Ken Reiter
Louisville, Ky. (August 14, 1971) – The only suspense at Fairgrounds Motor Speedway on Saturday night was whether Ken Reiter would stop off for ice cream to go with the piece of cake that was his victory in the International 500.
Though his victory was by only two laps over runner-up Ramo Stott in the 500-lap ARCA-sanctioned race for new and late model stock cars, Reiter had things under complete control by the time the race was only halfway completed.
He claimed the lead for good – except for a brief period when the lead juggled while most of the drivers made their pit stops near the halfway point – on the 78th lap. And by lap 300 the only question was would his car hold up to the end.
It did, no one got closer that Stott’s two-lap deficit at the finish.
“We didn’t plan to lead for so long,” said Reiter’s mechanic and car owner, Gerald Newman, afterwards. “Our plan was to run up with the leaders and then try and win it towards the end if we had the chance. But, heck, we got the lead and couldn’t do nothing about it!”
Reiter, the current points leader at the Fairgrounds, did not drive the car he normally drives. Instead, he drove a car that would have been driven by Roy Wathen had he not been ailing.
The evening had its most poignant moment when Wathen told the crowd of more than 6,200, “It doesn’t look like they need me anymore.”
Reiter claimed $1,800 as the winner and runner-up Stott collected $1,300.
Each of the second through fourth place finishers experienced difficulties that might have worsened their finish although its doubtful anyone could have caught the smooth-running Reiter.
Stott scraped the paint off about 100 feet of the wall around the track after his last qualifying lap in the afternoon and finished repairs on his well-dented vehicle just 15 minutes before the field took the green flag.
Al Arnold, who finished third, lost a full lap when his car spun and stalled after it was hit by Bob McCoy on lap 169. Later, he was delayed for a full lap coming out of the pit area when his crew forgot to secure the cap on his gas tank.
He finished two laps behind Stott and five laps behind Reiter.
Drivers complained of the slick track during afternoon qualifying and Ed Richardville predicted a “bad night for sheet metal,” but the caution flag flew only five times for only 18 laps. Fourteen of the 27 starters were still running at the end.
Results –
1. Ken Reiter, Louisville
2. Ramo Stott, Keokuk, Iowa
3. A. Arnold, Brooks
4. Tom Bowsher, Springfield, Ohio
5. Bill Clemons, Albany, Ind.
6. Hank Hartlage, Louisville
7. Ed Richardville, Temperance, Mich.
8. Elmer Davis, Albany, Ind.
9. Kenny Black, Indianapolis
10.Freddie Holbert, Louisville
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