Grady Wade is joined by car owner Chet Wilson after winning the 30-lap IMCA big car feature at the Iowa State Fair. IMCA's Gene Van Winkle (far left) and flagman Woody Brinkman (far right) join the duo in victory lane.
Des Moines, Iowa (August 27, 1966) – Grady Wade, a 29-year-old rookie from the super modified tracks of Kansas and Oklahoma, won the 30-lap main before 9,500 onlookers at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday’s big car meet was heated competition as Rollie Beale, the winner of the 25-lap fair opener, could do no better than fourth place.
Jerry Blundy of Galesburg, Ill., the Hawkeye Futurity winner in the spring, finished second while Jim Moughan of Springfield, Ill., grabbed third. Beale and Gordon Woolley of Waco, Tex., followed.
The race also marked what reportedly was the debut of Earl Wagner, a Pleasantville plumber and hero of Knoxville's supers, in big car sprints. Earl drove Billy Moyer's Chevy, but couldn't quite manage a money finish and was fifth in the consolation.
Beale, who started on the outside of time trial leader Wade on the front row, stayed with the Wichita driver and the Chet Wilson Chevy through the first 11 laps, but it was a futile chase. First Moughan, then Blundy overhauled Beale on the fifteenth and sixteenth laps.
Blundy's attempt to challenge Wade had to wait six laps. Jerry closed in on Wade's tailpipe, but he was never able to pass his younger rival in the remaining seven laps. Moughan had a wide margin on Beale, who in turn was well in front of Woolley.
Chuck Lynch spun out on the third corner of the first lap to bring out the yellow flag for the first four laps. They got another yellow on the eighth through the tenth on a partial spin-out.
Aldo Andretti had another day of poverty. He spun on the third corner during a warm-up lap and ruptured his gas tank. Car owner Don Friend couldn't make a repair in time to get Aldo back on the track for any of the qualifying runs.
Results –
1. Grady Wade, Kansas City
2. Jerry Blundy, Galesburg, Ill.
3. Jim Moughan, Springfield, Ill.
4. Rollie Beale, Toledo, Ohio
5. Gordon Woolley, Waco, Tex.
6. Bill Puterbaugh, Roxana, Ill.
7. PeeWee Wilson, Taylorville, Ill.
8. Dick Ritchie, Cedar Rapids
9. Don Brown, San Fernando, Calif.
10.Ralph Parkinson, Wichita Falls, Tex.
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