Editor’s Note: In a nod to our 92 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: Steve Kinser is prominent among three sprint-car team owners who have purchased the National Sprint Tour from Debbie Brownfield, widow of NST founder Fred Brownfield, who was killed last month.
Kinser, a 20-time World of Outlaws champion who fields a pair of cars, including the one he drives, has joined with Guy Stockbridge, who owns the No. 14 wheeled by Jason Meyers, and Don Lamberti and Lonnie Parsons, the co-owners of the No. 6 steered by Tim Shaffer.
“My friend Fred Brownfield, together with all these race teams, sunk their hearts and souls into this series,” Kinser said. “It was the right thing to do when we did it, and it’s still the right thing to do. Fred’s death was a devastating blow to his family and friends. He was a great man admired by so many.
“But partly because of that, and all the hard work he and his family had put into this thing, the last thing in the world we could do was to just walk away from the series when so much good had already been accomplished. The only alternative to us buying it was for it to be sold to someone else who would just liquidate the assets and shut it down. We couldn’t let that happen.”
Debbie Brownfield believes the new owners will help grow the series.
“I have no doubt in my mind that these guys will carry this series forward with the same devotion that my husband did, conducting themselves with integrity and fairness and knowing that their purpose is to entertain race fans across the country,” Brownfield said. “All my best, and thanks to them.”
Stockbridge and Lamberti are dedicated to keeping Brownfield’s series alive.
“This is still his baby, and we commit to the entire racing community, especially the fans, that we’re going to do everything within our power to bring to them the very best winged sprint-car racing possible,” Stockbridge said. “Fred was tireless, and we will be, too.”
Lamberti, the founder of Casey’s General Store, is ecstatic to have the opportunity.
“Fred put together a great organization, both the race teams involved and his staff,” Lamberti said. “I am pleased and committed to continuing his efforts. I’ve been involved as a car owner, sponsor or otherwise for over 40 years, and I’m glad to contribute in any way I can to the continued success of this series.”
Winners: Over the long haul, nobody had a better car than Tony Kanaan.
Kanaan survived a frantic challenge from Indianapolis 500 champion Sam Hornish, Jr. to win Sunday’s IRL ABC Supply Company/ A.J. Foyt 225 at The Milwaukee Mile.
It was Kanaan’s first victory of the season and the seventh of his career. He pulled away to win by 1.8276 seconds.
The 2004 series champion, Kanaan climbed to within 79 points of Hornish, who finished second after losing a lap earlier in the race. Kanaan is the fifth different winner this season but the first driver to win from a team other than Penske Racing or Target-Chip Ganassi Racing.
“We’re a team that’s used to winning,” said team-owner Michael Andretti. “I think we could have been in the winner’s circle two or three times this year. For whatever reason, it didn’t happen. To finally do it here at Milwaukee, it feels good.”
For the previous two seasons, Andretti Green Racing dominated the series and won the championship with Kanaan in 2004 and Dan Wheldon last season. But when Honda became the sole engine supplier in the IRL, Penske and Ganassi had shut out any other team until Sunday.
“We’re not here just to beat them (Penske and Ganassi),” Kanaan said. “They’re obviously better than us. It’s the two teams that we always try to beat.”
Kanaan believes he got the edge from an extra test session the IRL allows to teams that also field cars in the Indy Pro Series. For every four IPS races, the IRL allows an extra test day for the Pro Series drivers and the IndyCar teams.
That extra test session was July 10 at The Milwaukee Mile.
“I should thank Jonathan Klein (one of two IPS drivers at Andretti Green Racing), Marco Andretti and Dario Franchitti for the IPS program because that really helped us,” Kanaan said. “I think the test was very important. That put us in the right spot from the beginning of the weekend.
“It’s much easier tuning a good car than finding a good car.”
40 Years Ago — 1986
News: Florida State Fairgrounds Speedway General Manager Dick Edwards has announced the closing of the half-mile dirt track. This marks the second straight year the track has closed at mid-season.
Rainouts have greatly hurt the track’s finances, suffering four straight rainouts during recent weeks.
“We’re definitely not racing,” Edward said. “I talked t~o [speedway president Chuck] Ivory and he said he’s closing down for the summer.”
Ivory leases the speedway from the Florida State Fair Authority and if the speedway remains closed, the authority has the right to terminate the lease.
“It’s closed, but I don’t think it will stay closed,” Edwards said “There have been several people expressing interest [in picking up the lease]. I think it’ll come back.”
Winners: Ricky Hood received a $1,500 present just four days after his 34th birthday from Rich Vogler when he won the USAC vs NCRA Shootout at Fairgrounds Speedway Saturday night. The present was purely unintentional on Vogler’s part.
Jon Johnson, driving Charley Ochs’ SOS Engine Nance No. 1x, set quick time in the 45-‘Car field of 20.265 and started the 20-lap Shootout on the pole. Vogler put the Damon Fortune/ Coors Light No. 39 on the outside of the front row.
Vogler used the outside groove to get the jump on the start. Hood started the Gohr Distributing/Genesee Beer Wagon No. 56 right behind Vogler and shot into the runner-up spot on the start. Johnson took up the third spot.
Vogler began to pull away from the pack and had bullt up a quarter lap lead. Lady Luck was not in Vogler’s pits, however, as his left rear blew on the 14th lap.
Hood inherited the lead and led Johnson, Bob Ewell, Mike Peters and Gary Bettenhausen to the checkered flag.
Peters was without a doubt the fastest car on the track, starting 19th.
60 Years Ago— 1966
News: The Ford Motor Co. could easily make the NASCAR and USAC late model circuits its own personal property in the 1967 season.
This was evident after officials of the Chrysler Corp. announced they were pulling their factory-backed Chrysler teams out of racing in 1967.
Meanwhile Ford officials. who quit late model racing in April in a dispute over it 427-cubic inch single overhead cam V-8 engine remained quiet on racing plans for the 1967 season. An announcement of Ford’s racing future was expected later this week, however, after annual budget meetings are concluded at Dearborn.
R. M. Rodger, special car manager and chief engineer of Chrysler’s domestic product planning, announced Chrysler’s pending withdrawal from racing in a brief statement issued Friday.
“We believe this change (pulling out of racing) will be beneficial to the entire motor sport field by offering more drivers and car owners better opportunities to be fully competitive.” Rodger declared.
He referred to the growing edge factory-backed teams had over independent car owner who have been finding it increasingly difficult to meet soaring costs for competitive vehicle.
At the same time Rodger urged Ford official to go along with the decision in retiring from racing, contending the sport would be more competitive if other manufacturers would cooperate.
Chryser’s withdrawal was enthusiatically received by NASC R President Bill France and USAC prexy Thomas W. Binford.
”We are convinced,” France declared, “that this new policy announced by Chrysler for the 1967 racing season is the right approach and will be of great benefit to stock car racing.”
Winners: Paul Goldsmith, driving on the theory that its the last lap that really counts, edged his
blue and white Nichels’ Engineering Plymouth past Jim Paschal’s Plymouth with just four laps remaining to win the sixth annual Volunteer 500 stock car race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
A crowd of 21 ,000 saw Goldsmith overcome a three and a half-lap lead by Richard Petty, making up two circuits on the half-mile track when Petty pitted to turn the car over to relief driver Paschal.
After final pit stops, made under a caution flag, Goldsmith was in the same lap with Paschal, some three-quarters of a lap behind.
Picking up speed from the methodical pace he had been setting, Goldsmith ran Paschal down in
the last 45 laps. They waged a side·by-side duel for two laps before Goldsmith edged ahead with
four laps remaining.
David Pearson, driving a Dodge Charger, was third, four laps behind the Plymouths.
Paul Lewis, a hometown favorite, was fourth in a 1965 Plymouth and Bobby Allison was fifth in a 3,100-pound Chevelle powered by a 327 cid engine.
Rounding out the top 10 were Elmo Langley in a 1964 Ford; John Sears, 1964 Ford; Gene Elliott. 1966 Chevrolet; Henley Gray, 1966 Ford; and Blackie Watt, 1964 Ford.
