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Richard "Red" Amick
Des Moines, Iowa (August 23, 1964) – Indianapolis veteran Red Amick kept Greg Weld of Kansas City back on his exhaust stack for 24 laps and won the 25-lap International Motor Contest Association sprint car feature at the Iowa State Fair before an announced crowd of 14,000.
Weld, a 21-year-old rookie sensation who won at Sedalia, Mo., on Saturday, had the lead on the first lap, but lost it going high in the first corner of the second lap and was never able to pass his 35-year-old rival.
Amick, driving the Floyd Abbott Chevrolet out of Danville, Ky., stayed in the only groove on the hard, asphalt-like surface which was responsible for crashes and spin outs in all but one of the six races, two which had to be restarted.
The chief casualties were Jerry Daniels of St. Paul, Minn., second in the current IMCA points, and Harold Leep of Wichita, Kan., second to IMCA point leader Jerry Richert in Friday’s opening 30-lap feature.
Richert, of Forest Lake, Minn., did not compete on Sunday because of a race date in another IMCA-sanctioned in Owatonna, Minn.
Daniels, who flipped on top of Amick at Sedalia Saturday, was attempting to move up on the leaders when he spun coming off the third turn. He was out of the money by the time the wrecker had pushed him into the pits for an inspection.
Leep came to grief on the fourth lap of the second qualifying heat when he nosed into the inside rail, taking a section out of the rail and himself out of the remainder of the program. This started several spins among drivers attempting to get out of the way and caused the race to be restarted.
The opening heat also was red-flagged for a restart on the third lap. Gordon Woolley, last year's IMCA sprint champion, rode over Amick's rear wheel, causing both to spin coming out of the second turn. Both escaped damage.
The yellow flag dropped for two laps in the third heat after Chuck Berg of Des Moines locked front wheels with Doc Schaeffer of Alameda, Calif., coming off the second turn on the inaugural lap.
Schaeffer spun again on the third turn during the fifth lap, causing the yellow flag fly again. Don Rittman of Lee’s Summit, Mo., spun coming off of turn four on the sixth lap.
The consolation was finally halted after the four spin-outs and collisions at the end of the eighth lap. The race got under way, with a triple spin-out in the first turn.
Wilburn Bennett of Berkeley, Mich., spun, then Carl Williams of Kansas City swerved to avoid a collision, but slid into Jerry Weld, knocking Greg's brother against the wall and putting him out for the day.
Bennett spun out twice more and was pushed off the track. Then on the eighth lap, after the green flag had waved for only two go-rounds, Bob Coulter of Long Beach, Cal., was hit by Jerry Higgins of Des Moines, coming off the second corner.
Pete Stone of Indianapolis slid in the wall and also left competition for the day.
Amick, the IMCA's new half-mile speed record-holder, and Weld ran off and left Woolley and Jerry Blundy of Galesburg, Ill., third and fourth-place finishers, at the head of the pack which didn’t relish on trying to be brave on the dangerous, slick dirt oval.
Results –
Heat #1 – Jay Woodside, Wichita, Kan.
Heat #2 – Dean Mast, Dover, Ohio
Heat #3 – Ray Duckworth, Anderson, Ind.
Trophy dash – Red Amick, Muncie, Ind.
Consolation – Red Amick
Feature –
1. Red Amick
2. Greg Weld, Kansas City
3. Gordon Woolley, Waco, Tex.
4. Jerry Blundy, Galesburg, Ill.
5. Jim McCune, Toledo, Ohio
6. Bob Pratt, Union City, Ind.
7. Dale Reed, Topeka, Kan.
8. Dean Mast
9. Jay Woodside
10. Ray Duckworth
11. Don Brown, Sam Fernando, Calif.
12. Jim Moughan, Springfield, Ill.
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