Sportsman Speedway
By Lee Ackerman
Marshall, Mo. - One of those races I have heard about for many years was the National Quarter Mile Championships held at Sportsmen Speedway in Marshall, Mo. It was held in the era of the super modifieds and drew a number of drivers who went on to have very successful careers in super modified and sprint cars.
The inaugural National Quarter Mile Championships were held on July 16-17, 1966, and when the dust had settled it was Ken Taylor of Slater, Mo., driving the McCown Brothers Chevrolet out of Sedalia taking home the win in the 50-lap feature.
On Saturday night July 16, Taylor set fast time in time trials with a lap of 17.26 seconds. The top-10 finishers were Taylor, Ray Hibbard of Marshall at 17.31, Ken Williams of Kansas City at 17.45, Johnny Suggs of Conway, Ark., at 17.50, Russell Hibbard of Marshall at 17.60, Butch Burgess of Little Rock, Ark., at 17.66, Bobby Ward of Conway, Ark., at 17.76, Tom Corbin of Carrollton at 17.77, Ernie Buso of Sedalia at 18.08 and Don Melte of Cowgill at 18.09. Forty cars took time trials on Saturday night.
Two 10-lap consolation races were also run with Flea Atkins of Jefferson City winning the first consolation followed by Doug Harper of Norborne, Schaffer Davenport of Eldon, Spud Wall of Little Rock, Ark., and Frank Makings of Marshall. Atkins had started at the rear but breezed through the field to score the victory. Atkins’ winning time was 3 minutes and 48.23 seconds.
Ken Harper of Carrollton won the second consolation event with Bob Ford of Marshall second, Fred Holeman of California third, Doug Crank of Sedalia fourth and Ray Cary of Boonville fifth. The time of the race was 3 minutes and 43.62 seconds. Saturday’s crowd was estimated at 2,400.
Ken Taylor
On Sunday night, the program started with four 10-lap qualifying heats. Johnny Suggs won the first heat over George Lasoski of Dover, Don Melte, Tom Corbin and Jim Leighty of Norborne. Suggs started at the rear and sailed to an easy win. On the second lap Roy Cary drove over the Marvin Gibson of Sedalia and tore the side off Gibson’s car eliminating him from further competition.
Bobby Ward started at the rear of the second heat and drove through the field with ease to win the event by a full straightaway. Following Ward was Bob Ford, David Brown of Marshall, Ken Williams and Ernie Buso.
Marshall’s Roy Hibbard came from the back of the pack in heat three to take the lead on lap 6 and win the heat followed by Butch Burgess, Jay Lyle of Sedalia, Don Cooper of Sedalia and Gary Martin of Jefferson City.
In a wild fourth heat, Ken Taylor raced from the rear of the pack to take the win with Russell Hibbard finishing second and Ken Harper of Carrolton third. At the finish line Harper hit Hibbard and knocked the front wheel off the Hibbard machine. Dave Ferguson of Odessa was fourth and Jim Jenkins of Slater fifth.
Taylor won the 5-lap trophy dash in 1 minute and 30.10 seconds followed by Suggs, Roy Hibbard, Russ Hibbard and Butch Burgess.
Joe Knight of Sedalia captured the 20-lap B feature after John Dix, who had led for the first 18 laps, had his rear brakes freeze, sending him spinning into the infield. Knight picked up where Dix left off and grabbed the checkered flag with Fred Holeman, Doug Crank, Doug Harper and Roy Cary following.
In the 50- lap feature, Ken Taylor started on the pole by virtue of his fast time and drove away from the field beating runner-up Johnny Suggs by a half-lap. After a wreck at the start of the event between Russell Hibbard and Ken Williams eliminating both cars from further competition, Taylor set sail and proceeded to lap the entire field with the exception of Suggs. Bobby Ward finished third, Tom Corbin fourth and Roy Hibbard fifth.
The win gave Taylor a clean sweep, having set fast time, winning his heat, the trophy dash and the feature. The crowd filled the bleachers, and the overflow were moved to infield behind a roped area for safety. It was one of the largest crowds in track history.
The win gave Taylor a clean sweep, having set fast time, winning his heat, the trophy dash and the feature. The crowd filled the bleachers, and the overflow were moved to infield behind a roped area for safety. It was one of the largest crowds in track history.
Hooker Hood accepts his trophy after winning the 1967 race.
The Second Annual National Quarter Mile Championship was held on July 16, 1967, under perfect weather conditions with a large field of cars from five states on hand.
To set the field, four 15-lap qualifying races were held. In qualifier number one perhaps the hottest super modified driver in the country, Clarence (Hooker) Hood of Memphis, Tenn., started in the middle of the pack and quickly drove to the front of the field. Hood was challenged for a short time by Kansas City driver Jay Woodside but drove away to take the win in 4 minutes and 23.75 seconds with Woodside finishing second. Clay Letcher of Little Rock, Ark., was third, Tom Corbin fourth and Bobby Ward fifth.
The second qualifier was a Kansas City affair, with Ray Lee Goodwin holding off the charges of Jon Backlund to take the win. Goodwin drove the last five laps with his left front tire a foot off the track. Ray Schiminger of Sedalia brought out the caution when he spun in turn four of lap 4. Schiminger suffered no damage and returned to the race to finish fifth. Following Goodwin and Backlund to the checkers were Joe Knight and Jay Lyle.
Missouri drivers claimed the top spots in the third qualifier. On the seventh lap of the event, Jim Baker of Little Rock, Ark., spun in front of Fred Holeman of California. The two collided and Baker’s mount went end over end. Baker was unhurt but done for the night. Bob Ford was leading the event when on lap 13 he blew a tire handing the lead and the win to Kansas City’s Jerry Weld. Dale McCarty of Kansas City was second, Steve Schultz of Sedalia third, Jack Hunt of Windsor fourth and Bob Thoman of Higginsville fifth.
The fourth and final qualifier went to Sedalia driver Bill Utz, who took the checkers in 4 minutes and 29.08 seconds. Utz started on the pole and held a commanding lead throughout the race. Following Utz were Bob Williams, Roy Been of Hot Springs, Ark., Marvin Gibson and Harold Cromley of Marshall. On lap four Jim Jenkins lost a tire and retired from the event.
It was all Hooker Hood in the 6-lap trophy dash as the 41-year-old Tennessee ace took the checkers in one minute 1 minute 43.58 seconds turning one lap in 17.01. Ray Lee Goodwin was second, Bill Utz third and Jerry Weld fourth.
Junior Dietzel of Jamestown survived a third lap spin then passed race leader Bob Ford on lap 23 as the field was coming to the white flag to win the 25-lap consolation. Ford finished second, Frank Makings third, Dean Elliott of California fourth and Roy Cary fifth.
The 50-lap feature saw the caution flag wave five times and the red flag once, for a fuel stop, but in the end, it was Hooker Hood taking the win. On lap 2, Jerry Weld spun in front of most of the field, going around two and a half times but the rest of the field avoided the spinning Weld without causing a wreck. Following Hood to the line were Bob Williams, Ray Lee Goodwin, Tom Corbin and Jerry Weld. Hood posted a clean sweep, winning his qualifying dash, the trophy dash and taking the $1,000 first prize in the feature.
Gene Gennetten in the "Batmobile 300"
In the 25-lap consolation event Bob Williams’ brother Ken picked up the win. The four heats went to Jim Leighty of Wakanda, Stan Borofsky of Kansas City, Whitey Harmon of Blue Springs and Bobby Ward.
1968 Program
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