L.D. Ottinger
Nashville, Tenn. (April 19, 1975) – L.D. Ottinger of Newport played a waiting game for the first quarter of the race while other big-name drivers dropped out, then he turned the 200-lap feature into a cakewalk at Nashville Speedway Saturday night.
For most of the big names in the race, the night was a disaster. Jack Ingram, the Late Model Sportsman national champion, was unable to start the race. A new distributor wouldn’t allow the engine to fire.
Grand National star Buddy Baker lasted exactly half a lap before someone bumped him, causing him to wreck. On the restart after that accident, Darrell Waltrip and Alton Jones, both Grand National drivers, were coming out of the fourth turn and fighting for the lead when they tangled with each other. Cale Yarbrough, another Grand National star, was right behind them.
All returned to the race, although briefly. None of them were around for the 20-lap mark. Coo Coo Marlin lasted until the midway point but was never a factor.
Morgan Shepherd led briefly, but on a pit stop his crew broke a stud. He lost two laps and in trying to catch up, ended up in the wall. The list of bad luck went on and on. Neil Bonnett, driving Bobby Allison’s race car while Bobby watched, could last only 58 laps out front.
By this time, Ottinger was out front. He gave way to Jerry Lawley only after a pit stop. He was running flawlessly. With 130 laps gone, Ottinger had a half-lap lead over Tiny Lund of Cross, S.C. Eight laps later when a caution flag came out, that lead had increased to three-quarters of a lap.
The caution allowed Lund and the rest of the field to bunch up, but even that didn’t help. At the checkered flag, only Lund was on the same lap as Ottinger. Jerry Lawley was third, a lap back. Butch Lindley of Greenville, S.C., finished fourth and Nashville’s Bobby Hargrove was fifth.
The race may have been the quietest in years. A new rule requiring mufflers allowed conversation in the grandstands but provoked some shouts in the pit area.
The lack of an adequate muffler cost Lindley the pole position and a new track record. He had a time of 20.59 seconds in a run with an illegal muffler.
He requalified, along with Waltrip, Ingram and Ottinger, who also got caught violating the muffler rule. This time, Lindley could do no better than 21.44 seconds.
A crowd of 15,000 watched the season-opening race.
Results –
1. L.D. Ottinger, Newport, Tenn.
2. Tiny Lund, Cross, S.C.
3. Jerry Lawley, Pensacola, Fla.
4. Butch Lindley, Greenville, S.C.
5. Bobby Hargraves, Nashville, Tenn.
6. P.B. Crowell III, Franklin, Tenn.
7. Freddy Fryar, Chattanooga, Tenn.
8. Ned Webb, Cincinnati, Ohio
9. Brad Teague, Johnson City, Tenn.
10.Don Guignard, Knoxville, Tenn.
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