1985 – Gawlinski Outruns Seligman in Bettenhausen 100

Frank Gawlinski shows off his collection of trophies after winning the Bettenhausen Memorial 100 at Illiana. 

Schererville, Ind. (September 15, 1985) – Frank Gawlinski outdistanced Steve Seligman by 12 car-lengths to capture the Tony Bettenhausen Memorial 100 late model feature for the third time in his career Sunday afternoon at Illiana Motor Speedway.

Larry Middelton grabbed the lead from polesitter Ted Musgrave on the opening lap and began to break away from the rest of the field. By lap 10, Middelton was lapping slower traffic. By lap 15, Middelton enjoyed a straightaway lead over Musgrave when the yellow flag came out

On the restart, Middelton again took the lead followed closely by Gawlinski, who had worked his way up from his fifth row starting position. Two laps later, Gawlinski powered past Middelton and into the lead. Soon after fading to second, Middelton pulled his car into the infield with a bad valve.

After another caution, Gawlinski retained the lead while al chill began to challenge for the top spt. The top duo remained unchanged until lap 61 when Schill dropped out of the race with a sour engine.

Gawlinski outran the field for the remainder of the event to breeze to a relatively easy victory while Seligman finished a distant second. Dave Weltmeyer finished third followed by Ted Musgrave and Rich Kleich.



Results –

1. Frank Gawlinski
2. Steve Seligman
3. Dave Weltmeyer
4. Ted Musgrave
5. Rich Kleich
6. Tracy Schuler
7. Mike Gentile
8. Larry Morris
9. Bill Kroneberg
10.Dan Odell