Darrell Dake
Cedar Rapids, Iowa (July 10, 1965) - Darrell Dake of Cedar Rapids set a record for 50 laps Saturday night at Hawkeye Downs as he won the 50-lap mid-season stock car championship of the Mid-Continent Racing Association (MCRA).
A crowd of 7,500 fans, the largest of the season, was on hand for the event.
Dake went the distance in 15 minutes and 35.4 seconds, bettering the old mark by 16.46 second, set by Jerry Reinhart of East Moline back in 1962.
Dake finished ahead of Bill Zwanziger of Waterloo in the championship race. Mert Williams was third and Lee Kunzman of Guttenberg fourth.
Three accidents marred the feature event. Ray Guss drove 22 laps on three wheels after losing a front left tire, finally dropping out after 40 laps.
Jim Gerber broke an axle on the 46th lap and John Connolly lost his steering and hit the wall in front of the grandstand on the 38th lap while he was running second.
Results –
Heat #1 – Charlie Moffitt, Stanwood
Heat #2 – Cal Swanson, Reinbeck
Heat #3 – Bill Zwanziger, Waterloo
Feature –
1. Darrell Dake, Cedar Rapids
2. Bill Zwanziger
3. Mert Williams, Rochester, Minn.
4. Lee Kunzman, Guttenberg
5. Charlie Moffitt
6. Jim Gerber, Mt. Joy
That is when we had real stock car racing. And real drivers, that would build and race their cars.Sure miss the good old days.
ReplyDelete