Editor’s Note: In this monthly photo essay feature, National Sprint Car Hall of Fame photographer John Mahoney shares his memories and images from some of the most amazing and historic sprint car and midget races.
USAC Sprint Cars, Terre Haute Action Track, May 1, 1971
One of the nation’s premier sprint car traditions debuted on Friday, April 30, 1971, when promoter Don Smith and his assistant, Bill Hill, hosted opening day of the inaugural Tony Hulman Classic at Indiana’s Terre Haute Action Track.
Friday’s action included hot laps for the 46 USAC sprint cars followed by qualifications on the half-mile dirt track. Gary Bettenhausen paced the field in Willie Davis’ No. 2 sprint car. Unfortunately, Bettenhausen missed the feature lineup after heat race and semi-feature problems.
Heat races, which determined the feature field, were won by Jerry McClung, Jimmy Oskie, Larry Cannon and Jim Malloy. Rollie Beale, George Snider, Butch Wilkerson and Lennie Waldo made the feature through the semi.
The festivities continued that evening with the Driver Appreciation Dinner. The centerpiece of the dinner was the Calcutta-style auction of drivers who had qualified during the preliminary races earlier that day.
The money pool was split evenly among the bidders and next day’s feature race purse, swelling it well beyond the USAC average.
On Saturday, May 1, the green flag waved over the 40-lap feature and George Snider took the lead in Louie Seymour’s No. 29 entry. Snider maintained that position for the first 35 laps, followed by Don Nordhorn.
Nordhorn’s pressure paid off when he took the lead on the 36th lap. His lead was short-lived, however, when Johnny Parsons lost a wheel and tagged the fence.
On the restart, Snider passed Nordhorn and took the checkered flag for his first USAC sprint car triumph. Nordhorn finished second and was followed by Sammy Sessions, Jim McElreath and Cannon.
Snider won nearly $2,000 from a total purse of $28,538, which at the time was the largest sprint car payoff in USAC history.
This story appeared in the Jan 17, 2024 edition of the SPEED SPORT Insider.
