With Ocala, FL in the rear view mirror, Rossburg, OH is up next on the '11 USAC Sprint Car calendar. With that in mind, I dug out an old Eldora program to revisit the '65 midwest opener, which had been postponed from the previous week for some forgotten (by me) reason. With apologies up front for not having the complete feature rundown, I remind you that this was 1965.....hey, I couldn't have been more than 4 or 5 years old. Lucky I got as much on paper as I did.

Tme Trials - 28 Cars

63 Jerry "Scratch" Daniels............19.37
37 Tom McClellan.......................21.58
-1 Don Branson..........................19.20
26 Bob Pratt..............................19.95
84 Dave Weir.............................20.10
-7 Arniie Knepper.........................N.T. (Blew up)
77 Dave Norris...........................19.68
11 Bobby Unser..........................19.40
93 Sammy Sessions.....................20.02
62 Jerry Richert..........................19.38
25 Bill Morris..............................20.66
92 Greg Weld.............................19.40
71 Bruce Jacobi..........................22.24
-3 Mario Andretti........................19.23
54 Gary Congdon........................19.82
51 Bob Hogle.............................19.75
19 Bob Harkey...........................19.53
65 Jim McCune...........................19.73
36 Chuck Booth..........................22.36
10 Gordon Johncock....................20.38
-9 Al Smith................................20.03
-2 Jud Larson.............................18.81 - Fast Time
-5 Rollie Beale............................19.69
40 Harold Apel............................20.09
-5 Ross Smith.............................19.88
53 Danny Frye............................20.09
41 Jim Moughan..........................20.50
42 Tom Bigelow...........................20.27

First Heat - 8 Laps - 2:35.91

-2 Jud Larson.................1
-1 Don Branson...............2
-3 Mario Andretti.............6
63 Scratch Daniels...........3
62 Jerry Richert...............5
11 Bobby Unser...............4

Second Heat - 8 Laps - No Time

11 Bobby Unser...............1
62 Jerry Richert...............2
-3 Mario Andretti.............4
92 Greg Weld..................3
19 Bob Harkey.................5
77 Dave Norris.................6

Third Heat - 8 Laps - No Time

19 Bob Harkey.................1
77 Dave Norris.................4
-5 Rollie Beale.................3
65 Jim McCune................5
51 Bob Hogle...................2
54 Gary Congdon.............6 (An alternate - Andretti scratched)

Consy - 10 Laps - No Time

77 Dave Norris.................2
65 Jim McCune.................3
54 Gary Congdon..............1
-5 Ross Smith..................4
26 Bob Pratt....................6
93 Sammy Sessions...........7
-9 Al Smith......................5
40 Harold Apel.................10
53 Danny Frye..................9
84 Dave Weir....................8

Feature - 30 Laps - 9:54.97

-2 Jud Larson...........The WINNER - A. J. Watson Sprinter
-1 Don Branson.................2
63 Scratch Daniels.............4
11 Bobby Unser.................3
62 Jerry Richert................10
92 Greg Weld
19 Bob Harkey
51 Bob Hogle
-5 Rollie Beale..................12
54 Gary Congdon..............11
77 Dave Norris.................13
65 Jim McCune
-5 Ross Smith....................9
-9 Al Smith......................14

+Were they to run a program like this today, I'm sure many here would vow never to return. In spite this (not a lot of passing, low car count, only 20 or so cars made the show based upon quals., each heat transferred top 3 cars, with the next three starting in front of next heat/consy, only 14 cars in feature) we loved it and couldn't wait for the next Big "E" date.
+I believe this was Greg Weld's rookie year in USAC. First time I saw him I thought he looked more like a baby faced high schooler than a racer. Turns out he was an as tough as they get relentless charger and one of my all-time favorites. Nowadays, quite often, they are high schoolers.
+Larson had won the season opener at Reading, PA a couple of weeks earlier. He wound up 4th in points behind Johnny Rutherford, Greg Weld, and Bobby Unser.
+Dave Norris is the father of former 'Burg track champ and, I believe, present 'Burg official, Kerry Norris. Dave was plenty big brave and scared the bejeezers out of us at times. Kinda like Ralphie the Racer, and Aldo Andretti in that respect.
+Mario was in Rufus Gray's GAPCO Chevy. I don't recall what put him out of action that day. Again.....it was 46 years ago folks.
+As always, I didn't know when to quit. It is what it is....live with it.
+Might put a couple of old 'Burg Sat. nite events on IOW next....but for now....

Marv,

Good stuff as always.

Couple of notes from me.

This may have been my first ever USAC race that I went to at The Big E. I was about 15 at the time.

I recall Dave Norris and son Kerry, Lawrenceburg regular. Did not Kerry carry on the family sprint driver tradition for a while Before settling into his now familiar role?

Mario in the Rufus Gray car got me to thinking - What ever happend to Gary Gray? I recall that he just couldn't quite mach the success of some of the others that piloted those cars that Rufus maintained so beautifully.

Thanks again Marv. This is the kind of stuff that keeps me coming back to IOW.

love these posts, Marv! I attended most of these races you post here, and it's great to relive those days and events. They may not have any significance to the younger IOW'ers but I'm sure the older members enjoy them very much!!!! Thanks Marv!!!
BTW...Ross Smith was in the Oakie Drout (#5) owned, Don Brown/Herb Porter built, sprinter that Bobby Marshman drove before being killed. Ross won the 1966 Lawrenceburg Speedway track championship in that car against some incredible competition.....Oakie Drout was a Lawrenceburg area bookie that always had a wad of cash on him that could choke a horse....Audie Schwartz ended up with that car after Ross and Oakie got out of the sprinters...

---------- Post added at 09:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:53 AM ----------

Mario in Rufus Gray's car is another interesting story.....Chuck Hulse was scheduled to drive the Dean Van Lines Brabham in the 500 that year and was injured in a sprint car. It was Rufus Gray who persuded Al Dean and Clint Brawner to put Mario in that car for the 500. Mario wound up finishing 3rd and was named Rookie of the year. Another rookie, Gordon Johncock, finished 5th in a roadster that day. The 1965 winning crew???...........the 2011 Daytona winning Wood Bros (Glen and Leonard??)!!! Chapman had heard of their proficiency and hired them to crew for Jimmy Clark......the last I heard, Gary Gray was still manufacturing fuel filters but, that was a few years ago. Gary drove the GAPCO car at "the Burg" when I was the promoter back in the early 80's. I believe Robby Stanley's family bought that car from Gary. This is how I remember it guys. If I had a memory lapse, please correct me!!! LOL

I saw my first USAC sprint car programs in 1965. I had been to Indy, Springfield, DuQuoin, etc. for USAC champ car events and to some USAC midget events before going off to the USAF for a 4 year tour of the US and Europe :2:. However, the sprint division had a "unique" program in those days. After Salem and Terre Haute, I was hooked on USAC sprint cars, even when they only started 14 in the feature, and had those ridiclous progressive heats!!
Greg Weld driving that beautiful Don Brown roadster sprint was a treat that only we old coots can now look back upon so fondly! My mentor at USAC events was a hard-nosed old-timer who called Weld a "short termer" because he was so brave. Thank goodness my friend "Bid" Curran, rest his soul, was wrong on that issue!
Does anyone here remember Gary Gray's ad in NSSN to sell the GAPCO car? It stated that either the race car or his wife had to go and that the car was in better condition
And, yes, I did watch Kerry Norris driving sprint cars.

Allow me the honor of filling in the blanks: 5.Harkey,6.Hogle, 7.Weld, 8.McCune.

Thanks Again.

I do remember that ad, o'conner fan!! I believe it said something to the effect that "the wife needs a little body work"

Marv Thanks for the post I love hearing bout those days

---------- Post added at 05:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:34 PM ----------

Brian Thanks for the vids Those are great

This was the perfect place for Marv and I to work together. I'd like to do that again.

The uploads don't take much time on these, and as long as I give credit we should be fine.

The tires were skinny, the arms were big, and those guys were BRAVE as could be. Nice to see the offys on the video. Thanks for the work guys.