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Originally Posted by flagboy55
Well folks time is flying. We’ve got the 50th running of the Hulman Classic and the 60th of the Knoxville Nationals. The thoughts of these two and their trajectory is an interesting juxtaposition. We know where they are in terms of popularity now but I was wondering back in the 70’s how the two races compared in prestige and importance? I remember as a child, thanks to Dads Speed Sport subscription, reading about Knoxville. I was at the 76 Hulman, my favorite race of all time by the way. I remember Terre Haute being on Wide World of Sports which was big time in those days. I’m hoping some of you veterans who were close observers of that era can add some insight to it and just how big of deals they were at the time. I don’t know if Richie has any perspective on it from his wealth of knowledge but I’m sure there’s a few of you that remember those days. Looking forward to reading your thoughts
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1971 was a really big deal because local boy Don Nordhorn (Wadesville, IN) looked like a sure winner when a late caution flag allowed George Snider to overtake Don on the restart and bring home the bacon. It was on live tv on ABC's Wide World of Sports.
There were all sorts of celebrities in attendance and the purse was huge for the first few years. I believe my favorite was the 1974 event which was postponed by rain and run on a cold Easter Sunday. Jan Opperman was the victor.
Correction!!! Gary Bettenhausen won in 1974 and Jan Opperman in 1976. Gary received nearly $36,000 and Jan nearly $43,000 as the winners share respectively.