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The Tobias win at DuQuoin was a victory on many levels. I used to help on that team for a couple years. A few weeks before his triumph at the Ted Horn, Rich was in a serious flip at Springfield. The chassis (his only one) was destroyed. That happened to be the year of the Mopar Million Sprint race at Eldora, and Rich had built a sprint car just for that race. With Duquoin only a few weeks away, he was forced to convert his new (home-made) sprint chassis into a Silver Crown chassis. Upon arrival at Duquoin, his practice was cut short by a part failure (steering gear, I think). Then he missed qualifications due to a transmission failure, and the team scrambled to replace it. They BARELY made the call to start the B-main. Some people say that USAC gave the B-main field a few extra warm-up laps, just so Rich could get out on the track in time for the start. He passes enough cars to make the show. Now keep in mind that he was driving a brand new (and home-made) chassis, without quals or practice, that was thrashed together. The he goes out there and tattoos the field from the rear. Wow. Truly an inspirational drive indeed. Unfortunately, I was not there to witness his very first USAC Silver Crown win. Hearing the story described to me the day after reminded me of his insane night at Indy, a few years earlier. Hoosier 100: He passes the ENTIRE field from the tail spot, and drives away with it... Only to have the power steering fail on him. DNF. This guy can shoe a race car.
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