1971 – Davis is Boone Mid-Season Champ

 

Greg Davis

Boone, Iowa (June 27, 1971) – Mechanical difficulties and mistakes wiped out the lead of two top drivers during the Boone Speedway mid-season championships Saturday night and Greg Davis, Boone, was waiting to take advantage.

Davis captured his first feature win of the season and the mid-season championship trophy.

Denny Hovinga, Laurens, the point leader for the year at Boone, had the pole position in the feature, and took the early lead. He held the top spot during the early part of the race which was marred by several restarts as drivers had control issues on the dusty, dry, slick track.

While waiting for the fifth restart, Hovinga’s fuel line separated, dumping alcohol on the track. His pit crew quickly corrected the problem, but track rules put him out of the race since working on cars while on the track is not allowed.

This gave Gene Schattschneider, Algona, the lead, and he held it until two and two-thirds laps remained in the 25-lap contest.

Coming out of the second turn on lap 23, Schattschneider almost lost it, and Davis, who had been riding the Algona driver’s rear bumper, scooted by and took the checkered flag.

David, currently fourth in the point standings, had not won a single event at the Boone oval until tonight, although he had consistently been a high finisher. He had finished in the top-five 18 times during the season.

During the middle of the race, one of the harder battles for position took place between Lynn Ballard, Ames, and Dwight Engleen, Ogden, who was the second heat winner.

Ballard, who had started on the outside of the sixth row, worked his way through the field during numerous restarts, then took third place from Engleen. However, Ballard was riding too high on the track and Engleen ducked under him to regain third, and Mike Keen, Marshalltown, also slipped by the Ames driver. By the checkered flag, another Ames pilot, Earl Tice, slipped by Ballard to take fifth.

Ballard also posted his second win of the night, winning the B-main. Del McDowell, Ames, was leading that event by a quarter of a lap but suddenly went into the pit area with engine problems with two laps to go.

Arnie Braland, Boone, had a new engine in his car for championship night but it didn’t help.

In the first heat he had the lead for the first five laps before Hovinga got by. He regained it on lap 6 but a lap later his car began to smoke, and he retired to the pit area on lap 9.

Coming out of the B-feature, Braland again had the lead but started backing off after six laps and pulled out two laps later when the oil pressure disappeared on his big Chevy engine.

Glenn Woodard, Des Moines, the point leader in the sportsman division, got back into his winning ways as he took first place in his heat and the 15-lap feature.


Results –


Heat #1 – Denny Hovinga, Laurens
Heat #2 – Dwight Engleen, Ogden
B-main – Lynn Ballard, Ames
A-main – Denny Hovinga
Feature –
1. Greg Davis, Boone
2. Gene Schattschneider, Algona
3. Dwight Engleen
4. Mike Keen, Marshalltown
5. Earl Tice, Ames
6. Lynn Ballard
7. Arlo Dorenbush, Boone
8. Rich Green, Webster City
9. Darreld Bunkofske, Algona