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: Track owner Tony Stewart has secured sponsorship from Crown Royal for this year’s 23rd annual Kings Royal sprint car race July 15 at Eldora Speedway.
The Kings Royal by Crown Royal will offer its traditional $50,000 winner’s purse — plus bonus money — for 40 laps on the half-mile oval.
For the first time, all pre-registered drivers who make their way into the 24-car starting field will receive a $1,000 bonus. A potential $51,000 paycheck will be up for grabs, while $2,250 will be awarded simply for making the feature.
“This is huge, having corporate sponsorship come down to the grassroots level,” Stewart said. “A lot of people that come to our facilities are families that cannot afford to go to a NASCAR race. Having Crown Royal have involvement with what we are doing, not only at the short-track level, but with what they are doing on the national level with NASCAR, really ties it all together and it really makes sense.”
Stewart said he’s learned a lot since taking over Eldora from Earl Baltes, who built the track, prior to the 2005 season.
“Well, it was probably the first night, the women’s restroom in the pits being stopped up,” Stewart said. “I have learned so much that now when I come to a NASCAR race, it has helped me to understand why things are done the way they are. I have been to Eldora as a driver, a crew member, a spectator, as a team owner and as the promoter. When I go there, whoever comes up and talks to me, I at least try to look at their side, and understand their side.”
Winners: Top Fuel’s Melanie Troxel is making a record-setting habit of advancing to — and winning — final rounds.
But Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car) and Kurt Johnson (Pro Stock) were beginning to wonder if they ever would visit the National Hot Rod Ass’n victory lane again.
They shared the podium Sunday at the SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
When Troxel beat Doug Kalitta to reach her sixth consecutive final in the Skull Gear/Torco Dragster, she became the first Top Fuel driver to start the season with five-straight final-round appearances. She also is one final round away from matching Tony Schumacher’s record of seven straight appearances.
“We thought that we would come out and win races this year, but to go to this many straight final rounds even when you are dominating, which I’m not sure we are, but even when you are dominating, that’s hard to do. It just seems right now like we cand do no wrong,” said Troxel who extended her point lead to 156.
40 Years Ago — 1986
News: The United States Auto Club will return to famed Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, Colo., this July as the sanctioning body for the 1986 Rally Division of the Predator Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb, the nation’s second-oldest sanctioned motorsports event.
Charles L. Tutt. president of the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb Ass’n, in making the announcement Monday said, “I’m pleased to renew our long association with USAC and looking forward to this year’s Hill Climb with added enthusiasm.”
The 64th “Race to the Clouds” is scheduled for Saturday, July 12, with practice July 7-9 and qualifications July 10-11.
The Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb was first held in 1916 and was sanctioned by USAC between 1956 and 1980, with the 1965-1969 open-wheel division races offering points toward the National Driving Championship.
Winners: Finally realizing the potential he has long indicated, Kevin Cogan ran Michael Andretti into the ground after a brilliant duel Sunday to win the Dana 200 for Special Olympics, which opened the 1986 CART/PPG World Series season here at Phoenix Int’l Raceway.
One of the largest crowds in many years, some 18,000 fans, watched the race in ideal weather.
The 30-year-old blond from Redondo Beach, Calif., posted his first victory in his initial outing as a Patrick Racing Team driver. It came on the super-fast one-mile, paved PIR track in his 56th Indy Car start, Cogan’s new 7-Eieven/Patrick Racing March performed flawlessly as he averaged 120.245 mph for the distance.
He finished one lap and 5.7 seconds ahead of Tom Sneva.
Cogan and the younger Andretti, who were partners last year on the Kraco team, swapped the lead back and forth seven times-mostly in on-track passes-before Andrettl’s Kraco/STP/ Lean Machine March expired with a blown engine after 164 miles.
Cogan, who had been waiting five years for his first triumph, said, “You start to wonder after a while whether you’ll ever get that win. I know I did. I’m relieved and I’m happy. lt was kind of fun racing against Michael.”
Young Andretti said, “I’m happy for Kevin. He was my teammate last year, you know. But, we would have won it, if (the car) had held together. I didn’t have to make any more pit stops. I think we had the best car by far.”
60 Years Ago— 1966
News: In a move that wax termed “shrewd” by Smokey Yunick, a local non-combatant Chevelle owner, United States Auto Club and National Ass’n for Stock Car Racing last week approved the Ford Motor Company’s single overhead cam optional engine then promptly slapped a weight penalty on it while liberalizing matters for rival Chrysler Corp. and other late model stock car owners.
Ford’s initial reaction was to announce its “disappointment” and declare it would stay in the garage to study the situation. Rival Chrysler. whose Hemi hummer engine option now can reach its full 426 cubic inch potential even in the intermediate-sized Belvederes and Chargers, privately was laughing up its well-tailored sleeve.
Yunick saw the most significance in the racing organization’s decision to allow dual carburetors on wedge type engines and in the legalizing of 426 Hemi hummers for the Class II cars. The former, he felt, would make wedge and porcupine vehicles including his own Chevelle at least a mile per hour faster.
The latter, he said practically forces Ford to abandon the Class I Galaxie on shorter tracks for the Fairlane Comet. He saw stock car racing turning one class again — Chevelle vs. Belvedere vs. Comet vs. Chargers vs. Fairlanes.
Winners: Two-time Indianapolis winner A.J. Foyt proved he is a better automobile racer than a motorcycle rider, when he came back after spilling on a bike, to win the 50-lap USAC midget feature at Ascot Park before a near capacity crowd of 7,141 fans.
Foyt and Leroy Neumeyer jumped on a bike during one of the heat races and took off through the pits. The tour came to a sudden halt when Foyt jazzed the throttle and Neumeyer came forward knocking “Super Tex” off balance and both went over the handle bars landing on the ground.
Foyt suffered cut fingers on his right hand it was doubtful whether he would be able to race. But he came back to score his first midget triumph of the year at the wheel of the Marv Edwards-owned Sheraton-Thompson Offy.
Following Foyt across the line was George Benson in the Johnson Offy, while defending national champion Mike McGreevy, took third in the Caves Offy.
