1955 – Big Car Races Draw 5,200 to Fairgrounds

A young Bobby Grim is joined by a lean Hector Honore at Belleville. They haven't won an IMCA championship yet, but they're on their way. - Bob Lawrence Collection

Belleville, Kan. (June 1, 1955) - Bobby Grim led a field of 14 cars from start to finish as he captured the National Speedways, Inc., 20-lap big car feature race at the North Central Kansas Free Fair track before 5,200 race fans.

Grim roared I had in the first turn and was never headed although he was forced to fight off numerous challenging bids by defending IMCA national champion Bob Slater.

Slater, who notched victories in his heat race and in the trophy dash, finished without brakes when his car glanced off the fence. He finished a car length behind Grim in the feature.

Charlie Lutkie of Wichita, Kansas, upset Grim in the second heat race when he outran the Indianapolis pilot for a five-lap win.

Lutkie also snared a victory in the Australian Pursuit race. He resisted efforts of Gordon Schuck and Jerry Schumaker in a dual that brought the crowd to its feet.

Jud Larson of Austin, Texas, had the fastest qualifying time of the day for the half-mile track with a time of 23.18 seconds.


Results –


Heat #1 - Bob Slater, Kansas City, Mo. 

Heat #2 - Charlie Lutkie, Wichita, Kan.
Heat #3 - Herschel Wagner, Hickman Mills, Mo.
Trophy Dash - Bob Slater
Australian Pursuit - Charlie Lutkie
Feature -
1. Bobby Grim, Indianapolis
2. Bob Slater
3. Jud Larson, Austin, Tex.
4. Herschel Wagner
5. Eddie Loetscher, St. Louis, Mo.
6. Jerry Schumaker, Wichita, Kan.
7. Lee Drollinger, Urbana, Ill.
8. Charlie Lutkie
9. Dick Coleman, North Platte, Neb.
10. Gordon Schuck, Edgar, Neb.

May 31, 1975

 

 

1960 - Jim Rathmann Wins '500' Classic

Jim Rathmann waves to his admirers after his victory in the 1960 Indianapolis 500. Rathmann was the first winner to wear the wreath around his neck. 

 

 

Indianapolis, Ind. (May 30, 1960) - Jim Rathmann of Miami won a record-breaking 500-mile auto race Monday on his 11th attempt, passing defending champion Rodger Ward only 7.5 miles from the finish.

Ward, of Indianapolis, finished second, reversing their finish in 1959, but Mondays was much closer.

Paul Goldsmith, St. Clair Shores, Mich., finished third. Rathmann's winning speed was 138.767 mile per hour beating Ward's 1959 record of 135.457, set last year.

Goldsmith's third-place finish came in a battle with Don Branson, Champaign, Ill., who finished fourth, and Johnny Thompson, Boyertown, Penn., fifth.

Running behind Thompson were Eddie Johnson, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, sixth; rookie Lloyd Ruby, Houston, Tex., seventh; Bob Veith, Oakland, Cal., eighth; Shorty Templeman, Seattle, ninth, and Bud Tingelstad, Dayton, Ohio, tenth.

Ward in second place averaged 138.632 miles per hour. Goldsmith's average speed was 136.798 miles per hour. Rathmann beat Ward by 12.67 seconds as Ward slowed with a weakening tire.

Sixteen other cars out of the starting 33 were chasing Rathmann and Ward in at the finish. Ward said a bad pit stop when he killed his engine may have cost him the race because he had to punish his tires so hard to get back into contention. He and Rathmann were nearly hub to hub for the last half of the race, until Ward slackened to avoid a tire failure.

Only one driver was seriously injured. Eddie Russo crashed on the southeast turn.

The track toll, however, reached 52 since 1909 with the deaths of two spectators, killed when a homemade infield stand toppled.

Speed records fell at virtually every mile post along the way. The high-speed grind knocked out the cars of Troy Ruttman, 1952 winner; Jimmy Bryan, who won in 1958, and Eddie Sachs, a front row, starter in three of his four 500-mile races. Ruttman and Sachs were among the lap leaders in the first 350 miles.

Ward was the only former winner left after Ruttman and Bryan dropped out. Ward and Rathmann shared the front row with Sachs in the starting lineup.

Ed Russo, driving his fourth 500, suffered a possible concussion when his car crashed into the retaining wall at the southeast turn in the only serious crash.

Tony Bettenhausen, a veteran of 14 races here, escaped burns in a fire-resistant uniform when he came into the pits with his car afire and out of the race.

Jim Hurtubise, the sensational 500 rookie who broke time trial records, had pulled up to fifth place before mechanical trouble took his car out after 473 miles.

Rathmann, 31, finished second in 1952, 1957 and 1959, and his 500 miles Monday gave him a total of 4,870 miles driven on the racetrack in 11 events, Rathmann's prizes probably would reach $110,000.



Results –

1. Jim Rathmann
2. Rodger Ward
3. Pal Goldsmith
4. Don Branson
5. Johnny Thomson
6. Eddie Johnson
7. Lloyd Ruby
8. Bob Veith
9. Bud Tingelstad
10. Bob Christie
11. Red Amick
12. Duane Carter
13. Bill Homeier
14. Gene Hartley
15. Chuck Stevenson
16. Bobby Grim
17. Shorty Templeman
18. Jim Hurtubise
19. Jimmy Bryan
20. Troy Ruttman
21. Eddie Sachs
22. Don Freeland
23. Tony Bettenhausen
24. Wayne Weiler
25. A.J. Foyt
26. Eddie Russo
27. Johnny Boyd
28. Gene Force
29. Jim McWhitney
30. Len Sutton
31. Dick Rathmann
32. Al Herman
33. Dempsey Wilson

1976 - Gaines Earns 2nd Little 500 Crown

Dick Gaines enjoys the spoils of victory.

 

Anderson, Ind. (May 29, 1976) - Dick Gaines walked out of Sun Valley Speedway Saturday night a little bit tired, awful happy and nearly $5,000 richer after leading the field home for the 1976 edition of the Little 500.

The Floyds Knob, Ind., resident crossed the finish line two hours, seven minutes, 14.49 seconds after starting from the pole position to earn his second win in this premier sprint car event.

"It got awful rough during the last part of the race," said Gaines who previously won in 1973. "Something went wrong during the last 100 laps or so. The car felt like it was going to shake me to pieces. I knew where I stood, though, and I wasn't about to let up any."

Gaines finished the grind over four laps ahead of Martinsville's Mike Johnson. But all was not as easy as it appeared.

Gaines jumped into the lead from the start with Columbus' Butch Wilkerson in close pursuit from his outside front row position. By the 50-lap mark, Wilkerson had overtaken Gaines with Ed Angle running a close third.

By the 60th lap, Gaines fell to fourth, trailing Wilkerson, Angle and Bob Luscomb.

The first major incident of the evening occurred on the 62nd lap when Ron Dorsett spun his Dennie Weatherford Chevy into the path of Danny Smith's ride. Both cars ended up against the retaining wall along the first turn and were done for the evening.

Angle had taken the lead by the 75-lap mark, but was unable to gain any substantial advantage over Wilkerson or Gaines. Gaines overtook Wilkerson, setting the stage for some close racing between himself and Angle until he took the lead on lap 170. Gaines was never headed again, building a gradual lead over the remainder of the competition.

Three-time winner Darl Harrison, although never applying any real pressure on the front-runners, remained in the top 10 until his engine ceased on the 300th lap. Angle was having some handling problems but held on to finish third behind Johnson.

Wilkerson eliminated himself on lap 409 when he lost control of his car near the end of the backstretch and smacked the wall, taking Bobby Adkins and Danny Milburn with him. Adkins was forced out of the running due to the mishap, but Milburn was able to continue.

Perhaps the biggest thrill during the evening (and nearly the most costly for Gaines) occurred on the 497th lap when Chuck Mosley, driving his own Chevy-powered machine, lost it coming onto the main stretch directly in the path of the oncoming Gaines. The eventual winner found room, however, to guide his Kinser Brothers Chevy between the broad sliding Mosley machine and the outside wall with less than a foot to spare. Gaines then coasted under the checkered flag, and then announced he would be back next year to try for number three.

With his Saturday night victory, Gaines collected $4,910 out of a purse in excess of $19,000. More than 14,000 fans were on hand for the 28th annual event.

 

Results –

1. Dick Gaines
2. Mike Johnson
3. Ed Angle
4. Galen Short
5. Robert Smith
6. Bill Roynan
7. Tony Solomito
8. Ron Larson
9. Chuck Mosley
10. Bob Luscomb
11. Billy Joe Havens
12. Danny Johnson
13. Danny Milburn
14. Butch Wilkerson
15. Bucky Boughan
16. Bobby Adkins
17. Allen Barr
18. Bill Ludington
19. Casey Jones
20. Bernie Graybeal
21. Leon Thickstun
22. Bob McDaniel
23. Darl Harrison
24. Danny Landis
25. Mike Blake
26. Tim Boyd
27. Curt Kelley
28. Ron Semelka
29. Kenny Simpson
30. John Batts
31. Ron Dorsett
32. Danny Smith
33. Charlie Wilmot

1972 - Bad luck continues to plague Shryock team at Fairmont track

Fairmont, Minn. (May 28, 1972) - Dave Bjorge of Austin won the accident-marred feature race of the late model stock car races here at the Fairmont Speedways on Friday night. Bjorge started in the pole position with his '69 Plymouth and then outlasted Mert Williams of Rochester.

Involved in the four-car melee were Ole Brua of Albert Lea, Mike Enter of St. Peter, Joe Salner of St. Cloud and Bob Shryock of Estherville, Iowa. Brua hit the back wall during the backstretch of the fourth lap, rolled with the other three cars piling in. Brua somehow got out of his safety harness, escaped through the car’s safety cage and got off the track. He suffered second and third degree burns on his hands and arms with burns also on his legs. The other drivers escaped with minor injuries. Brua’s car was totally burned up.

Only two drivers cracked the 27-second mark over the half-mile track during time trials. Bob Weber of Lone Rock, Iowa, driving a ‘64 Chevelle was the pacesetter in 26.22 seconds. Joe Salner of St. Cloud, driving a ‘65 Studebaker with a 350 Chevrolet engine was clocked in 26.97 during the time trials.

Mert Williams, the point leader at the start of the race program of the late model division, won the first heat while Ole Brua of Albert Lea took top honors in the second heat. 

Williams, of Rochester, starting the night’s program with 500 points in two nights of racing, took the lead on the second lap after starting on the second row inside. Williams was driving a ‘70 Monte Carlo. Brua, in a ‘69 Torino, started on the third row inside, fought his way through heavy traffic during the first four laps but then won by a comfortable margin over Bob Weber of Lone Rock, Iowa. Al Jackson set the early pace in the second heat but fell to the back of the pack after spinning out during the fourth lap.

Joe Salner of St. Cloud outlasted Brua in the late model dash event. Salner, starting on the pole position took the lead on the second lap and then held off Brua. Brua nosed past Salner briefly on the back stretch of the final lap but then Slaner regained the lead when Brua went high on the number three corner. Salner then stayed low on the track and won by less than two feet.

Jim Calverley of Albert Lea took advantage of the pole position in the late model consolation race to outrace five other drivers for top money. Jack Piver of Mason City was second. Calverley was driving a ‘69 Camaro while Piver was in a ‘65 Chevelle.

Top honors in the street model class went to Bill Hawker of Alden and Bob Wohlford of Fairmont. Hawker, driving a Dodge won the first heat after starting on the first row outside. Wolford, in a Ford, started on fourth row inside and took the lead on the sixth lap when Gary Saathoff, the pace setter since the second lap, blew a tire and was forced out of the race.

1974 - Don White Wins 100-Lap USAC Tilt at Sedalia

Don White

 

 

Sedalia, Mo. (May 27, 1974) - Don White of Keokuk, Iowa, a two-time United States Auto Club (USAC) stock-car champion, won the 50th feature of his career Monday by capturing the 100-lap main event on the half-mile track at the Missouri State Fairgrounds.

A crowd of 4,500 was on hand to see the races that were postponed from Sunday by rain.

White, driving a 1972 Dodge, and Ernie Derr, also of Keokuk, who finished second in 1972 Dodge, were the only leaders. White led the first four laps, Derr from lap 5 to 35 and then White, who will be 48 years old next month, the remaining distance.

The first four finishers were from the Hawkeye state as Irv Janey, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1973 Plymouth, and Ramo Stott, Keokuk, in 1974 Plymouth, were third and fourth, respectively.

It turned out to be two races on the track. Derr, who finished second Friday night in Knoxville, Iowa to Butch Hartman, the current USAC champion, chased White to the limit. Janey, who was third in the Knoxville teacher, two, had to hold off Stott in a tremendous duel for third place.

Hartman was never a factor in this one as he was credited with 14th place after going out with transmission troubles after 80 laps.

In taking the lead for good on the 36th lap White drove underneath Derr going around turns one and two.

“I wanted Derr in front for a while just to see where he would run,” White said of his strategy of giving up the lead briefly.

“The original plan was to change the right rear tire at about 50 laps,” commented the winner, “but the track conditions didn't change that much and the tires weren't wearing as much as anticipated.”

White collected $1,660 of the nearly $10,000 purse.

Another great driving feat was turned in by Bill Utz of Sedalia in the companion sprint car feature. The invited field of 22 drivers competed in back to back 25 – lap races in Utz won them both.

By winning the first race Utz was the last-place starter in the second race as the entire field was inverted.

Gene Gennetten of Gladstone, Mo., was second in both races. Gennetten appeared to have victory in sight in the second race when he was passed by Utz with one lap remaining.

Jay Lyle of Warrensburg, Mo., was third in both features and Gary Scott of Holt Summit, Mo., was fourth in each sprint race.

Today in Racing History

 

 

May 24, 2002