Jerry Richert is congratulated by promoter Al Sweeney after winning the 30-lap IMCA sprint car feature at Nashville.
Nashville,
Tenn. (September 22, 1968) – Jerry Richert of Forest Lake, Minn., was the most
excited person at the Tennessee State Fair after winning the 30-lap IMCA sprint
car feature event on Sunday afternoon.
Richert, who
has already clinched the IMCA sprint car national championship, said, “I’ve
been trying for 10 years to win on a banked track and it feels wonderful.
Richert
revealed that the car he drove set a record for 30 laps two years ago when it
was driven by Don “Scratch” Daniels.
“Scratch
told me I could win with it, but I didn’t think I could do it. I can’t believe
it,” said Richert, who has been driving race cars since 1951.
Finishing
second was Don Nordhorn of Mitchell, Ind., Saturday night’s feature winner,
while Tom York of South Bend, Ind., was third. Ray Wright of Elkhart, Ind.,
took fourth and Dick Gaines of Mishawaka, Ind., rounded out the top five.
Local
favorite, Jimmy Griggs of Donelson, Tenn., ran second most of the feature until
encountering mechanical difficulties.
Two of
Griggs’ old sprint records were broken in heat races. In the second 8-lap heat
race, Dick Gaines won in 2 minutes and 44 seconds breaking Griggs’ old mark of
2 minutes and 48 seconds.
In the 5-lap
trophy dash, Richert was clocked in 1 minute and 41 seconds beating Griggs’
standard of 1 minute and 42 seconds.
One of the
hard luck drivers at the track was Don Carmichael of Hobart, Ind. Hobart set a
new track record in qualifying on Saturday night only to have two cylinders go
out on his car. On Sunday afternoon, Carmichael was stricken again when the mag
went out.
Results –
Trophy dash
– Jerry Richert, Forest Lake, Minn.
First heat –
Ray Duckworth, Anderson, Ind.
Second heat
– Dick Gaines, Mishawaka, Ind.
Third heat –
Eddie Angle, Flora, Ind.
Consolation
– Ray Wright, Elkhart, Ind.
Feature –
1. Jerry Richert
2. Don Nordhorn, Mitchell, Ind.
3. Tom York, South Bend, Ind.
4. Ray Wright
5. Dick Gaines
6. Jay Woodside, Kansas City
7. Claire Lawicki, Madison Heights,
Mich.
8. Ray Duckworth
9. Doc Dawson, Dayton, Ohio
10.
John
Peddle, Madison, Ind.
No comments:
Post a Comment