Waterloo,
Iowa (September 7, 1969) – The 1969 racing season was brought to a close on
Sunday at J.L. Tunis Speedway, with a veteran of many years on the dirt ovals,
claiming the 50-lap season championship.
Jules "Chub" Liebe
of Oelwein, Iowa, a former IMCA star, drove his usual steady race to win the
21st consecutive season finale.
The championship
saw Karl Sanger of Waterloo, Iowa, jump from his outside front row position into
the lead on the first lap, and began to pull away.
One of the
pre-race favorites – and leader in the point standings, Curt Hansen of Dike,
Iowa, had his hopes of a high finish washed away quickly, as internal engine
injurie sidelined him for good after only five circuits.
Ty Burger of
Cedar Falls, Iowa, who started on the outside of the second row, moved into
second behind Sanger, and remained a strong contender until he left the race
with what appeared to be a faulty water pump.
Sanger had
built a comfortable lead when, on lap 19, Tom Hamilton of Independence, Iowa,
spun on the fourth turn, and Sanger hit him, bending the tie rods on his 1964
Ford, and knocking his wheels out of alignment.
This
shortened Sanger’s lead, as on the restart, the current runner-up, Liebe, got
the jump on Sanger, and moved ahead to stay for the final 30 laps.
Lynn Idler
of Ionia, Iowa, also proceeded to get past Sanger and after a hard-fought battle
for seven or eight laps, moved his 1966 Oldsmobile past to secure second place.
Larry
DeFrance of Marshalltown Iowa, leaving a steady stream of blue smoke from his
1966 Pontiac, also got by Sanger in the waning laps to claim third place.
Results –
1. Chub Liebe, Oelwein, Iowa
2. Lynn Idler, Ionia, Iowa
3. Larry DeFrance, Marshalltown, Iowa
4. Karl Sanger, Waterloo, Iowa
5. Roger Klingfus, Waterloo, Iowa
No comments:
Post a Comment