Dennis Selting proudly displays his trophy after winning the third annual KIJV 100 at the South Dakota State Fair Speedway in Huron.
Huron, S.D. (August 19, 1981) - Pressure packed auto racing at its best.
That’s what the KIJV 100 amounted to as the third annual classic concluded Wednesday night at State Fair Speedway with Huron’s Dennis Selting taking home the biggest chunk of the $14,000-plus prize money.Selting never led the 50-lap late model main event until near the end, then lost the lead, only to regain it again.
It all added up to an exciting two days of auto racing for both the spectators and the drivers.
For Selting, the break he needed cam e on the 41st lap when Chelsea’s Jim Rawden took out Roger Saathoff of Bruce, who appeared to be headed to victory.
Rawden had dropped out of the race earlier but had just re-entered when he made contact with Saathoff in turns one and two. Saathoff’s car suffered suspension damage, but some hasty patchwork with a log chain found him back in the field on the restart. Rawden, however, was black flagged and was done for the night.
On the restart, Selting took the lead and led until the 48th lap when Denny Hovinga of Pocahontas, Iowa took the lead. Hovinga’s lead was short lived as Selting retook the lead on the 49th lap and went on to win.
“I felt I could get back by him (Hovinga),’’ Selting said. “The car was geared right, and tired right and I knew I could run the high side. I was cautious, but I can’t say he didn’t rattle me when he passed me.”
When the red flag came out for the Rawden-Saathoff crash, Selting’s pit crew went to work, changing gears and tires.
“Changing gears made the win, no doubt,” said Selting. "It was a strategy we planned from the start. We went with the odds that there would be a flag late in the race, but we wanted it about 15 laps earlier.”
Dale Johnson of Wessington Springs, the owner of the number 18 Chevrolet Camaro that Selting drives, agreed.
“We were geared a little too deep and we were hoping for a red flag somewhere around the 20th or 25th lap. Changing gears did us more good than changing tires. If we wouldn’t have been able to do that, it would have been tough to win. We probably wouldn’t have won.”
Saathoff was able to finish the race, but the suspension on his 1981 Buick Regal was not the same.
Saathoff had taken the lead on lap 28 and gradually pulled away, appearing to be untouchable.
“If Saathoff wouldn’t have been in the accident, we couldn’t have caught him,” said Selting, who got $1,500 for the win.
Hovinga was forced to settle for second place with Saathoff limping across the finish line in third. Two Aberdeen drivers rounded out the top five with Ron Droog taking fourth and Al Nordstrom claiming fifth.
Em Fretheim of Decorah, Iowa, who won a 25-lap qualifying feature Tuesday night to earn the pole position in the 50-lapper, did not have a good night.
On the first lap of the main event, he was involved in a crash with Andy Eilers of Canby, Minn. His car suffered suspension dam age and 10 laps later he was forced to drop out.
Wednesday night’s program consisted of five races, including three for late models. Saathoff won the trophy dash and Nordstrom took the ‘B’ qualifying feature.
Results –
1. Dennis Selting, Huron
2. Dennis Hovinga, Pocahontas, Iowa
3. Roger Saathoff, Bruce
4. Ron Droog, Aberdeen
5. Al Nordstrom Aberdeen
6. Andy Eilers, Canby, Minn.
7. Mark Windoiski, Omaha, Neb.
8. Randy Schilling, Gettysburg
9. Dallas Lafferty, Reliance
10.Marlin Seidler, Underwood, N.D.
11.Les Erickson, Langford
12.Doug Amick, Rapid City
13.Marv Reagle, Valentine, Neb.
14.Jim Schmidt, Flandreau
15.Sheldon Reding, Harrold
16.Jerry Pridal, Taunton, Minn.
17.Em Fretheim, Decorah, Iowa
18.Brad Tollefson, Canby, Minn.
19.Rich Thomas, Aberdeen
20.Dennis Gross, Huron
No comments:
Post a Comment