Red Dralle holds his trophy for winning the 50-lap season championship at Tunis Speedway.
Waterloo, Iowa (August 24, 1975) – When Red Dralle of Evansdale arrive at the pits Sunday night at Tunis Speedway, he announced he was there just to have fun.
Fun and all, Dralle certainly got more than he bargained for as he copped the top prize in the late model 50-lap season championship.
The big race, the late model 50-lapper, was pushed up on the program by Tunis promoter Claus Stricker when dark clouds started moving in early in the evening.
Stricker turned out the winner on that one when high winds and rain finally halted the races during the final event – the 15-lap late model consolation. The consolation event had officially clicked off two laps when the rains came.
The large turnout, which came to see D. Arthur Nesteby of Waterloo, the seasonal point leader, and Karl Sanger, also of Waterloo, duel it out in the 50-lap feature, had to settle into their seats early when the race, slated last on the program, was moved up.
Oddly enough, Nesteby was the first to go as only nine of the 15 starters finished the race, and Sanger ended in third when the race concluded.
Nesteby, exercising his option to start the race on the outside of the front row just as he did last year when he won this race, was in the lead after eight laps when his car entered the third turn too strongly and flipped over the banking, landing on its side. His gas pedal had apparently stuck after bolting the backstretch.
The popular Nesteby waved to the crowd’s applause as he rode on the rear of the towed car, out of the race with front end damage.
With Nesteby gone, Bob Hilmer of Dysart took over and led for all but three laps until the gears went out on his quick-change.
But on the ensuing lap following Nesteby’s mishap, Tom Hamilton of Jesup went off the backside and the race had to be restarted a third time.
Sanger led briefly, before Hilmer moved to the front. Then it was Dralle’s turn at leadership, and It came on lap 28. Denny Osborn of Cedar Falls chased Dralle for the last 22 laps, but it was to no avail.
And for Dralle, it was a long way from his 15th starting spot, but a short haul when it’s just out for the fun of it.
The sportsman feature, a 30-lapper, was won by Steve Auringer of Waterloo with Roger Buchholz of Cedar Falls in second and John Weers of Readlyn in third.
Results –
Heat #1 – Willy Klingfus, Waterloo
Heat #2 – Dave Plum, Waterloo
Heat #3 – Tom Bartholomew, Waterloo
Feature –
1. Red Dralle, Evansdale
2. Denny Osborn, Cedar Falls
3. Karl Sanger, Waterloo
4. Darrell Sells, Waverly
5. Duane Van Deest, Grundy Center
No comments:
Post a Comment