Dick
Trickle made off with the 3rd annual All Star 100 at Rockford. Brad Deery, son
of Rockford promoter Hugh Deery, presents Trickle with his trophy.
By Stan Kalwasinski
Loves Park, Ill. (July 15, 1980) – Taking advantage of rapidly changing situations was the key to Dick Trickle’s success Tuesday night, as the Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., pilot drove his Camaro to victory in ARTGO Racing’s third annual All Star 100 late model stock car special at Rockford Speedway.
For Trickle, the current ARTGO point leader and defending champion, it was feature win number seven of the current campaign on the circuit.
Running in the third spot for most of the race after narrowly avoiding a crash in the early part of the race, Trickle moved into second after pacesetter Joe Shear was forced out with a badly smoking mount and then slipped past Mike Miller with four laps to go to score the victory.
Trailing Trickle at the end were Miller, Dave Watson, Jim Sauter, Rusty Wallace and NASCAR star Darrell Waltrip.
A field of 20 answered the call for the start of the 100-lapper on the high-banked, paved quarter-mile oval, with Larry Schuler jumping from his outside front row starting position. Schuler and his Camaro were challenged by Watson throughout the early going.
Eight laps were down when the first yellow waved as Ken Lund spun his Granada in turn three. Trying desperately to get around Schuler for the lead, Watson lost control of his Camaro in turn four on lap 16.
Moving up into second place, Shear chased Schuler until lap 31, when the six-time Rockford champion moved his Camaro into the top spot. Shear’s second lap in command was the last lap of green flag racing for a time since the red flag waved after 32 laps because of the event’s most spectacular mishap.
Running in the second spot, Schuler broke a water pump as he headed into turn one, spilling water all over the racing surface. Following closely behind, Larry Detjens, Ed Hoffman, Willie Goeden, Dennis Vogel, John Knaus, Bobby Dotter, Mike Miller, Jim Sauter and Mark Malcuit, joined Schuler in crashing in varying degrees between turns one and two, with the Camaro’s of Detjens and Hoffman sailing hard into the outside wall. Trickle, who credited his presence in the lower groove to his well-being, missed the fracas.
With Detjens, Hoffman, Goeden, Schuler and Knaus out, it was Shear, Miller and Trickle leading the way when green flag racing resumed. With Shear streaking to a commanding margin, Miller and Trickle battled for second. Watson was a spinout victim again on lap 47, bringing out the yellow for the fourth time.
At the halfway mark, Shear was ahead of Miller, Trickle, Malcuit and Waltrip, making both his Rockford and ARTGO debut. Waltrip’s pace would be slowed a great deal after 57 laps, as his car encountered engine problems.
With a sizeable advantage over Miller and Trickle, Shear’s ride began to belch slight puffs of smoke through the turns. As the race closed on lap 90, the puffs became bigger and Shear’s lead smaller.
Miller and Trickle, quickly joined by Sauter, moved in on Shear, making it a four-car battle for first. With Shear barely holding on to his lead, Sauter got crossed u in turn one as he battled to improve his position and was clipped by Malcuit, bringing out yet another yellow. Shear’s machine, smoking badly and losing oil, was sent to the pits by race officials to join Malcuit, who was knocked out after his bout with Sauter.
Inheriting the lead, Miller, who had been holding of Trickle for almost two-thirds of the race, kept his Cutlass on top for two circuits as the seven cars remaining in the race dashed for the checkered flag.
But, on lap 97, Miller briefly lost control between turns one and two, opening the door for Trickle to take the lead he held the rest of the way.
Results –
1. Dick Trickle, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.
2. Mike Miller, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.
3. Dave Watson, Milton, Wis.
4. Jim Sauter, Necedah, Wis.
5. Rusty Wallace, St. Louis, Mo.
6. Darrell Waltrip, Franklin, Tenn.
7. Ray Young, Dolton
8. Joe Shear, South Beloit
9. Mark Malcuit, Strasburg, Ohio
10.Tom Reffner, Rudolph, Wis.
11.Bobby Dotter, Chicago
12.Tom Jones, Northbrook
13.Dennis Vogel, Manitowoc, Wis.
14.Larry Schuler, New Lenox
15.Larry Detjens, Wausau, Wis.
16.Ed Hoffman, Bensenville
17.John Knaus, Rockford
18.Willie Goeden, Kewaskum, Wis.
19.Frank Gawlinski, Lynwood
20.Ken Lund, Deerfield, Wis.
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