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Dick Vance from Hannibal MO drove the Buick-powered #401 at the old Pittsfield IL speedway. Back in the early 1960s, the speedway decided to have a special month of races. For 4 weeks in a row, the feature would pay $1,000 to win, an big purse back then. The gimmick was that the winner the first week would start in last place the second week, and so on through the third and fourth weeks. If one driver could sweep all 4 weeks, they would get an additional $1,000 bonus.
Although Dick was always competitive and won every once in a while, Ellis Tobias obviously thought he needed a better driver if he was going to have a chance for the sweep. The first week there were cars from 13 states at the track. We were thrilled when the announcer said that driving the #401, from Waco, Texas...
Yup, the legendary Gordon Wooley was right there in little Pittsfield, Illinois. And yes, he did pick up the bonus for sweeping the 4 weeks. I think that was the only times I got to see him, but he was certainly worth the price of admission. What a driver!
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