1966 – New Driver, Old Car Wins State Fair Race

 

Bill Puterbaugh is congratulated by Nebraska State Fair secretary Henry Brandt as IMCA’s Woody Brinkman holds the checkers. Car owner Hector Honore and mechanic John Heisdorf proudly look on.

Lincoln, Neb. (September 4, 1966) – A young driver and an old reliable car spelled success in Sunday’s IMCA sprint car feature at the Nebraska State Fair.

The winning combination was the driver, Bill Puterbaugh, the 1965 IMCA co-rookie of the year, and Hector Honore’s remarkably reliable #2 Black Deuce sprint car.

The Puterbaugh – Honore team made a one-man affair of the 30-lap feature as Jim Moughan of Springfield, Ill., was far back in winning a close battle for second place.

“It’s my top win of the year for a Fair date,” said Puterbaugh of Roxana, Ill. “We’ve been running consistently in the top-five, but this is my first feature win in IMCA racing.”

Honore, of Pana, Ill., and a 31-year veteran of auto racing, happily offered that the race was the 430th feature win for him and his popular car and their 696th victory counting match races and heats races.

“Of course, it takes a driver, too,” Honore added.

State Fair fans will probably remember the Honore machine as the same car driven for a number of years by Bobby Grim (1955-1958) and Pete Folse (1959-1962).

Veteran IMCA promoter Al Sweeney can attest the success of Honore’s car over the years. “It’s won more features and set more records than any other car in the history of auto racing in the United States,” Sweeney pointed out.

In addition to the feature win, Puterbaugh also took the STP dash over the new half-mile dirt oval.

Jerry Blundy of Galesburg, Ill., who lost a head gasket late in Saturday’s feature but still held on to win the event, had no such luck on Sunday.

Blundy broke a drive shaft and was forced to retire after 26 laps. He was running third at the time and had been in second place in the early going.

A crowd of 11,533 witnessed Sunday’s races.


Results –


Heat #1 – Orv Nance, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Heat #2 – Dale Reed, Wichita, Kan.
Heat #3 – Don Hewitt, Troy, Ohio
STP dash – Bill Puterbaugh, Roxana, Ill.
Consolation – Jerry Blundy, Galesburg, Ill.
Feature –
1. Bill Puterbaugh
2. Jim Moughan, Springfield, Ill.
3. Ralph Parkinson, Wichita Falls. Tex.
4. Rollie Beale, Toledo, Ohio
5. Tom Corbin, Carrollton, Mo.
6. Gordon Woolley, Waco, Tex.
7. Dale Reed
8. Lloyd Beckman, Lincoln
9. Orv Nance
10.Dick Sutcliffe, Greenwood, Mo.
11.Chuck Lynch, Springfield, Ill.
12.Keith Hightshoe, Ashland