1963 – Hutcherson holds off Liebe for IMCA win at West Union

Dick Hutcherson

West Union, Iowa (August 20, 1963) – Oelwein's Chub Liebe chased Dick Hutcherson for 50 laps in the feature event of late model stock car races at the Fayette County fair Tuesday night — before the biggest grandstand crowd in the history of the fair.

Over 5,000 racing fans (fair officials were still checking exact figures on Wednesday morning) jammed the half-mile oval to watch Fayette County's Chub Liebe match driving talents with the best of the 1MCA circuit.

Hutcherson (like Liebe, driving '63 Fords) gained the pole position in the feature when he took first in the time trials with a time of 28.05 seconds. Liebe started in the second row, inside, with a third place time.

The Keokuk driver, who has swept 15 feature wins in recent months, pushed his car to an early lead and held it throughout the 25 mile event.

Liebe stayed within 100 to150 yards behind the Keokuk driver, but couldn't find room to pull his shiny-red vehicle into range to pass the leader.

Both cars completely outclassed other starters in the race, lapping everyone at least once.

The start of the racing events was delayed for a time due to the giant crowd. Officials allowed hundreds of fans to watch the action from the infield.


Results –


1. Dick Hutcherson, Keokuk
2. Chub Liebe, Oelwein
3. Newt Bartholomew, Carlisle
4. Bill Thomas, St. Paul, Minn.
5. Dick Johnson, Russell, Minn.
6. Bob Reynolds, Edmond, Okla.
7. Mert Williams, Rochester, Minn.
8. Jim Washburn, Keokuk