[FishBurger]

+Y'all got time for another one? I needed something to do in between digging my truck out of the snow and thawing out our water pipes.

Time Trials - 30 Cars - Track Record 17.46 by Larry Dickson

18 Pancho Carter........................18.40 Carl Forberg
18 Pancho Carter........................18.15 Carl Forberg
_2 Gary Bettenhausen.................17.94 Thermo-King - Willie Davis
71 Gary Ponzini..........................19.46 Dick Hoffman
43 Larry Rice.............................18.61 Virgil Welch
84 Al Smith...............................18.90 Midwest Mfg. - Carl Gelhausen
76 Bob Pratt..............................18.05 W-W Mold Tool - Walter Winterbotham
27 Dee Jones.............................18.36
15 Tom York..............................18.13 Smith Speed Shop
_6 Larry Dickson........................18.30 Gene Hamilton Co. - Paul Leffler
45 Darl Harrison.........................17.71 Century Die - Denis Maloy
32 Billy Thrasher........................18.81 Ever's Radiator - Dave LeFevre
99 Bill Koepfer...........................18.62 Besecker
29 Jackie Howerton....................18.30 Seymour Enterprises - Louis Seymour
21 Joe Saldana..........................18.64 Ezra Brooks - E.T. Morse
10 Ralph Liguori.........................18.21 Wachholz
95 Karl Busson...........................18.54 Cedoz Automotive - Bernie Cedoz
25 Tom Bigelow.........................17.69 Quick Time Smith Speed Shop
93 Sonny Ates...........................17.91 Idding's Auto Glass
98 Jerry Poland..........................18.01 Magnavox - Ralph DePalma
_7 Don Nordhorn........................17.87 North Side Radiator - Sid Van Winkle
_3 Rollie Beale...........................17.96 Rodeo Bar - Ron Kilman
44 Duke Cook............................18.58 Steve Stapp
_8 Bill Puterbaugh......................18.29 Niebel Auto Machine - Glen Niebel
33 Johnny Parsons, Jr.................17.85 Bob Jones
_4 Lee Kunzman........................17.87 Mauri Amerling
81 Charlie Masters......................18.28 Mel Moffett
11 Cy Fairchild...........................17.83 Ben Leyba
_5 Sammy Sessions....................18.13 Competition Eng. - Wally Meskowski
61 Lee Brayton...........................18.71 Lee Brayton
_1 Bill Koepfer............................17.97 Ben's Tire Clinic - Ben Leyba

+Pancho, first car out, was given a second chance to qualify when he told
_officials of dirt on the track for his first attempt.
+I failed to note why Koepfer time trialed two cars, the #99 and the #1.

First Heat - 10 Laps - No Time

21 Joe Saldana......................4
27 Dee Jones........................6
81 Charlie Masters.................7
15 Tom York.........................5
_3 Rollie Beale......................2
_7 Don Nordhorn..................3
25 Tom Bigelow....................1

Second Heat - 10 Laps - No Time

61 Lee Brayton.....................7
95 Karl Busson.....................1
_8 Bill Puterbaugh................6
_5 Sammy Sessions..............4
_1 Bill Koepfer.....................5
_4 Lee Kunzman..................2
45 Darl Harrison...................3

Third Heat - 10 Laps - 2:58.70

_6 Larry Dickson..................1
18 Pancho Carter.................4
98 Jerry Poland....................5
93 Sonny Ates.....................2
11 Cy Fairchild.....................3

Fourth Heat - 10 Laps - 3:02.50

84 Al Smith.........................1
29 Jackie Howerton..............4
10 Ralph Liguori...................2
76 Bob Pratt........................5
_2 Gary Bettenhausen..........3
33 Johnny Parsons, Jr...........6

Semi-Feature 12 Laps - 3:37.74

33 Johnny Parsons, Jr...........2
_1 Bill Koepfer.....................1
98 Jerry Poland....................4
76 Bob Pratt........................7
15 Tom York........................3
_8 Bill Puterbaugh................6
61 Lee Brayton....................5

Feature 40 Laps - No Time

_4 Lee Kunzman..................4
_7 Don Nordhorn.................7
33 Johnny Parsons, Jr..THE WINNER
11 Cy Fairchild...................12
45 Darl Harrison.................19
25 Tom Bigelow...................2
93 Sonny Ates...................13
_2 Gary Bettenhausen..........5
_3 Rolliw Beale..................20
_1 Bill Koepfer....................6
98 Jerry Poland..................11
15 Tom York......................18
_5 Sammy Sessions.............8
18 Pancho Carter................17
10 Ralph Liguori.................14
_6 Larry Dickson.................3
29 Jackie Howerton.............16
95 Karl Busson....................9
21 Joe Saldana...................15
84 Al Smith........................10

+I chose to post retro results for this race in memory of my old racing buddy, Mike Craven, who was buried today. Mike succumbed to a host of medical problems at age 67. He had been physically unable to attend racing events for several years but, of late, I would see him weekly pushing a shopping cart around in the local Wal-Mart for exercise. He would call me from time to time to check on mutual friends and former racing competitors. He retired with 27 years service for the LMS Water Conservancy. But, the one thing Mike was most fond of talking about was his time crewing on the Bob Jones #33 sprinter. On display at his visitation was a large framed color photo of the North Vernon, IN based car and crew, including JP. I believe it was taken at this event. R.I.P. Mike
+This was the final race of '71 which had been yet another "Larry and Gary" season for the most part. Bettenhausen had clinched the championship during the Twin 50's at Winchester the previous Sunday.
+Later!

[davidm]

Marv thanks for another great trip back in time.

On a side note I'm sorry to hear of the passing of your friend Mike.

[wallbanger II]

GREAT stuff thanks marv. I guess it was black top at this time ?

[Mud Packer]

Thanks for another one that was held before my time here in the Hoosier State. I appreciate all of these posts and they help pass the time during our Artic Blast and white winter. Sorry to hear about the passing of your friend Mike. Nice tribute to him.

[Checker'd Past]

I remember that Sunday. My dad and I were there. Thanks Marv for the post and the memories.

[cowboyhar69]

Marv, if I remember correctly Lee Brayton (father of the late Indy veteran Scott Brayton) was in his own #61 roadster.

[FishBurger]

Originally Posted by cowboyhar69 Marv, if I remember correctly Lee Brayton (father of the late Indy veteran Scott Brayton) was in his own #61 roadster.

Yeah Tim, actually that's the only car I recall seeing Lee Brayton in, dirt or pavement. There may have been others, I'll have to check into that.

[Gregg]

Originally Posted by FishBurger Yeah Tim, actually that's the only car I recall seeing Lee Brayton in, dirt or pavement. There may have been others, I'll have to check into that.

I may be wrong but wasn't the Lee Brayton's car the Don Brown built roadster that Greg Weld used to drive?

[cowboyhar69]

Marv, that is the only car I remember him driving too...Gregg, I was thinking that was the former Greg Weld driven roadster too.


Lee Brayton (born August 13, 1933) is a former American racing driver from Coldwater, Michigan. He competed in the USAC Championship Car series from 1972 to 1975, making 16 starts with a best finish of 10th three times (twice at Michigan International Speedway and once at Texas World Speedway). He attempted to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in 1972, 1973, and 1974, but after missing the field his first year, was taken out of contention by practice crashes the following two years. His son, Scott Brayton, was a long-time CART and IRL driver, who was killed in a crash during a practice run. Lee Brayton owns Brayton Engineering, an engineering firm that helped build the Buick V6 IndyCar engine as well as fielding a car in the CART series, primarily for Scott, from 1981 to 1986 and then fielded an Indy Racing League car in 2002. They entered two cars in the 2001 Indianapolis 500 for Memo Gidley and Steve Knapp but both missed the field, their single car assault on the field in 2002 with John de Vries again failed. Their last Indy Car event came at the Michigan 400 in 2002 with Scott Harrington at the wheel.

[cowboyhar69]

http://www.racingfromthepast.com/jes...es/knox66e.jpg