Editor’s Note: In a nod to our 91 years of history, each week SPEED SPORT will look back at the top stories from 20, 40 and 60 years ago as told in the pages of National Speed Sport News.
20 Years Ago — 2006
News: For the third year in a row, Ralph Capitani, director of racing at Knoxville Raceway, has been named sprint-car racing’s most influential leader by the North American Sprint Car Poll – an industry-wide voting panel of manufacturers, media members, sanctioning officials and promoters.
Capitani, who guides weekly winged 360 and 410 sprint-car racing at the “Sprint Car Capital of the World,” captured13 of the 35 first-place ballots cast in the 2006 preseason poll.
Twelve-time Knoxville Nationals champion Steve Kinser, a regular with the National Sprint Tour this season, ranked second with eight first-place votes. Emmett Hahn, founder and president of the winged American Sprint Car Series and non-winged Sprint Bandits tour, came in third with seven.
Those ranked fourth through sixth, respectively, are Eldora Speedway owner Tony Stewart (one first-place vote), Northern Sprint Tour and National Sprint Tour President Fred Brownfield (two votes) and DIRT MotorSports vice-president Brian Carter. Recently named DIRT MotorSports President Tom Deery, Maxim Chassis President Chuck Merrill and World of Outlaws Sprint Series point-leader Donny Schatz each received one first-place vote.
Rounding out the top 10 were Rollie Helmling of the United States Auto Club, Alan Kreitzer of Williams Grove and Lincoln speedways, Steve Sinclair of SLS Promotions and the Interstate Racing Ass’n and John Padjen.
Winners: If there’s a big dirt-late-model race, Scott Bloomquist has probably won it. Saturday night the Tennessee veteran put another victory on his resume — and another $50,000 — in his bank account, claiming the inaugural Circle K Colossal 100 at The Dirt Track@ Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
Well-known as a winning driver, Bloomquist also designed the chassis in the familiar No. 0 late model that he drove to victory lane in the $200,000 event.
“I’m worn out. I was out of tearoffs,” said Bloomquist, who won the first late-model race ever held at the four-tenths-mile oval.
“The car was super. We built these cars new this year, and Vic Hill is doing our engines now, and we were strong on the restarts. This was one great win for us.
“We have some pretty special race cars, and we put a lot of tender love and care into it,” Bloomquist explained. “We worked really hard to win here tonight.”
Bloomquist started fourth and rode patiently through the caution- plagued first half of the race, while Shannon Babb, who was the fast qualifier for the 119-car field, and Steve Francis battled for the lead.
Ten of the unlucky 13 yellow flags during the 100-lapper came during the initial 50 laps as the whopping 36-car starting field diminished as quickly as the storm clouds that dumped buckets of rain on the track about 5 p.m. in the afternoon and delayed the start of the program. Only 12 cars were running at the checkered flag.
Bloomquist got the jump on a lap-51 restart and powered into the lead. Francis regained the lead on a lap-68 restart, but Bloomquist battled right back and rode the high groove back to the front on lap 70.
From there he raced uncontested to the victory, while Donnie Moran, who started 25th, came on strong during the second half of the race and posted his third runner-up finish in his last three starts at The Dirt Track. He earned $25,000 for second.
Francis, who started on the pole, sharing the front row with Babb, finished third, with Dale McDowell and Chub Frank rounding out the top five.
40 Years Ago — 1986
News: Roger Penske may well become the beloved man of oval track fans if his latest plan materializes. Penske, one of the most successful car and track owners in American auto racing, Thursday announced his intention of buying the shuttered Nazareth National Motor Speedway in Lower Nazareth Township.
Pennsylvania International Raceway, a newly formed Penske Corporation, will purchase the 90.6-acre tract from the Bank of Pennsylvania, providing approval from the township’s board of supervisors can be secured.
A public meeting to discuss the issues with the supervisors is scheduled in the township municipal building on April 28, at 7:30 p.m. No purchase terms have been made public.
A feasibility study is in progress on the site, which includes a one-mile dirt oval and a large grandstand lining the eastern side of the track.
It is adjacent to the half-mile Nazareth Speedway located on the former Nazareth Fairgrounds site, which presents weekly racing programs. Penske’s vice president for communications, Dan Luginbuhl, told National Speed Sport News, “We plan to pave it and ·develop it into the finest one-mile track in the U.S.”
At the moment, the only other Indy Car racing venues in the U.S., where grandstand patrons can see the entire raceway, are the one mile ovals in Phoenix and Milwaukee, the airport road circuit in Cleveland, Penske’s two-mile Michigan International Speedway, and the 2.5-mile Pocono International Raceway, only 35 miles north of here.
The contract to present Indy Car racing at the Pocono track expires with the running of the Domino’s Pizza 500 on Aug. 17; and indications are track management and its Indy Car tenant, Championship Auto Racing Teams, will not renew.
Winners: Charlie Jarzombek knows only three ways to drive, fast, faster and fastest.
He wasn’t fancy or rough but behind the wheel of the Wilsberg No. 5 Cavalier, he was fastest as he blew past the competition winning the 75-lap Icebreaker Winston NASCAR modified championship feature Sunday afternoon at Thompson Int’l Speedway.
Drawing for positions, Jarzombek started outside pole and led the first 50 laps, holding off John Rosati’s challenge, with Greg Sacks and George Kent also in close pursuit.
The race’s fourth yellow came on lap 50 when Mike McLaughlin spun in turn two with Jarzombek just missing the spinning Sheri-Cup No. 12. At that point, Jarzombek, Rosati and Sacks pitted for new tires.
Kent took command on the restart with Reggie Ruggiero, Corky Cookman and Brian Ross behind, and all running with green flag rubber. Starting at the rear, it took Jarzombek just nine laps to pick off the competition and regain the lead from Kent on lap 59.
Sacks, in the Mario Fiore Shadow No. 44 modified, also ran strong with fresh rubber and overtook Kent on lap 68. Kent’s tires held out, and he finished third. Rounding out the top 10 were Rosati, Ruggiero, Cookman, George, Brunnhoelzl, Ross, McLaughlin and Tom Baldwin.
It was Jarzombek’s second NASCAR Winston Circle of Champions victory of the season, winning Rougemont, N.C., March 16. His winnings included the Gatorade award and Busch pole award for fastest time trial.
60 Years Ago— 1966
News: The president of the Automobile Competition Committee of the United States said last week the weight restriction placed on Ford’s overhead cam stock car racing engine will stand as announced.
Thomas W. Binford, head of ACCUS, said “adjustments can certainly be made, but they can only be made after a fair evaluation of the established formula.”
The single overhead cam engine was approved for racing last month by the U.S. Auto Club and the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing, but only for use in Ford’s Galaxie with an additional 427 pounds of weight added to the car. USAC and NASCAR are members of ACCUS.
Ford Motor Co. withdrew from stock car racing, and officials said it will stay out until the weight restriction is lifted.
“The action by Ford certainly is not in keeping with the total performance image they have advocated and advertised,” Binford said.
Winners: The weatherman played a major role in the outcome of Sunday’s scheduled 150-mile USAC National Championship race on the one-mile Trenton Speedway and veteran speedster Rodger Ward couldn’t have been happier.
The 45-year-old two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, driving John Mecom’s American Red Ball Special supercharged rear-engine Offy, raced from eighth position up into the lead at 86 miles and was out front when rain ended the event on the 102nd lap.
Ward’s run to the checkered flag wasn’t really as easy as it sounds, as the three-time Trenton victor had to wage a hot battle with Gordon Johncock and Jim McElreath from the 60th to the 79th lap to gain second place and challenge race leader Mario Andretti.
Ward took the front running position from Andretti on the 86th circuit.
Johncock took the checkered flag second, trailed by McElreath, Andretti and Bud Tinglestad.
