Jerry Hansen
St. Paul,
Minn. (September 3, 1972) –Jerry Hansen, a 33-year-old Minneapolis driver,
wheeled his orange #44 Lola Chevrolet superbly around the half-mile Minnesota
State Fair track, to win by a three-lap advantage in the International Motor
Contest Association (IMCA) Golden Gopher 200-lap sprint car race before 9,972
fans on Sunday.
Making his
circle track debut, the sports car racing star outclassed a starting field of
24 drivers on a rainy afternoon, which made necessary 76 yellow flag caution
laps.
Hansen
picked up $3,000 first place prize money in the race, which offered a total
purse of $13,000. He also received the Governor’s Cup, a check for $250 from
the STP Corporation, a helmet from Sterling Products Co., and two tires and
wheels from Hoosier Racing Tire Corp. Roy Campbell, Hansen’s crew chief,
received a set of tools from S-K Tools.
Hansen was
given approval by IMCA officials to drive his unique machine in the race after
removing the wing and spoiler from the car and placing the oil pan under the
machine.
Happy with
the way his car handled on the paved half-mile oval, Hansen said he enjoyed the
experience of driving against a field of drivers he termed the best he has ever
competed against.
“I felt
comfortable out there going wheel to wheel,” said Hansen. “Jerry Richert really
impressed me with his driving.”
“We’ll be
back next year,” he added.
Results –
1.
Jerry
Hansen
2.
Jim
Linder
3.
John
Albrechtson
4.
Lyn
McIntosh
5.
Jerry
Richert
6.
Jeff
Bloom
7.
Ray
Wright
8.
Barry
Kettering
9.
Joe
Demko
10. Cliff
Koidahl
Hanson's win was followed by a ruling that outlawed rear-mid engine sprint cars.
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