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: The Champ Car World Series staged a remarkable mid-season game of musical chairs over the past week that will result in a considerably altered driver lineup for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland.
Front-runner RuSPORT Racing triggered the surprising round of driver changes June 7 by firing A.J. Allmendinger, the 24-year-old Californian around whom the RuSPORT team was founded in 2003. Former series champion Cristiano da Matta of Brazil, who drove the first four races of the season for Dale Coyne Racing, was named to take over the No. 10 RuSPORT entry.
The shocking turn of events looked set to leave the Champ Car World Series without an American driver for the first time in the 97-year history of the open-wheel formula.
But Sunday night, Forsythe Racing released Mexican Mario Dominguez from his contract and is expected to tab Allmendinger to drive its No. 7 entry beginning this weekend at Portland (Ore.) Int’l Raceway.
Allmendinger won the 2003 Atlantic championship for RuSPORT before graduating with the team to Champ Car in 2004. Since then, he has posted six podium finish· es in 31 starts and is ranked fifth in the standings.
At Milwaukee, there were signs that all was not well with the Allmendinger-RuSPORT relation- ship. A testy radio exchange ensued when the driver lost several places in traffic in the middle of the race and he appeared to lose confidence in his ill-handling car in the second half.
RuSPORT owner Carl Russo said Allmendinger wasn’t doing a bad job, but he wasn’t progressing at the same rate as the organization, which has blossomed into a title contender since Englishman Justin Wilson joined at the start of 2005. Wilson has scored the team’s only two victories and lies second to Sebastien Bourdais in the standings.
Winners: Daryn Pittman shook off a season of bad breaks and tough luck in one weekend by rolling to victory Saturday night and capturing the Eagle Nationals title for the first time.
Pittman fought past Craig Dollansky on a lap-nine restart and held off a furious charge by Brooke Tatnell to put the Titan Garages & Carports Maxim into victory lane for the second night in a row.
It marks the first time in his career with the World of Outlaws Sprint Series that Pittman swept a multi-day event. He also becomes the 13th different WoO main-event winner this season.
Tatnell charged to second and tried to pull alongside Pittman on a restart, but be wound up chasing Pittman to the checkered flag. Dollansky finished third, with point-leader Donny Schatz and Joey Saldana rounding out the top five.
“I think we reached our goal,” Pittman said. “We were really good here in the fall last year; so I was looking forward to coming back. I’ve never swept a weekend, and with the competition out here, it’s a big achievement for our team.”
The racing surface Saturday was different from the night before, when it was hot and humid. Cooler temperatures and wind made for a slick surface, with the tires laying down some rubber in both grooves.
“When it rubbers up, the lead isn’t always the best place to be because you’re not really searching for it,” Pittman said “The race track was tough. It was slick. This was what I call the Eagle of old This is how this place used to be forever. Recently the bottom bas been faster, but we were good around the top.”
40 Years Ago — 1986
News: Former IMSA Camel GT champion John Paul Sr., pleaded guilty here last Wednesday to a charge of attempted first-degree murder in the wounding of a federal drug witness.
After rejecting a plea bargain agreement offered two weeks ago, Paul, 47, changed his mind five days before his scheduled trial date. The agreement calls for him to receive a sentence not to exceed 20 years in prison and for the state sentence to run concurrently with any sentences imposed against him later in federal court.
Circuit Judge Richard Weinberg delayed sentencing until after resolution of the federal charges, which include a count of running a continuing criminal enterprise that could carry a sentence of life imprisonment. ·
Assistant State Attorney Steve Alexander said St. Johns County will receive $517,000, which includes interest, for the $500,000 bond Paul forfeited by fleeing to Switzerland to escape trial in 1983.
The state agreed to drop charges of attempted kid- napping, use of a firearm after conviction for a felony, and failure to appear for trial. Paul could have faced a state sentence of life in prison if convicted of the attempted murder of Stephen Carson. Alexander said Paul would have to serve at least one-third of the 20-year sentence before being eligible for parole. ·
The prosecutor noted that Paul would face longer sentences, without parole, if he is convicted or pleads guilty to the federal drug charges.
Winners: Like father, like son was the story of the second round of the Budweiser International Race of Champions at Mid- Ohio Sports Car course as AI Unser, Jr., led flag-to-flag to score his first career IROC victory in front of a record Saturday crowd of 30,000.
The 24-year-old Unser followed in the footsteps of his father, who won the series opener at Daytona in February. Unser’s victory came easily with a 2.87-second margin over fellow Indy Car driver and Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal.
The event, which saw little passing due to the parity of the identical Chevrolets, had polesitter Rahal running second the entire · 69.6-mile distance with NASCAR drivers Darrell Waltrip and Bill Elliott following. ·
AI Unser, Sr., who started 12th and was fifth, retained the series point lead by four markers over his son. AI, Jr. moved from 11th in points to second with his victory on the 2.48-mile, 15-turn road course.
“It was a good start. I think my engine ran a little bit better than Bobby’s did. We were able to pull him just enough to get down the straightaway and get into turn one first. Down the back straightaway, it seemed like I could pull away from him just a little bit,” Unser explained, high- lighting his afternoon’s work.
“After about eight laps, the car started to oversteer a lot, so all I could do was wave goodbye to AI and try hanging on to second,” Rahal replied.
60 Years Ago— 1966
News: Four drivers were killed in accidents at three tracks over the weekend.
Sprint car drivers Jud Larson and William (Red) Riegel were killed in a spectacular crash in the opening laps of the USAC 30-lap feature race at the Reading Fairgrounds.
Larson, o43, one of the most popular drivers on the USAC sprint car circuit and the current point leader, was dead on arrival at Community General Hospital. Riegel, 34, was pronounced dead upon arrival at Reading Hospital.
The crash occurred between the first and second turns of the second lap. The two drivers made contact and both flipped over the three-foot concrete retaining w all. The cars continued rolling over some seven or eight times on the high bank.
Both cars then sailed back over the wall and landed on the track, Larson’s car on its wheels close to the second tum and Riegel’s upside down between the turns.
Dave Whitehorse, 26, died of massive head injuries received when his midget sideswiped another car and crashed into the outer concrete retaining wall at Wisconsin’s Hales Corners Speedway.
Three-time USAC national midget champion Jimmy Davies died at Hinsdale (Ill.) Hospital after suffering head injuries in a crash during warmups at Santa Fe Park.
Davies, 36, suffered a basal skull fracture when his car rammed into the wall at the quarter-mile dirt track. His car did not turn over but the helmet was ripped from his head.
Winners: Mario Andretti, the Flying Italian from nearby Nazareth, made it two in a row on the United States Auto Club’s Championship Trail, as he sped his Dean Van Lines Hawk rear-engine Ford to victory in the 100-mile national championship race on the one-mile paved Langhorne (Pa.) Speedway.
It was a great day for Andretti. Fresh from his victory at Milwaukee, Andretti gunned his Clint Brawner-tuned Ford to a world record for the paved mile and led the 22-car field wire-to-wire for the victory.
Andretti completed the 100 lap in one hour, 47.78 seconds at an average speed of 98.690 mph. The average was slow due to the yellow flag being out four times for 30 laps during the run.
Jim McElreath, who gave Andretti, a good run for his money during the closing laps of the race, finished second in the Zink-Urschel-Slick Ford, followed by Joe Leonard in the Yamaha Eagle Ford.
