By Jack Lindberg
Kansas City, Kan. (September 1, 1978) – Years ago it was said never send a boy to do a man’s work, and Friday night Bob Kosiski brought the whole thing into focus.
Kosiski went into the season championship at Lakeside Speedway trailing his son, Joe Kosiski, by two points in the late model standings.
Each of the Omaha drives won their respective heat races to maintain the status quo, and both, because of their one-two standings, started on the front row of the feature.
But at nitty-gritty time, Bob Kosiski, the 43-year-old veteran, shot into the lead at the beginning and stayed there the entire 20 laps before 3,500 fans.
Joe Kosiski, won once took the lead but had to give it up because of a caution flag, finished third behind Terry Bivins of Wellsburg, Kan., who made both Nebraskans work for their money.
“I came to win the championship,” Bob Kosiski said of his feat of winning this eighth feature victory of the season and the title – his first at Lakeside.
Bob Kosiski drives a 1976 Camaro owned by Wayne Mason of Omaha, a new Howe chassis, while Joe Kosiski drives his own Sanger built chassis that he owned for just a little over a month.
Bob drove a perfect race for the first 18 laps with his son Joe, 21, right on his rear bumper.
But as the track got slicker and drier, racing room got harder to find. Bob then made his only error of the night as he went a trifle too high in the first turn and bobbled a little bit.
Joe needed no urging, darting underneath his father, and easily took the lead coming out of the second turn.
But as the rest of the field passed through the first turn, Rex Nun of Salina, Kan., lost control and crashed into the fence, bringing out the lone caution of the contest.
The field racing order reverted to the 18th lap and Bob Kosiski was once again out front. He didn’t make the error again.
“I told Joe when we left home that if he won it he would have to get around me,” Bob said. “I’ve won a lot of titles before, and Joe has a lot more years left to win his share.”
One of the disappointed persons was Mrs. Grace Kosiski, a wife and mother, who let verbal emotion get the better of her at the finish and admonished the winner for not allowing her son to win and be champion.
“You could have let him win,” she yelled as she hurried through the winning car pits to the adjoining stable.
Results –
Heat #1 – Bob Kosiski
Heat #2 – Shelby Steenson
Heat #3 – Joe Kosiski
Heat #4 – Terry Bivins
B-main – Galen Schaefer
Feature –
1. Bob Kosiski
2. Terry Bivins
3. Joe Kosiski
4. Jim Hager
5. Rocky Hodges
6. Joe Wallace
7. John White
8. Claude Thomas
9. Randy McGraw
10.Rex Nun
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