Eagle, Neb. (September 7, 1970) – The clock had struck midnight when Beaver Crossing driver Jan Opperman turned into a pumpkin at Eagle Raceway, Monday night.
Opperman, awarded the checkered flag after the 50-lap Grand Championship feature, had to give it back when officials said he had only finished 49 laps.
Lincoln driver Lonnie Jensen was the official recipient of the checkered flag and the first prize of $750.
Opperman was shoved back to eighth place, $690 poorer.
“Morally, I felt I had won the race,” said Opperman, who thought he had bested Jensen on the last turn of the final lap. “I came here to beat the other drivers and I felt I did.”
Jensen, who was the pacesetter for the first 17 laps, regained the lead on the 33rd lap when Opperman sailed over the car of Ray Lee Goodwin, the leader at the time.
Goodwin had taken over the top spot on lap 18 and held it until lap 31. His car was “biting” about two feet off the ground as it built a four-car-length lead before the mishap.
Then the car’s rear suspension and drive shaft collapsed as it entered the far turn.
Opperman, who had passed Jenson on the preceding lap, had moved up to challenge Goodwin, struck the car from the rear, scaled it, then spun outside of the track with Goodwin limping to the infield.
Green flags were in effect, and the field completed two more laps before the red flag waved, bringing a halt to the action.
When racing resumed, Jensen was placed at the head of the pack with Opperman put at the rear of the field with two laps to make up.
He picked up one lap, officials ruled. Two lap charts indicated he had not complete the full 50 laps.
“There should have been no real argument,” said Harvey Kropp, part-owner of Eagle. “There was a flag decision and it’s part of the rules.”
“I’ll never race at Eagle again,” Opperman said. “I have nothing against management. They followed the rules and regulations. I just feel the wrong flag decision was made.”
“I’m just glad to be the first Lincoln driver to win this championship,” said Jensen, who is the top driver this season in overall points and both Beatrice and Eagle.
Gordon Woolley of Waco, Tex., won the first Grand Championship two years ago, and Kansas City’s Dick Sutcliffe added the 1969 title.
Results –
Trophy dash – Ed Bowes, Lincoln
Heat #1 – Lonnie Jensen, Lincoln
Heat #2- Denny Ottman, Beatrice
Heat #3 – Jan Opperman, Beaver Crossing
Heat #4 – Ray Lee Goodwin, Kansas City
Semi-main – Roy McCain, Lincoln
Feature –
1. Lonnie Jensen
2. Ed Bowes
3. Roger Rager, Lincoln
4. Stan Borofsky, Raytown, Mo.
5. Don Droud, Lincoln
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