In celebration of the 50th year of USAC Silver Crown Champ Car racing in 2020, we are reviewing the past 49 years of series history.
1976 USAC DIRT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON REVIEW
It had to be the strangest, most topsy-turvy contest for a series of events in any sport ever.
Billy Cassella, the third-ranking USAC Sprint Car driver of 1975, took the 1976 Dirt title over Johnny Parsons, Sheldon Kinser and Larry Rice, none of whom won any of the four point paying races between them. Each race had a different winner and Joe Saldana, the only race winner to score points in more than one event, finished fifth in the standings.
Saldana, who won $11,784 and 200 points for his victory in the Hoosier Hundred, supplemented the total by squeezing in with 20 points for 11th at Springfield, Ill. and 10 for 12th at Du Quoin, Ill. Points are awarded only to the first 12 finishers and Tom Bigelow, Bubby Jones and Pancho Carter, who won Springfield, Du Quoin and Syracuse, respectively, failed to score anywhere else – tying each other with 200 points each.
Consistency did the job for Cassella and veteran car owner Louis Seymour who finished third, eighth, fourth and fourth in the four events. Johnny Parsons had led the standings entering the last race at Syracuse, New York, but no less than 12 other drivers had a mathematical chance of tying Parsons’ total. Parsons had placed second, fifth and sixth in the first three rounds but was only 30 points ahead of Cassella. A disappointing 10th place finish to Cassella’s fourth at Syracuse dropped Parsons 60 points in arrears as the entire standings became jumbled.
Dirt track racing thrives on unpredictability. Tom Bigelow, for instance, was the fastest qualifier in three of the four races. The only time he failed to win the pole was at the Hoosier Hundred where he didn’t eve earn a starting spot. His qualifying speed was too slow. Al Unser, Dirt Car champion of 1973, made an appearance at Syracuse and was bumped after qualifying too slowly. A.J. Foyt was almost bumped at the Hoosier Hundred, barely hanging onto a starting spot. He started dead last in 24th place but was leading by the 63rd lap.
Just as the individual race winners had no success in other events, the same fate befell second-place finishers. Parsons was the only person to score more than once. Larry Dickson and Gary Bettenhausen, who between them occupied the top two spots in the Sprint division for four consecutive years (1968-1971), each placed second in one 1976 Dirt Car event but were non-finishers in all others. They were joined in the final standings by Foyt who finished second in the Hoosier Hundred, his only start of the year.
The Hoosier Hundred was marred by a serious accident involving Jan Opperman whose final point standing does not reflect his performances. He failed to finish at Springfield or Du Quoin after running first and third in those events and was battling Parsons for the lead in the Hoosier Hundred when the two of them became involved in an accident. Opperman flipped and suffered the most serious injuries of any USAC driver in 1976.
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USAC DIRT CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 21, 1976 – Illinois State Fairgrounds – Springfield, Illinois – Tony Bettenhausen 100
QUALIFYING: 1. Tom Bigelow, 2, Leader Card-34.798; 2. Sheldon Kinser, 56, King-35.038; 3. Johnny Parsons, 93, Vatis-35.136; 4. Pancho Carter, 48, Rieder-35.330; 5. Chuck Gurney, 74, Leyba-35.391; 6. Jim Hurtubise, 57, Senter-35.621; 7. Jim McElreath, 23, McElreath-35.639; 8. Bubby Jones, 51, Beck-35.692; 9. Joe Saldana, 22, Kilman-35.701; 10. Larry Dickson, 72, Polak-35.716; 11. Billy Cassella, 29, Seymour-35.764; 12. Billy Engelhart, 5, Heil-35.785; 13. Rollie Beale, 75, DePalma-35.906; 14. Jerry Miller, 65, Miller-36.034; 15. Roy Hicks, 61, Hicks-36.125; 16. Jan Opperman, 12, Hillin-36.217; 17. Gary Bettenhausen, 97, Santello-36.310; 18. James McElreath, 55, Middleton-36.357; 19. Bobby Olivero, 53, Slack-36.536; 20. Larry Rice, 59, LeFevre-36.563; 21. Ronnie Burke, 33, Burke-36.641; 22. Larry Moore, 17, Smith-36.786; 23. Arnie Knepper, 3, Holt-36.874; 24. Roger Rager, 78, Hill/Prather-36.879; 25. Bill Puterbaugh, 81, Sohm-36.901; 26. Danny Frye Jr., 79, Frye-36.923; 27. Steve Lotshaw, 62, Lotshaw-37.028; 28. George Snider, 67, Adrian-37.046; 29. Dana Carter, 35, Holt-37.160; 30. Sleepy Tripp, 76, Johnson-37.173; 31. Clark Templeman, 16, Smith-37.186; 32. Ralph Liguori, 85, McGinty-37.248; 33. Salt Walther, 20, Rhoades-37.369; 34. Billy Vukovich, 8, Wohlford-NT; 35. Lee Osborne, 87, LaGrande-NT; 36. Spike Gehlhausen, 91, Gehlhausen-NT.
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Tom Bigelow (1), 2. Johnny Parsons (3), 3. Billy Cassella (11), 4. Rollie Beale (13), 5. Jerry Miller (14), 6. Roy Hicks (15), 7. Ronnie Burke (21), 8. Jim Hurtubise (6), 9. Bobby Olivero (19), 10. Larry Moore (22), 11. Joe Saldana (9), 12. James McElreath (18), 13. Jim McElreath (7), 14. Jan Opperman (16), 15. Larry Rice (20), 16. Sheldon Kinser (2), 17. Billy Engelhart (12), 18. Pancho Carter (4), 19. Gary Bettenhausen (17), 20. Chuck Gurney (5), 21. Larry Dickson (10), 22. Arnie Knepper (23), 23. Bubby Jones (8), 24. Roger Rager (24). 1:04:42.20
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-9 Sheldon Kinser, Laps 10-19 Pancho Carter, Laps 20-77 Tom Bigelow, Laps 78-86 Jan Opperman, Laps 87-100 Tom Bigelow.
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USAC DIRT CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 29, 1976 – Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Du Quoin, Illinois – Ted Horn 100
QUALIFYING: 1. Tom Bigelow, 2, Leader Card-32.594; 2. Pancho Carter, 48, Rieder-33.220; 3. Bubby Jones, 51, Beck-33.277; 4. Joe Saldana, 22, Kilman-33.356; 5. Larry Dickson, 72, Polak-33.463; 6. Jim Hurtubise, 57, Senter-33.464; 7. Sheldon Kinser, 56, Gohr-33.619; 8. George Snider, 20, Rhoades-33.817; 9. Jim McElreath, 23, McElreath-33.820; 10. Larry Rice, 59, LeFevre-33.931; 11. Dana Carter, 35, Holt-33.948; 12. James McElreath, 55, Middleton-33.960; 13. Clark Templeman, 16, Smith-33.997; 14. Sleepy Tripp, 76, Johnson-33.998; 15. Gary Irvin, 42, Hodson-34.058; 16. Chuck Gurney, 74, Leyba-34.073; 17. Jerry Miller, 65, Miller-34.091; 18. Roy Hicks, 61, Hicks-34.111; 19. Jackie Howerton, 30, Aberle-34.132; 20. Jan Opperman, 12, Hillin-34.133; 21. Ronnie Burke, 33, Burke-34.143; 22. Bobby Olivero, 53, Slack-34.179; 23. Roger Rager, 78, Hill/Prather-34.200; 24. Johnny Parsons, 93, Vatis-34.215; 25. Billy Cassella, 29, Seymour-34.249; 26. Rollie Beale, 75, DePalma-34.286; 27. Lee Osborne, 67, Adrian-34.572; 28. Mark Alderson, 85, Flynn-34.679; 29. Bill Puterbaugh, 81, Sohm-34.747; 30. Billy Vukovich, 8, Wohlford-34.849; 31. Bill Burks Jr., 41, Hale-35.162; 32. Larry Moore, 17, Smith-36.136; 33. Danny Frye Jr., 79, Frye-37.951; 34. Gary Bettenhausen, 97, Santello-NT; 35. Bruce Walkup, 19, Siebert-NT; 36. Billy Engelhart, 5, Heil-NT; 37. Spike Gehlhausen, 91, Gehlhausen-NT; 38. Arnie Knepper, 3, Holt-NT; 39. Tommy Astone, 87, LaGrande-NT.
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Bubby Jones (3), 2. Larry Dickson (5), 3. Jim McElreath (9), 4. Larry Rice (10), 5. Johnny Parsons (23), 6. Jim Hurtubise (6), 7. James McElreath (12), 8. Billy Cassella (24), 9. Jerry Miller (17), 10. Ronnie Burke (21), 11. Clark Templeman (13), 12. Joe Saldana (4), 13. Tom Bigelow (1), 14. Bobby Olivero (22), 15. Sheldon Kinser (7), 16. Chuck Gurney (16), 17. George Snider (8), 18. Gary Irvin (15), 19. Pancho Carter (2), 20. Jan Opperman (20), 21. Roy Hicks (18), 22. Jackie Howerton (19), 23. Sleepy Tripp (14), 24. Dana Carter (11). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-22 Tom Bigelow, Laps 23-46 Pancho Carter, Laps 47-58 Joe Saldana, Laps 59-100 Bubby Jones.
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JOE SALDANA’S HOOSIER HUNDRED; JAN OPPERMAN INJURED
Indianapolis, Indiana………Joe Saldana became the third different winner in three 1976 Championship Dirt series races on September 11 when he drove the Weaver Excavating Chevy to victory in the 24th annual Hoosier Hundred in Indianapolis.
The 100-mile race at the one-mile dirt Indiana State Fairgrounds track was marred by a five-car accident on the 52nd lap which sent Jan Opperman to the hospital in critical condition.
Jan ran over the front end of the car driven by Johnny Parsons as Parsons slid into turn three leading the race and Opperman’s car then flipped, landing upside down. Bubby Jones, Spike Gehlhausen and Chick Gurney were all involved in the ensuing tangle with Gurney’s car striking Opperman’s. Jan was rushed to Indianapolis’ Methodist Hospital where he was admitted to the intensive care unit suffering undisclosed head injuries. He was unconscious and semi-conscious during Sunday and Monday following the event.
Parsons started on the pole and led the first 51 laps prior to the crash, which red flagged the race. Opperman and Bubby Jones had kept the pressure constant until the time of the crash. A.J. Foyt, who had started 24th (last), had worked his way into the top-ten prior to the accident and found himself third on the restart behind Saldana and Sheldon Kinser.
On lap 63, Foyt took the lead, but five laps later he slipped to third. He regained second on lap 93 and finished some seven seconds behind Saldana. Kinser was third.
Parsons, who was able to restart, finished sixth and retained the Dirt point lead.
Tom Bigelow, defending Hoosier Hundred winner, qualified late and missed the show.
USAC DIRT CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 11, 1976 – Indiana State Fairgrounds – Indianapolis, Indiana – Hoosier Hundred
QUALIFYING: 1. Johnny Parsons, 93, Vatis-34.429; 2. Billy Engelhart, 5, Heil-34.668; 3. Steve Chassey, 96, Linne-34.681; 4. Jackie Howerton, 7, Patrick-34.738; 5. Jan Opperman, 12, Hillin-34.769; 6. Rollie Beale, 75, DePalma-34.847; 7. Sheldon Kinser, 56, King-34.903; 8. Pancho Carter, 48, Rieder-34.912; 9. Bubby Jones, 51, Beck-34.932; 10. Jerry Miller, 65, Miller-35.170; 11. Bruce Walkup, 19, Siebert-35.172; 12. James McElreath, 55, Middleton-35.189; 13. Larry Dickson, 72, Polak-35.233; 14. Joe Saldana, 22, Kilman-35.493; 15. Chuck Gurney, 74, Leyba-35.535; 16. Roger Rager, 78, Hill-Prather-35.609; 17. Spike Gehlhausen, 91, Gehlhausen-35.650; 18. Mark Alderson, 85, Flynn-35.844; 19. Billy Cassella, 29, Seymour-35.866; 20. Jim Hurtubise, 57, Senter-35.889; 21. Lee Osborne, 67, Adrian-35.891; 22. Jim McElreath, 23, McElreath-35.978; 23. Larry Rice, 59, LeFevre-36.221; 24. A.J. Foyt, 14, Foyt-36.255; 25. Steve Lotshaw, 62, Lotshaw-36.504; 26. Dana Carter, 35, Sterling/Holt-36.596; 27. Gary Irvin, 42, Hodson-36.596; 28. Tom Bigelow, 2, Leader Card-36.628; 29. Ronnie Burke, 33, Burke-36.712; 30. Larry Moore, 17, Smith-36.760; 31. Danny Frye Jr., 79, Frye-36.810; 32. Sleepy Tripp, 76, Johnson-36.919; 33. Sammy Sessions, 8, Wohlford-36.966; 34. Roy Hicks, 61, Hicks-37.025; 35. Gary Bettenhausen, 97, Santello-37.151; 36. Bobby Olivero, 53, Slack-37.294, 37. Bill Puterbaugh, 81, Sohm-37.345; 38. Bill Burks Jr., 41, Hale-39.836; 39. George Snider, 20, Rhoades-NT; 40. Salt Walther, 32, Johnson-NT; 41. Clark Templeman, 16, Smith-NT; 42. Arnie Knepper, 3, Holt-NT.
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Joe Saldana (14), 2. A.J. Foyt (24), 3. Sheldon Kinser (7), 4. Billy Cassella (19), 5. Jim Hurtubise (20), 6. Johnny Parsons (1), 7. Larry Rice (23), 8. Jerry Miller (10), 9. Steve Chassey (3), 10. James McElreath (12), 11. Rollie Beale (6), 12. Jan Opperman (5), 13. Bubby Jones (9), 14. Bruce Walkup (11), 15. Chuck Gurney (15), 16. Spike Gehlhausen (17), 17. Mark Alderson (18), 18. Pancho Carter (8), 19. Jim McElreath (22), 20. Lee Osborne (21), 21. Larry Dickson (13), 22. Jackie Howerton (4), 23. Billy Engelhart (2), 24. Roger Rager (16). NT
**Jan Opperman flipped on lap 52 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-51 Johnny Parsons, Laps 52-62 Joe Saldana, Laps 63-67 A.J. Foyt, Laps 68-100 Joe Saldana.
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CASSELLA, SEYMOUR DIRT CAR CHAMP; PANCHO WINS SYRACUSE FINALES
Syracuse, New York………Billy Cassella emerged as the 1976 USAC Championship Dirt division champion in one of the most unpredictable seasons ever.
Cassella finished fourth in the season finale at Syracuse, N.Y. on October 2 to clinch the title, coming from behind to overtake point leader Johnny Parsons, whose 10th place finish was just 60 points short of Cassella’s final total.
Pancho Carter, driving the Dobbins Chevy, scored his first-ever Championship Dirt series victory in the Salt City 100 at the New York State fairgrounds dirt track and Gary Bettenhausen recorded his best ever Dirt Champ finish with a second place in the City of Syracuse Special. Defending Salt City 100 winner Sheldon Kinser finished third in the Genesee Special.
The championship was the first for Cassella and marked the second year in a row that the Dirt champion had not won a race during the series. Louis Seymour, owner of Cassella’s Donahue Chevy, ended up as the car owner champion of the division.
Tom Bigelow erased the track’s one lap qualifying record by nearly three seconds with his lap of 112.003 mph. Carter also set a new 100-mile record of 101.280 mph, despite a six-lap yellow flag early in the race.
USAC DIRT CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: October 2, 1976 – New York State Fairgrounds – Syracuse, New York – Salt City 100
QUALIFYING: 1. Tom Bigelow, 2, Leader Card-32.142; 2. George Snider, 20, Rhoades-33.006; 3. Bruce Walkup, 19, Siebert-33.065; 4. Lee Osborne, 67, Adrian-33.229; 5. Jim McElreath, 23, McElreath-33.354; 6. Joe Saldana, 22, Kilman-33.407; 7. James McElreath, 55, Middleton-33.450; 8. Johnny Parsons, 93, Vatis-33.495; 9. Larry Cannon, 3, Holt-33.513; 10. Gary Irvin, 42, Hodson-33.532; 11. Pancho Carter, 48, Rieder-33.532; 12. Sheldon Kinser, 56, King-33.552; 13. Larry Dickson, 72, Polak-33.587; 14. Mark Alderson, 85, Flynn-33.587; 15. Gary Bettenhausen, 97, Santello-33.606; 16. Spike Gehlhausen, 91, Gehlhausen-33.621; 17. Steve Chassey, 36, Rogala-33.641; 18. Bubby Jones, 51, Beck-33.653; 19. Chuck Gurney, 75, DePalma-33.660; 20. Billy Cassella, 29, Seymour-33.727; 21. Billy Engelhart, 5, Heil-33.818; 22. Jim Hurtubise, 57, Senter-33.858; 23. Larry Rice, 59, LeFevre-33.861; 24. Roger Rager, 78, Hill/Prather-33.908; 25. Al Unser, 12 Hillin-33.993; 26. Jerry Miller, 65, Miller-34.006; 27. Dana Carter, 32, Johnson-34.094; 28. Larry Moore, 17, Smith-34.099; 29. Sammy Sessions, 8, Wohlford-34.125; 30. Sleepy Tripp, 76, Johnson-34.689; 31. Bill Burks Jr., 41, Hale-35.229; 32. Jackie Howerton, 31, Mataka-NT; 33. Dana Carter, 35, Sterling/Holt-NT; 34. Chuck Gurney, 74, Leyba-NT; 35. Clark Templeman, 16, Smith-NT.
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Pancho Carter (11), 2. Gary Bettenhausen (15), 3. Sheldon Kinser (12), 4. Billy Cassella (20), 5. Chuck Gurney (19), 6. Larry Rice (23), 7. James McElreath (7), 8. Gary Irvin (10), 9. Bruce Walkup (3), 10. Johnny Parsons (8), 11. Jim McElreath (5), 12. Larry Cannon (9), 13. Mark Alderson (14), 14. Bubby Jones (18), 15. Larry Dickson (13), 16. Tom Bigelow (1), 17. Jim Hurtubise (22), 18. Lee Osborne (4), 19. Joe Saldana (6), 20. Roger Rager (24), 21. Spike Gehlhausen (16), 22. George Snider (2), 23. Steve Chassey (17), 24. Billy Engelhart (21). 59:14.504
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 George Snider, Laps 14-43 Lee Osborne, Laps 44-51 Tom Bigelow, Laps 52-64 Lee Osborne, Laps 65-72 Tom Bigelow, Laps 73-100 Pancho Carter.
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1976 USAC DIRT CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVER POINTS
1. (430) Billy Cassella, Weirton, W.Va.
2. (370) Johnny Parsons, Speedway, Ind.
3. (280) Sheldon Kinser, Bloomington, Ind.
4. (260) Larry Rice, Linden, Ind.
5. (230) Joe Saldana, Lincoln, Neb.
6. (230) Jim Hurtubise, Clermont, Ind.
7. (200) Tom Bigelow, Whitewater, Wis.
8. (200) Bubby Jones, Danville, Ill.
9. (200) Pancho Carter, Brownsburg, Ind.
10. (190) Jerry Miller, Albuquerque, N.M.
11. (160) Larry Dickson, Marietta, Ohio
12. (160) A.J. Foyt, Houston, Texas
13. (160) Gary Bettenhausen, Monrovia, Ind.
14. (160) James McElreath, Arlington, Texas
15. (160) Jim McElreath, Arlington, Texas
16. (140) Rollie Beale, Toledo, Ohio
17. (100) Chuck Gurney, Livermore, Calif.
18. (90) Ronnie Burke, Houston, Texas
19. (80) Roy Hicks, Socorro, N.M.
20. (50) Gary Irvin, West Lafayette, Ind.
21. (40) Bobby Olivero, Lakewood, Calif.
22. (40) Steve Chassey, Sunland, Calif.
23. (40) Bruce Walkup, Sullivan, Ind.
24. (30) Larry Moore, Dayton, Ohio
25. (20) Clark Templeman, Reseda, Calif.
26. (10) Jan Opperman, Noxon, Mont.
27. (10) Larry Cannon, Oakwood, Ill.
1976 USAC DIRT CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRANT POINTS
1. (430) L.A. Seymour & Sons, Marlboro, Mass. (#29)
2. (370) Vatis Enterprises, New York, N.Y. (#93)
3. (280) Grant King Racers, Indianapolis, Ind. (#56)
4. (260) David LeFevre, Lafayette, Ind. (#59)
5. (240) Ralph DePalma, Lima, Ohio (#75)
6. (230) Ron Kilman, Toledo, Ohio (#22)
7. (230) Louis Senter, Encino, Calif. (#57)
8. (200) Leader Cards, Milwaukee, Wis. (#2)
9. (200) Roger Beck, Montclair, Calif. (#51)
10. (200) Rieder Racers, West Milford, N.J. (#48)
11. (190) Jerry Miller, Albuquerque, N.M. (#65)
12. (160) Russ Polak, Noblesville, Ind. (#72)
13. (160) A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Houston, Texas (#14)
14. (160) S & M Electric Company, Syracuse, N.Y. (#97)
15. (160) Pizza Hut of St. Louis, Florissant, Mo. (#55)
16. (160) Jim McElreath, Arlington, Texas (#23)
17. (90) Jack Burke, Houston, Texas (#33)
18. (80) Roy Hicks, Socorro, N.M. (#61)
19. (50) David Hodson, Richmond, Ind. (#42)
20. (40) John Slack, Nixa, Mo. (#53)
21. (40) Linne Enterprises, Mendota, Ill. (#96)
22. (40) Don Siebert, Shelbyville, Ind. (#19)
23. (30) Cecilia Smith, Eaton, Ohio (#17)
24. (20) Ray Smith, Eaton, Ohio (#16)
25. (10) Bobby Hillin’s Longhorn Racers, Midland, Texas (#12)
26. (10) Holt Racing, Champaign, Ill. (#3)