Editor’s Note: In a nod to our 90 years of history, each week SPEED SPORT will look back at the top stories from 15, 30 and 60 years ago as told in the pages of National Speed Sport News.
15 Years Ago — 2010
News: Don “The Snake” Prudhomme, the drag racer who did it his way come hell or high NHRA prices said he “raced for the sheer thrill of driving and winning. I certainly didn’t get into drag racing for money, because it just wasn’t there at the time — just trophies. That didn’t do much for me, but the winning certainly did.”
For this pioneer of postwar car-club-swagger turned big-business drag racing, life has come full circle. The money just isn’t in the sport now either. That’s why less than a week ago, Prudhomme, 68, announced his retirement after a career that spanned five decades.
This past Labor Day weekend, Prudhomme announced his intention to liquidate his team because sponsor U.S. Tobacco unexpectedly ended the alliance.
Prudhomme drove dragsters and Funny Cars for 32 seasons, earning six National Hot Hod Ass’n championships and 112 victories. Since stepping from the cockpit in 1994, he made a smooth transition to a team owner’s role and guided protege Larry Dixon to back-to-back Top Fuel titles while fielding two Funny Cars as well.
Prudhomme had a deal breaker philosophy: “I won’t come out here and run and spend every last dime. I’ve been really blessed, but I don’t want to (throw) away everything I’ve gained.”
Winners: The 14th annual Ice Bowl dirt-late-model race lived up to its billing Sunday afternoon as unexpected entrant Randall Walker overcame freezing temperatures to pocket the $6,000 winner’s prize at the Talladega Short Track in Alabama.
Walker had no plans to compete in the event until only a few days before the race.
Still he led all 50 laps of the third-mile dirt track to claim the victory despite losing his brakes with 10 laps remaining.
“About a week ago my dad called me and said, ‘Let’s go racing.’” Walker said. “I wasn’t planning on coming. I hadn’t even washed the car.”
Walker, a regular at the track for the past five years, was the fast qualifier on Saturday and won his heat to earn the pole for the prestigious event.
The crowd and car count were down from the previous year, with the cold being the key factor
“My hands were getting real cold out there,” Walker said.
Dingus Griffin finished second, followed by Chris Jones, Travis Pennington and Tim Busha.
Chris Moore won the IMCA modified feature, but he didn’t get the winner’s money. Moore won the race. but was disqualified when he failed to report to the scales instead heading to victory lane.
30 Years Ago — 1995
News: Plans were unveiled Monday to the general membership of the Board of Trustees of the Nevada Development Authority for a $72,000,000 1.5-mile superspeedway to be located 7 miles north of Nellis Air Force Base here.
Speedway President Richie Clyne indicated the project has been under way for some time and official groundbreaking is planned next. month. The track is scheduled to be ready by mid-1996 with an Indy Racing League race planned that September.
Initial seating will be 107,000 with unlimited expansion capability. The grandstands will be topped by 100 glass-enclosed suites seating 60 persons each.
The 1,100-aere facility is expected to handle parking for 67,000 cars with a special 50-acre site for motorhomes.
In addition to Indy car and stock car racing, the track is expected to host other types of activities, including driving schools and motorcycle training events.
The first engineering company to see value in headquartering at the track Is Carroll Shelby,
who will base all of his automotive facets at the track via the new Carroll Shelby Development Center which will occupy a building within the industrial park adjacent the track.
“This will be the largest research and development complex in the world that’s right at a motorsports park with all of the different venues. It is the premier research and development project in the world,” Clyne said.
A multi-million-dollar lighting contract will soon be signed ensuring the comfort of nightime events with vision of the entire racing surface comparable to daylight.
The first and second turns of the track are to be banked at 12 degrees with the third and final turn banked 9 degrees. The pit area will include 96 enclosed garage spaces, an infield hospital and room for 96 tractor-trailer transporters.
Winners: Donnie Beechler drove to his biggest career payday, taking the $5,000 top prize in Saturday’s ninth annual Indoor Chili Bowl Midget Nationals at Tulsa Expo Square.
Beechler, who drove Zarounian Motorsports’ Fontana-powered Stealth to victory, credited three-time All Star champion Frankie Kerr, who drove the second Zarounian entry, for setting up his mount after the team recently lost its crew chief.
Beechler came on strong late in the 50-lap event, finding a line in the middle of the track. He passed Billy Boat for second on lap 43 and got leader Ron Shuman a lap later to earn the $5,000 winner’s check.
At the start, Beechler worked his way from 16th starting spot through traffic, while the cushion-riding Shuman held the point with Hank Butcher and Boat in pursuit.
Boat and Butcher battled several laps for third spot until Boat secured the spot after 12 laps.
Shuman drove Skip Schuck’s Shaver-powered Ellis to second, followed by Boat in John Lawson’s Stealth.
Dave Blaney, like Beechler a B main transfer, finished fourth with Butcher taking fifth. It was Butcher’s Chili Bowl debut.
60 Years Ago— 1965
News: F. R. (Ranney) Householder, Chrysler’s performance chief, said at a press conference Monday when asked about racing in NASCAR in 1966, “We hope to be there with bells on.”
When asked by telephone Tuesday to amplify this, he advised that if the present rules are not
changed for 1966, Chrysler would not be inclined to race.
“It doesn’t make sense if you can’t run (race) what you build. Unless there is a meeting of the minds on the rule situation, we can hardly run.”
At the press meeting. Householder was asked about Chrysler’s Indianapolis plans.
“We have absolutely no interest in Indy. At one time we talked about an engine, but we have no interest at this time.”
Asked to enlarge on this, Householder said, “Several big management people were at Indianapolis when Ford debuted their Indy engine with a big splash and saw a lot of publicity. There was a “Let’s jump on the bandwagon” reaction, but by the time it was analyzed, there was no time, no money and no desire.”
“We do not have the engine business that Ford has. We sell only industrial and marine engines in addition to our regular line. Ford needs a separate engine department. They provide engines for Cobras, the Rootes line, which incidentally we own 30 percent of, so you can see there’s a good reason for racing at Ford.”
Winners: CRA Sprint Car driving champ Bob Hogle started off the 1965 racing season with a big victory in Sunday afternoon’s 100-lap CRA Sprint Car race at Ascot Park in an action-packed program that saw the feature stopped on the 87th lap due to oil on the hard slick track.
Hogle bad just taken the lead in the Morales Bros. Offenhauser which carried him to 14 wins in 1964, when Dick Atkins, running a close second, spun the Pestana & Lang Chevy Into the front stretch wall, bringing out the yellow flag on the 78th lap.
Under the yellow flag, Jimmy Miller running fourth, broke an oil line and dumped a foot wide trail of oil all the way around the ~ mile dirt oval. After several more yellow laps, CRA starter Tom Finney wisely called the race.
Under CRA rules the finish reverted back to the last green flag lap with Hogle on top over 1914 CRA title holder, Hal Minyard in the Surdam Chevy and Billy Wilkerson in the Worth Chevy.
