadets (jalopies of a sort), at 34 Raceways Park near Middletown once a week.

Races are held each Saturday night at the three-eighths mile track. Tonight fans will get a bonus as the modifieds and cadets will run at the Hawkeye Fairgrounds track as part of the Steamboat Days Celebration.

Duane “Stoney” Stoneking of Oquawka, Ill., who raced about everything but boats in his 16-year career, is the leading point getter at 34 Raceways.

In contention for the 1966 point title are Ron Jackson and Dick McClure of Burlington.

The three men outlined the modified program. All run Model-A’s with 1957 Chevrolet engines. This isn’t the only type car on the track, however.

“Some race ‘32 Plymouths with a slant six motor,” Stoneking said.

Stoneking said older bodies are preferred because they have less weight. Track rules permit bodies from 1928 to 1948.

“Old bodies are getting harder to find,” Jackson said, “With more guys getting into racing.”

The bodies are found in junk yards and behind barns. So far the new operation has 18 modifieds running, but two or three new cars are being added each week.

Stoneking said it costs about $1,000 to build a modified car. The racers have larger radiators, revamped rear ends, and special tires.

Each is required to have a clutch, but most have only one gear. “A car is either in gear or its out,” Jackson said.

Stoneking estimates his auto turns up about 90 miles per hour on the 3/8-mile track. He expects it to run faster when he changes the gear set up. All three drivers assume they can bit over 100 miles per hour on the fairgrounds straightaways tonight.

The pilot’s race for fun and profit, purses so far have paid $100 to the feature race winner, and $35 to each heat victor. Purses have been paid on a $1,000 guarantee basis for the first four weeks. Soon they will be paid on the basis of 40 percent of the gate receipts.

So far there have been no serious accidents involving the modifieds. “You have a lot more horsepower to keep out of trouble,” McClure said.

“There isn’t so much banging like in the jalopy races,” Jackson said. “You drive with your right foot and not the steering wheel.”

Stoneking pointed out that “drivers have so much money invested in their cars that they back off before causing a wreck.”

Stoneking, who started driving jalopies at the local fairgrounds shortly after World War 2, said modifieds are more fun to drive. He has also driven late model stock cars, sprint cars and midgets.

1980 - West Virginian Combs wins Miller 100

Race winner Rodney Combs receive congratulations from Keith Fleck after winning the Miller 100.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa (June 10, 1980) - With a near capacity crowd on hand, Rodney Combs, from Lost Creek, W.Va., sailed past Wilton's Tom Hearst on the 19th lap and paced himself the last 81 laps to capture the Eighth Annual Miller 100 Stock Car Classic Tuesday night at Hawkeye Downs Speedway.

Combs, a 12-year veteran out of Loveland, Ohio, had virtually no trouble after passing Hearst, becoming only the second out-of-state driver to win the annual Fleck Sales Co. sponsored charity race.

“It felt good to win, especially up here,” said the 30-year-old mustachioed driver with a southern drawl after out dueling twenty-eight other drivers for the $2,000 winner’s purse.

“A lot of people said we couldn't win on a flat track with a Howe chassis,” said Combs, who pilots a red and white, all fiberglass body Camaro. “Because it's built more for a high banked track but I guess we proved ‘em wrong.”

He sure did…

After passing Hearst, the Downs NASCAR point leader, Combs cruised to a sizable lead and later admitted that he was just trying to pace himself the rest of the race.

“We had gotten a fairly big lead and my pit crew told me to take it easy so I more or less just paced myself the rest of the way.”

It seemed as though Combs and the feature race would never get started.

After several restarts, the race finally got going before Kalona's Mike Niffenegger and Waterloo's Tom Bartholomew collided on the first turn of lap number two. The wreck, which forced both drivers from the feature, had its effect on Combs, who was accidentally sent to the back of the pack by Downs’ officials.

Combs and his pit crew protested the move while the pileup was getting untangled by wreckers and officials awarded him back his number three position in the lineup where he went on to overtake Hearst for the win.

Hearst, a Downs favorite, finished second in the feature race and Des Moines veteran, Don Hoffman was third. Waterloo’s Dick Schiltz was fourth followed by Cedar Fall's Denny Osborn and Waterloo’s s Ed Sanger.

Curt Hansen, another Downs’ favorite from Dike and winner of the 1976 and 1978 Miller 100, skillfully rallied from the rear of the pack for a seventh place finish.

Cedar Rapids’ Mike Frieden was tenth and Lisbon's Roger Dolan twelfth while West Liberty's Mel Morris and Cedar Rapids’ Darrell Dake finished thirteenth and fifteenth respectively.

Osborn captured the 8-lap trophy dash, which featured the top eight lap time qualifiers. Winona, Minnesota's, Lance Matthees had the fastest qualifying lap as he turned in a 23.475-qualifying run in time trials.

Heat winners included Iowa City's Dave Sidwell, Hansen, Hoffman, and Niffenegger and Viola's Ken Walton led from start to finish in winning the 12-lap B-Main.


This year’s proceeds of the Miller 100, which has donated over $42,000 to various charities in the past seven years, will go to the Iowa Special Olympics program.



Results -


1. Rodney Combs, Lost Creek, W.Va.
2. Tom Hearst, Wilton
3. Don Hoffman, Des Moines
4. Dick Schiltz, Waterloo
5. Denny Osborn, Cedar Falls
6. Ed Sanger, Waterloo
7. Curt Hansen, Dike
8. Lance Matthees, Winona, Minn.
9. Leon Plank, Mondovi, Wis.
10. Mike Frieden, Cedar Rapids
11. Gary Webb, East Moline, Ill.
12. Roger Dolan, Lisbon
13. Mel Morris, West Liberty
14. Tom Bartholomew, Waterloo
15. Darrell Dake, Cedar Rapids

1976 – Arnold wins Salem ‘ARCA 100’

Salem, Ind. (June 6, 1976) – A rousing, three-car battle for the lead throughout the entire 100 laps of racing around Salem Speedway’s high-banked half-mile gave veteran A. Arnold of Brooks, Ky., a hard-earned victory in the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) national championship late model program on Sunday afternoon.

Although starting on the inside of the fifth row of the 23-car field, Arnold wasted no time fighting his way to third place behind front row starters Moose Myers of Fort Wayne, Ind., and LaMarr Marshall of Louisville, Ky., who had fought a heated duel since the drop of the green flag.

Early caution flags to clean up blown engine remains allowed Arnold to close on the leaders by lap 15 when Bobby Dotter’s engine expired and again on lap 23 when Bill Noel experienced the same issue.

By the halfway mark in the race, the Chevelle’s of Myers, Marshall and Arnold formed a three-car draft, often running side by side and performing hair-raising maneuvers to work through slower traffic.

After 15 laps of abortive attempts, Arnold finally squeezed by a determined Marshall and seemed to gain momentum by it, setting himself up for Myers, and making a clean pass on lap 78 when track immediately ahead cleared of slower cars.

Arnold then put a five-second advantage on the battling Myers and Marshall, who both suffered from late race tire problems, causing obvious handling problems. Myers bested Marshall by a car length to finalize second and third positions, while Dave Dayton drove his Chevelle to a fourth place finish, the only other car on the same lap as the leaders.

Kenny Black of Indianapolis, Ind., was taken to a local area hospital and held for observation after his car cleared the turn four guardrail in the first heat and rolled end over end down a 35-foot embankment. Although the car was destroyed, Black was thought not to have sustained any serious injuries.

Results –

1. A. Arnold
2. Moose Myers
3. LaMarr Marshall
4. Dave Dayton
5. Tom Meinberg
6. Ralph Jones
7. Larry Scott
8. Gary Sharp
9. Darrell Basham
10. N.D. Copley

1970 – Wild and Woolly Sprint to Bettenhausen at I-70

Odessa, Mo. (June 5, 1970) - Gary Bettenhausen outdistanced a determined Todd Gibson to win his third United States Auto Club sprint car feature Friday night at I-70 Speedway.

Gibson paced the field for the first 33 laps of the 40 lapper but slipped out of the groove momentarily in the fourth turn on lap 34, leaving the door open for Bettenhausen.

Driving though Willie Davis-owned City of Syracuse Chevy, Bettenhausen had charged from his 12 starting position. Gibson, in the Forberg Chevy, held on for second place money. Rollie Beale finished third in the Rodeo Bar Chevy, followed by point leader Larry Dickson in the Lay Chevy and Jerry Poland in the Smith Speed Shop No. 5.

Rounding out the field in order of finish were Don Nordhorn, Al Smith, Dick Sutcliffe, Sam Sessions, Johnnie Parsons Jr., Cy Fairchild, Jon Backlund, Karl Busson, Gordie Lee and Greg Weld.

Action was fast and wild. The one-lap track record was broken 20 times by 11 drivers during qualifying with Sessions the new record holder with a time of 17.19 seconds. The old record was 18.15 set earlier this year by Jerry Blundy.

Young Lee Kunzman was hospitalized with third-degree burns on his face, second-degree burns on his stomach, a broken left wrist and possible broken back. The throttle stuck on his Smith Speed Shop Chevy No. 8 and the car climbed the wall and when into the wheel fencing. The car rolled over through the fencing, wrapping fencing around the cage. One fence pole pierced the fuel tank started the fire. The car was ablaze as it left the track.

Kunzman crawled free from the burning car. He was listed in serious condition by the intensive care unit at Research Hospital in Kansas City.

On the seventh lap of the second heat, Bill Puterbaugh made a bid to take the lead from Charlie Masters on the back straightaway and the pair locked wheels, flipping over the fence. Master’s car landed atop Puterbaugh’s mount. Both cars were tangled in the wire fencing. Both drivers were taken to nearby Lexington Hospital but neither was seriously injured.

Officials blame the angle of the outer wall for the seriousness of the accidents.

Results –

1. Gary Bettenhausen
2. Todd Gibson
3. Rollie Beale
4. Larry Dickson
5. Jerry Poland
6. Don Nordhorn
7. Al Smith
8. Dick Sutcliffe
9. Sam Sessions
10. Johnnie Parsons Jr.
11. Cy Fairchild
12. Jon Backlund
13. Karl Busson
14. Gordie Lee
15. Greg Weld