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
1981 USAC SILVER CROWN SEASON REVIEW
It took 11 years to produce a repeat champion in the highly competitive USAC Silver Crown series.
After legendary pilots like Al Unser, Mario Andretti, Pancho Carter and Gary Bettenhausen were able to rack up a seasonal second to go with a first, but never a first to go with a first, it was 1977 titlist Larry Rice who came from behind in the last race of 1981 to accomplish what had eluded all of the others.
By the midpoint of the campaign, a repeat by Rice seemed unlikely as he had scored only one good finish in four starts, and even that had come in a borrowed car.
His George Middleton-owned Pizza Hut of St. Louis King/Chevy was badly damaged in an accident during the opening event at Eldora Speedway on April 26 and not repairable in time for the following week’s outing at the Indiana State Fairgrounds where he guest-drove Ray and Cissy Smith’s Chevy to a runner-up spot.
A disappointing pair of 12th place finishes on the half-mile tracks of Knoxville and Williams Grove with Middleton’s substituted Stanton/Chevy came next, a major consolation being that nobody else was setting the world on fire either. Rice had managed to hang on to sixth ranking after four races, a shade under 100 points shy of pacemaker Sheldon Kinser.
Another consolation was that the first four events had been of shorter duration than usual and therefore not heaped too heavily with points. The richer 100-mile races on the mile tracks at Springfield, Du Quoin and the Indiana State Fairgrounds were next up, and these history-packed fair date events have always been good to the friendly and underrated former school teacher.
One hundred and sixty points, a chunk more than he had scored all year, went along with a $4,750 payoff for chasing George Snider home with the repaired King/Chevy at Springfield and that tidy total carried him all the way up the ladder to second. Only Jack Hewitt, who hung on for fourth at Springfield, had a better total than Larry’s.
No less than 53 cars checked in for the Du Quoin race and when qualifying was over, Rice had out-timed the entire field. But they lost the pressure in one cylinder and came close to withdrawing the car. They decided to run it anyway and Larry spent close to an hour struggling on seven cylinders, back in the pack and driving hard to compensate for the deficiency, until a right rear tire blew in the process.
At the prestigious Hoosier Hundred, everything clicked. Larry drew a good number, qualified for the pole again and then led the entire 100 laps for a $11,640 win, the biggest of his career.
Rich Vogler, who crossed the line only feet behind Rice, held on to a 17-point edge while, despite a disappointing outing, Jack Hewitt was still only 28 points behind Rice.
An accident in the following afternoon’s Hut Hundred Midget race at Terre Haute took Vogler out for the balance of the year and so it was down to Rice and Hewitt.
On the Wednesday before the 4-Crown Nationals were to wrap it up at Eldora, Rice was on a promotional tour which took him into Lima, Ohio. Local resident Ralph DePalma, who owns the car driven by Hewitt, affectionately grabbed Rice by the hand and bicep and sportingly said, “Hey, good luck on Sunday. If we can’t win it, then we’ll be thrilled to see you get it.”
Hewitt did okay. He finished fourth. But Rice did better. He was second, and the 40 points he scored were more than enough to vault him past the injured Vogler.
The new champion and now two-time USAC Silver Crown champion, 1973 Midget champion, 1978 Indianapolis 500 Co-Rookie of the Year, and the almost Sprint champ of 1979, still was just as easy-going and unaffected as ever after scoring the title in 1981.
“The person I really have to thank the most is Bob Wente who actually got me hired. George Middleton made several changes this year and one of the things he did was to take Bob on as team manager. They are longtime friends and business associates now since Bob supplies the electronic games in about half-a-dozen of George’s Pizza Hut places. They’ve got Pac Man all those things.”
“I knew I wasn’t their first choice because they were trying to get either Pancho Carter or Doug Wolfgang but that didn’t work out, so I was fortunate to get together with them. George asked me to drive for him several years ago, but I had already made another commitment and had to turn it down.
“They hired Junior Knepper as the chief mechanic and bought new engines from Gaerte, which was great, but we got off to a bad start. The turning point was Springfield. The week leading up to the Hoosier Hundred, I had a strong feeling that we would win. I don’t feel that way often. Usually when I have had it, something has happened during the race to louse it up, but this time I was convinced that with the right breaks, drawing a good qualifying number and things like that, we would win.”
“Everything went well until after the last yellow and I noticed that the right rear was getting loose. As the fuel load burned off, it allowed the back to raise up and it was getting tougher to handle. With 10 laps to go, I had to really talk to myself to concentrate on not blowing it. I tried to come out of the corners as gently as possible, keeping a low straight line. One time I knew I had slipped a bit and so I deliberately went lower than usual on the backstretch. I knew Gary Bettenhausen was behind me and that he would try to pass, so I was going to make him do it the hard way, on the outside. Instead, he tried me underneath and got into the inside marbles and lost the spot to Vogler. I figured I really had a problem then because I had been able to handle Gary for the whole race, but I knew Vogler had come from further back. If he had been able to pass so many cars, then obviously, he was going faster than we were and he would have a good shot at me. I was very happy to see the checker.”
It was a wonderful feeling to be standing up there on the stage after all these years. It was hard to believe it was real. Our family used to go to the Hoosier Hundred every year and we had grandstand seats right up until I started driving. I started going when I was six or seven, so I have probably been to every one. I’m not sure. I could check the programs. I kept every one of them.”
“You know, the thing that was very special to me was to know that Foyt was there. I didn’t see him after the race, but he joked with me when he presented me with the fast time trophy. I’ve seen him win so many times there, when he was on the stage and I was a kid up in the stands. Now I had won it, the biggest thing I’d ever won. I’m sure he didn’t think anything about it but knowing that he was there meant a great deal to me.”
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ELDORA’S BRANSON-LARSON SILVER CROWN OPENER TO STEVE KINSER
Rossburg, Ohio………Steve Kinser of Bloomington, Ind. led wire-to-wire to capture the 100-lap Don Branson-Jud Larson Memorial weekend USAC Silver Crown opener at Eldora Speedway on April 26.
It was Kinser’s first USAC victory as he beat pole starter Tom Bigelow to the first turn and finished about a quarter lap ahead of runner-up Jack Hewitt. Steve drove the Stanton/Bill King’s Brake-O Chevy.
Hewitt, by virtue of his second-place finish in the Coons Construction Chevy, is the 1981 Silver Crown Series point leader, due to Kinser’s non-point status.
Steve Chassey, subbing for an ill Gary Bettenhausen in the Terre Haute First National Bank Chevy, came from last starting spot to grab third, with Paul Pitzer fourth and Sheldon Kinser fifth.
The race was halted on lap 41 when 1979 series titlist Bobby Olivero flipped in turn four. His machine was struck by that of Larry Dickson but neither driver was seriously injured.
Bigelow and Kinser earned their front row starting positions by winning a pair of 20-lap qualifying races. Bigelow was the day’s fastest time trailer with one lap at 17.113 seconds.
The race was the first for the Dirt Cars at Eldora Speedway and was taped by ABC’s Wide World of Sports program for later showing.
USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: April 26, 1981 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – Don Branson-Jud Larson Memorial
QUALIFYING: 1. Tom Bigelow, 56, Gohr-17.113; 2. Gary Bettenhausen, 1, Delrose/Holt-17.138; 3. Larry Rice, 55, Middleton-17.241; 4. Steve Kinser, 75, King-17.257; 5. Jack Hewitt, 58, DePalma-17.389; 6. Sheldon Kinser, 11, Leyba-17.428; 7. Eddie Leavitt, 53, Schmidt-17.432; 8. Paul Pitzer, 51, GCQ-17.595; 9. Bobby Olivero, 5, Leader Card-17.607; 10. Bill Tyler, 57, Roberts-17.608; 11. Larry Dickson. 18. Jo/Ol-17.616; 12. Lealand McSpadden, 64, McCray-17.779; 13. Rich Vogler, 17, Smith-17.822; 14. Steve Cannon, 39, Fortune-17.826; 15. Joe Saldana, 33, Johnson-17.845; 16. Smokey Snellbaker, 54, Lloyd-17.996; 17. Billy Vukovich, 49, Cook/Stapp-18.131; 18. Lennie Waldo, 81, B.U.F.-18.133; 19. Greg Leffler, 43, Armstrong-18.209; 20. Billy Engelhart, 42, Marcello-18.663; 21. Bud Wilmot, 84, Wilmot-18.965; 22. Chris Cumberworth, 7, LaGrande-19.234; 23. Steve Chassey, 1, Delrose/Holt-NT; 24. Ken Schrader, 31, Mataka-NT; 25. Tracy Potter, 24, MacPherson-NT; 26. Bill Compton, 22, Syring-NT; 27. Rickey Hood, 71, B.U.F.-NT; 28. Jerry Potter, 62, Booth-NT; 29. Richard Powell, 77, Powell-NT.
FIRST QUALIFYING RACE: (20 laps) 1. Tom Bigelow, 2. Larry Rice, 3. Jack Hewitt, 4. Larry Dickson, 5. Bobby Olivero, 6. Greg Leffler, 7. Joe Saldana, 8. Billy Vukovich, 9. Bill Compton, 10. Bud Wilmot, 11, Rich Vogler, 12. Eddie Leavitt. NT
SECOND QUALIFYING RACE: (20 laps) 1. Steve Kinser, 2. Gary Bettenhausen, 3. Sheldon Kinser, 4. Paul Pitzer, 5. Lealand McSpadden, 6. Bill Tyler, 7. Billy Engelhart, 8. Steve Cannon, 9. Chris Cumberworth, 10. Lennie Waldo, 11. Smokey Snellbaker. 6:03.07
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Steve Kinser (2), 2. Jack Hewitt (5), 3. Steve Chassey (20), 4. Paul Pitzer (6), 5. Sheldon Kinser (4), 6. Lealand McSpadden (8), 7. Steve Cannon (14), 8. Chris Cumberworth (16), 9. Bill Compton (17), 10. Tom Bigelow (1), 11. Larry Dickson (7), 12. Bud Wilmot (19), 13. Bobby Olivero (9), 14. Billy Vukovich (15), 15. Greg Leffler (11), 16. Joe Saldana (13), 17. Larry Rice (3), 18. Lennie Waldo (18), 19. Bill Tyler (10), 20. Billy Engelhart (12). NT
**Bobby Olivero flipped on lap 41 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-100 Steve Kinser.
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STEVE KINSER WINS SECOND STRAIGHT OF 1981 AT HULMAN HUNDRED
Indianapolis, Indiana………Steve Kinser drove the Stanton/Bill King’s Brake-O Chevy to victory in the May 2 Hulman Hundred 60-mile USAC Silver Crown race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, his second consecutive triumph with the series.
Steve led all 60 miles of the feature after winning the second of two 15-mile qualifying races to start on the front row.
Larry Rice took second with Gary Bettenhausen, winner of the other 15-mile qualifier, third.
Jack Hewitt, sixth-place finisher in the Coons Construction Chevy, retained the series point lead over fourth-place finisher Sheldon Kinser by six points.
Paul Pitzer escaped injury when his car flipped over the turn three wall and outside the track on the 18th lap of the main event.
USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: May 2, 1981 – Indiana State Fairgrounds – Indianapolis, Indiana – Hulman Hundred
FIRST QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps) 1. Gary Bettenhausen (#1 Delrose-Holt), 2. Jack Hewitt (#58 DePalma), 3. Larry Rice (#17 Smith), 4. Sheldon Kinser (#11 Leyba), 5. Joe Saldana (#3 Vance), 6. Smokey Snellbaker (#54 Lloyd), 7. Eddie Leavitt (#53 Schmidt), 8. Lennie Waldo (#81 B.U.F.), 9. Mark Alderson (#97 Enslow), 10. Bobby Olivero (#5 Leader Card), 11. Bill Compton (#22 Syring), 12. Karl Busson (#31 Mataka), 13. Chris Cumberworth (#7 LaGrande), 14. Greg Leffler (#43 Armstrong), 15. Billy Engelhart (#28 Weaver), 16. Duke Cook (#25 Aberle). 8:40.90
SECOND QUALIFYING RACE (15 laps) 1. Steve Kinser (#75 King), 2. Billy Vukovich (#30 Kurtz), 3. Ron Shuman (#90 Howard), 4. Paul Pitzer (#51 GCQ), 5. Steve Cannon (#39 Fortune), 6. Lealand McSpadden (#64 McCray), 7. Jerry Weeks (#41 LeFevre), 8. Art Bisch Jr. (#72 Speed Sport West), 9. Mack McClellan (#52 Shores), 10. Bud Wilmot (#84 Wilmot), 11. Jerry Potter (#62 Booth), 12. Tracy Potter (#24 MacPherson), 13. Larry Gates (#20 Peterson/Niebel), 14. Johnny Coogan (#50 Miller-Vetzel), 15. Gary Hieber (#47 EWH), 16. Steve Chassey (#49 Cook-Stapp). 8:33.20
SEMI: (10 laps) 1. Bill Compton, 2. Duke Cook, 3. Larry Gates, 4. Karl Busson, 5. Tracy Potter. NT
FEATURE: (60 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Steve Kinser (2), 2. Larry Rice (5), 3. Gary Bettenhausen (1), 4. Sheldon Kinser (7), 5. Ron Shuman (6), 6. Jack Hewitt (3), 7. Bobby Olivero (19), 8. Smokey Snellbaker (11), 9. Jerry Weeks (14), 10. Steve Cannon (10), 11. Eddie Leavitt (13), 12. Mark Alderson (17), 13. Karl Busson (24), 14. Duke Cook (22), 15. Lennie Waldo (15), 16. Bud Wilmot (20), 17. Bill Compton (21), 18. Lealand McSpadden (12), 19. Larry Gates (23), 20. Joe Saldana (9), 21. Art Bisch Jr. (16), 22. Mack McClellan (18), 23. Tracy Potter (25), 24. Paul Pitzer (8), 25. Billy Vukovich (4).
** Paul Pitzer flipped over the turn three wall on lap 18 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-60 Steve Kinser.
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VOGLER’S ARISTOCRAT CHEVY LEADS ALL 100 AT KNOXVILLE
Knoxville, Iowa………Rich Vogler and the Aristocrat Products Chevy led all 100 laps to win the USAC Silver Crown race on June 6 at Knoxville Raceway.
It was the first appearance of the Silver Crown cars at Knoxville and it marked the first USAC feature triumph for new car owner Johnny Vance of Dayton, Ohio.
Sheldon Kinser is the new series point leader, finishing second to Vogler to take a 72-point lead over Jack Hewitt after three events. Hewitt, the leader going into the race, was forced out of the Knoxville event after just 12 laps with ring and pinion problems.
Joe Saldana, the fastest qualifier, was out at the midpoint of the race with a flat tire, while Gary Bettenhausen, last year’s series champ, was unable to start the 100-lapper due to mechanical problems.
USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 6, 1981 – Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, Iowa – Knoxville 100
QUALIFYING: 1. Joe Saldana, 49, Cook/Stapp-21.359; 2. Rich Vogler, 3, Vance-21.363; 3. Ken Schrader, 39, Fortune-21.427; 4. Gary Bettenhausen, 1, Delrose/Holt-21.554; 5. Smokey Snellbaker, 54, Lloyd-21.600; 6. Eddie Leavitt, 53, Schmidt-21.614; 7. Ron Shuman, 90, Howard-21.652; 8. Jack Hewitt, 58, DePalma-21.788; 9. Jerry Potter, 62, Booth-21.913; 10. Johnny Parsons, 7, LaGrande-21.916; 11. Gary Gray, 83, GAPCO-21.921; 12. Steve Cannon, 42, Marcello-21.973; 13. Sheldon Kinser, 11, Leyba-22.040; 14. Duke Cook, 25, Aberle-22.206; 15. Mark Alderson, 97, Enslow-22.285; 16. Mike Brooks, 17, Smith-22.293; 17. Lennie Waldo, 81, B.U.F.-22.351; 18. Greg Leffler, 43, Armstrong-22.383; 19. Johnny Coogan, 50, Miller/Vetzel-22.638; 20. Larry Rice, 55, Middleton-22.838; 21. Bill Compton, 22, Syring-22.846; 22. Gary Patterson, 45, Aden-23.092; 23. Bud Wilmot, 84, Wilmot-23.336; 24. No Driver, 64, McCray-NT.
FIRST QUALIFYING RACE: (20 laps) 1. Joe Saldana, 2. Smokey Snellbaker, 3. Ken Schrader, 4. Ron Shuman, 5. Sheldon Kinser, 6. Gary Gray, 7. Jerry Potter, 8. Mark Alderson, 9. Bill Compton, 10. Lennie Waldo, 11. Johnny Coogan, 12. Bud Wilmot. 13:20.72
SECOND QUALIFYING RACE: (20 laps) 1. Rich Vogler, 2. Eddie Leavitt, 3. Jack Hewitt, 4. Greg Leffler, 5. Johnny Parsons, 6. Steve Cannon, 7. Gary Patterson, 8. Mike Brooks, 9. Larry Rice, 10. Duke Cook, 11. Gary Bettenhausen. 10:42.03
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Rich Vogler (2), 2. Sheldon Kinser (9), 3. Smokey Snellbaker (3), 4. Ron Shuman (7), 5. Ken Schrader (5), 6. Johnny Parsons (10), 7. Gary Patterson (14), 8. Greg Leffler (8), 9. Gary Gray (11), 10. Bill Compton (17), 11. Mark Alderson (15), 12. Larry Rice (18), 13. Jerry Potter (13), 14. Duke Cook (20), 15. Bud Wilmot (19), 16. Joe Saldana (1), 17. Eddie Leavitt (4), 18. Steve Cannon (12), 19. Jack Hewitt (6), 20. Mike Brooks (16). 42:58.60
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-100 Rich Vogler.
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LEAVITT WINS GROVE’S JACK GUNN MEMORIAL
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania………Eddie Leavitt drove the Commercial Truck Components Chevy to victory July 5 in the rain-postponed Jack Gunn Memorial 100-lap USAC Silver Crown race at Williams Grove Speedway.
Sheldon Kinser retained his series point lead despite encountering engine problems with his machine and being unable to start the feature.
Steve Kinser, winner of the first two Silver Crown races of the season, appeared headed for a third victory at the Grove until he brushed the wall on lap 60. That allowed Leavitt, who had been pressuring Kinser for several laps, to get past and Eddie led the final 41 circuits at the half-mile track. Steve dropped back to fifth at the finish.
Barry Camp of Harrisburg, Pa. finished second in his first Silver Crown appearance.
Paul Pitzer, who earned the pole position by winning the first of two 20-lap qualifying races, led the first 24 laps before crashing into the spun machine of Gary Patterson.
The race was originally scheduled to be run on July 4, but rain forced postponement until July 5.
USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: July 5, 1981 – Williams Grove Speedway – Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania – Jack Gunn Memorial
QUALIFYING: 1. Steve Kinser, 75, King-23.873; 2. Ron Shuman, 90, Howard-23.900; 3. Paul Pitzer, 51, GCQ-23.965; 4. Smokey Snellbaker, 54, Lloyd-24.218; 5. Barry Camp, 71, B.U.F.-24.233; 6. Joe Saldana, 49, Cook-Stapp-24.285; 7. Roger Rager, 29, Seymour-24.291; 8. Rich Vogler, 3, Vance-24.348; 9. Kramer Williamson, 34, Amerling-24.359; 10. Gary Patterson, 45, Aden-24.439; 11. Johnny Parsons, 44, Armstrong-24.456; 12. Ken Schrader, 39, Fortune-24.493; 13. Bill Tyler, 7, LaGrande-24.505; 14. Eddie Leavitt, 53, Schmidt-24.564; 15. Greg Leffler, 43, Armstrong-24.591; 16. Larry Rice, 55, Middleton-24.702; 17. Tom Bigelow, 17, Smith-24.751; 18. Steve Cannon, 42, Marcello-24.753; 19. Larry Dickson, 18, Jo/Ol-24.825; 20. Jack Hewitt, 58, DePalma-24.828; 21. Gary Gray, 83, GAPCO-24.891; 22. Mark Alderson, 97, Enslow-24.964; 23. Johnny Coogan, 50, Miller/Vetzel-25.161; 24. Gary Hieber, 47, EWH-25.167; 25. Bill Compton, 22, Syring-25.289; 26. Charlie Svetec, 60, Murray-25.316; 27. Duke Cook, 25, Aberle-25.322; 28. Bud Wilmot, 84, Wilmot-26.398; 29. Richard Powell, 77, Powell-27.037; 30. Sheldon Kinser, 11, Leyba-NT; 31. Karl Busson, 31, Mataka-NT.
FIRST QUALIFYING RACE: (20 laps) 1. Paul Pitzer, 2. Steve Kinser, 3. Barry Camp, 4. Kramer Williamson, 5. Roger Rager, 6. Johnny Parsons, 7. Greg Leffler, 8. Jack Hewitt, 9. Mark Alderson, 10. Tom Bigelow, 11. Gary Hieber, 12. Bill Tyler, 13. Bud Wilmot, 14. Charlie Svetec. 13:31.10
SECOND QUALIFYING RACE: (20 laps) 1. Ron Shuman, 2. Smokey Snellbaker, 3. Joe Saldana, 4. Rich Vogler, 5. Eddie Leavitt, 6. Ken Schrader, 7. Larry Rice, 8. Gary Gray, 9. Gary Patterson, 10. Duke Cook, 11. Johnny Coogan, 12. Richard Powell, 13. Larry Dickson, 14. Bill Compton. 11:49.73
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Eddie Leavitt (10), 2. Barry Camp (5), 3. Jack Hewitt (15), 4. Roger Rager (9), 5. Steve Kinser (3), 6. Joe Saldana (6), 7. Ken Schrader (12), 8. Tom Bigelow (19), 9. Gary Gray (16), 10. Mark Alderson (17), 11. Rich Vogler (8), 12. Larry Rice (14), 13. Greg Leffler (13), 14. Smokey Snellbaker (4), 15. Duke Cook (20), 16. Ron Shuman (2), 17. Paul Pitzer (1), 18. Gary Patterson (18), 19. Kramer Williamson (7), 20. Johnny Parsons (11).
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-24 Paul Pitzer, Laps 25-59 Steve Kinser, Laps 60-100 Eddie Leavitt.
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SNIDER WINS BETTENHAUSEN 100 AT SPRINGFIELD
Springfield, Illinois………George Snider drove the Dick Krieg Motor Home Rentals Chevy to victory in the August 15 Tony Bettenhausen 100 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
Snider’s win was his first in USAC racing since winning a Sprint feature at Eldora Speedway four years earlier and it boosted him into a tie for third place in the Gold Crown National Championship standings with Mario Andretti. It also left him in fourth place in the Silver Crown series points.
Larry Rice, who drove to victory at Springfield in 1977 for the same Dave LeFevre team which won with Snider this year, finished second in the Pizza Hut of St. Louis Chevy and moved to second in the Silver Crown series points behind leader Jack Hewitt, fourth at Springfield.
Tom Bigelow, who won the pole and led the first 65 laps, was one of two drivers who flipped during a four-car tangle in the first turn on lap 69, bringing out the red flag. He and Gary Gray, the other flipper, both escaped injury.
Snider’s victory was worth nearly $9,000 from a total purse of close to $50,000.
The start of the race was delayed for about three hours by overnight rain which left the track very muddy.
USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 15, 1981 – Illinois State Fairgrounds – Springfield, Illinois – Tony Bettenhausen 100
QUALIFYING: 1. Tom Bigelow, 56, Gohr-32.660; 2. Gary Bettenhausen, 1, Delrose/Holt-32.773; 3. Ken Schrader, 39, Fortune-33.076; 4. Roger Rager, 64, McCray-33.133; 5. Ron Shuman, 90, Howard-33.207; 6. Joe Saldana, 33, Johnson-33.375; 7. Sheldon Kinser, 11, Leyba-33.384; 8. Rich Vogler, 3, Vance-33.423; 9. George Snider, 41, LeFevre-33.474; 10. Johnny Parsons, 17, Smith-33.605; 11. Larry Rice, 55, Middleton-33.611; 12. Manny Rockhold, 76, Rockhold-33.738; 13. Larry Dickson, 18, Jo/Ol-33.744; 14. Steve Chassey, 49, Cook/Stapp-33.846; 15. Gary Gray, 83, GAPCO-33.879; 16. Chuck Amati, 71, B.U.F.-34.019; 17. Larry Martin, 20, Peterson/Niebel-34.129; 18. Jack Hewitt, 58, DePalma-34.160; 19. Mark Alderson, 97, Enslow-34.315; 20. Greg Leffler, 43, Armstrong-34.432; 21. Jim McElreath, 75, King-34.469; 22. Tracy Potter, 24, MacPherson-34.511; 23. Billy Vukovich, 30, Kurtz-34.575; 24. Johnny Coogan, 50, Miller/Vetzel-34.634; 25. Bobby Olivero, 5, Leader Card-34.640; 26. Art Bisch Jr., 72, Speed Sport West-34.731; 27. Jack Ziegler, 59, Robinson-34.732; 28. Smokey Snellbaker, 54, Lloyd-34.732; 29. Steve Cannon, 57, Roberts-34.737; 30. Billy Engelhart, 28, Weaver-34.891; 31. Gary Patterson, 45, Aden-35.152; 32. Arnie Knepper, 35, Fischer-35.166; 33. Gary Hieber, 47, EWH-35.173; 34. Eddie Leavitt, 53, Schmidt-35.210; 35. Lennie Waldo, 81, B.U.F.-35.684; 36. Bill Tyler, 7, LeGrande-35.939; 37. Richard Powell, 77, Powell-36.070; 38. Bud Wilmot, 84, Wilmot-NT; 39. Rick Hood, 80, Corsi-NT; 40. Ronnie Burke, 32, Johnson-NT; 41. Ron Fuller, 66, Kendrick-NT; 42. Mack McClellan, 89, Soubirou-NT; 43. Paul Pitzer, 51, GCQ-NT; 44. Duke Cook, 25, Aberle-NT; 45. Karl Busson, 31, Mataka-NT.
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. George Snider (9), 2. Larry Rice (11), 3. Jim McElreath (21), 4. Jack Hewitt (18), 5. Joe Saldana (6), 6. Chuck Amati (16), 7. Johnny Coogan (24), 8. Roger Rager (4), 9. Greg Leffler (20), 10. Art Bisch Jr. (26), 11. Rich Vogler (8), 12. Tom Bigelow (1), 13. Gary Gray (15), 14. Tracy Potter (22), 15. Ron Shuman (5), 16. Ken Schrader (3), 17. Billy Vukovich (23), 18. Bobby Olivero (25), 19. Mark Alderson (19), 20. Gary Bettenhausen (2), 21. Larry Dickson (13), 22. Sheldon Kinser (7), 23. Larry Martin (17), 24. Johnny Parsons (10), 25. Manny Rockhold (12), 26. Steve Chassey (14). 49:03.75
**Tom Bigelow and Gary Gray flipped on lap 69 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-65 Tom Bigelow, Laps 66-72 George Snider, Laps 73-84 Roger Rager, Laps 85-100 George Snider.
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VOGLER #1 AT Du QUOIN’S TED HORN 100
Du Quoin, Illinois………Rich Vogler drove the Aristocrat Products Chevy to victory in the 100-mile USAC Gold/Silver Crown race August 30 at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds.
Rich grabbed the lead from Billy Engelhart on the 49th lap and held off repeated challenges from several competitors, including second-place finisher Tom Bigelow and third-place finisher George Snider.
Snider’s finish moved him to second in both the Gold and Silver Crown points and Bigelow’s finish vaulted him to third in the Gold Crown series and sixth in the Silver Crown. Snider trails Gold Crown leader Geoff Brabham by only 20 points after the Du Quoin event.
Engelhart, winner of one of two 15-mile qualifying races, earned the pole position and led the first 48 laps before engine problems finally beset his machine, a team car to that of Gary Bettenhausen, who won the other qualifying heat and was also forced out just past the midway point of the feature with handling trouble.
Jack Hewitt, the Silver Crown series point leader entering the race, increased his lead with a fourth-place finish.
Eddie Leavitt, winner of the race at Williams Grove two months earlier, escaped injury in a wild flip during his qualifying race.
Fast qualifier among the 51 drivers on hand was Larry Rice, whose late race stop for a tire change left him in 13th place at the finish.
Two-time Midget champ Sleepy Tripp worked his way up from 13th to fourth before a blown engine forced him out just seven laps from the finish and the Silver Crown debut of Al Unser Jr. was thwarted by mechanical problems during qualifying.
USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: August 30, 1981 – Du Quoin State Fairgrounds – Du Quoin, Illinois – Ted Horn 100
QUALIFYING: 1. Larry Rice, 55, Middleton-33.345; 2. Gary Bettenhausen, 1, Delrose/Holt-33.495; 3. Billy Engelhart, 14, Delrose/Holt-33.513; 4. Bobby Olivero, 5, Leader Card-33.539; 5. Sheldon Kinser, 11, Leyba-33.604; 6. Mark Alderson, 97, Enslow-33.625; 7. Tom Bigelow, 56, Gohr-33.764; 8. Jack Hewitt, 58, DePalma-33.925; 9. Rich Vogler, 3, Vance-33.957; 10. Greg Leffler, 43, Armstrong-33.959; 11. Gary Gray, 83, GAPCO-33.963; 12. Johnny Parsons, 17, Smith-33.997; 13. Bill Tyler, 7, LaGrande-34.007; 14. Jerry Potter, 62, Booth-34.078; 15. Ron Shuman, 90, Howard-34.083; 16. Ken Schrader, 39, Fortune-34.104; 17. Jerry Stone, 21, Stephens-34.108; 18. Sleepy Tripp, 29, Seymour-34.108; 19. Bobby Marshall, 19, Marshall-34.133; 20. George Snider, 41, LeFevre-34.139; 21. Bill Puterbaugh, 59, Robinson-34.286; 22. Jerry Nemire, 22, Syring-34.287; 23. Gary Hieber, 47, EWH-34.311; 24. Arnie Knepper, 35, Fischer-34.373; 25. Jeff Bloom, 57, Roberts-34.430; 26. Joe Saldana, 33, Johnson-34.442; 27. Paul Pitzer, 51, GCQ-34.525; 28. Rick Hood, 80, Corsi-34.557; 29. Tracy Potter, 24, MacPherson-34.675; 30. Barry Camp, 71, B.U.F.-34.753; 31. Bud Wilmot, 84, Wilmot-34.960; 32. Jerry Miller, 85, Miller-35.039; 33. Dean Shirley, 61, Winterbotham-35.051; 34. Bobby Adkins, 26, Linsmeyer-35.133; 35. Gary Patterson, 45, Aden-35.191; 36. Art Bisch Jr., 72, Brzozowski-35.253; 37. Jerry Weeks, 30, Kurtz-35.273; 38. Duke Cook, 25, Aberle-35.309; 39. Danny Milburn, 81, B.U.F.35.355; 40. Lonnie Caruthers, 78, Conrad-35.537; 41. Richard Powell, 77, Powell-35.652; 42. Salt Walther, 32, Johnson-35.919; 43. Johnny Coogan, 50, Miller/Vetzel-NT; 44. Jim McElreath, 18, Jo/Ol-NT; 45. Larry Martin, 20, Peterson/Niebel-NT; 46. Al Unser Jr., 75, King-NT; 47. Manny Rockhold, 76, Rockhold-NT; 48. Billy Engelhart, 28, Weaver-NT; 49. Karl Busson, 31, Mataka-NT; 50. Mike Gregg, 27, Petauro-NT; 51. Eddie Leavitt, 53, Schmidt-NT.
FIRST QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps) 1. Billy Engelhart, 2. Larry Rice, 3. Johnny Parsons, 4. Jack Hewitt, 5. George Snider, 6. Ken Schrader, 7. Sleepy Tripp, 8. Jerry Nemire, 9. Joe Saldana, 10. Jerry Miller, 11. Sheldon Kinser (#43), 12. Arnie Knepper, 13. Barry Camp, 14. Rick Hood, 15. Mark Alderson, 16. Bobby Adkins, 17. Steve Cannon, 18. Manny Rockhold, 19. Jerry Potter, 20. Lonnie Caruthers, 21. Art Bisch Jr., 22. Duke Cook. NT
SECOND QUALIFYING RACE: (15 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Gary Bettenhausen, 2. Bobby Olivero, 3. Rich Vogler, 4. Tom Bigelow, 5. Paul Pitzer, 6. Bill Tyler, 7. Bill Puterbaugh, 8. Jeff Bloom, 9. Gary Hieber, 10. Jim McElreath, 11. Jerry Weeks, 12. Tracy Potter, 13. Ron Shuman, 14. Jerry Stone, 15. Gary Patterson, 16. Dean Shirley, 17. Richard Powell, 18. Gary Gray, 19. Bobby Marshall, 20. Danny Milburn, 21. Bud Wilmot, 22. Eddie Leavitt. NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Rich Vogler (6), 2. Tom Bigelow (8), 3. George Snider (9), 4. Jack Hewitt (7), 5. Bill Tyler (12), 6. Joe Saldana (16), 7. Jerry Nemire (14), 8. Johnny Parsons (5), 9. Jerry Miller (18), 10. Paul Pitzer (10), 11. Ken Schrader (11), 12. Jerry Weeks (21), 13. Larry Rice (3), 14. Jeff Bloom (15), 15. Sheldon Kinser (20), 16. Sleepy Tripp (13), 17. Jim McElreath (19), 18. Gary Bettenhausen (2), 19. Mark Alderson (#59) (24), 20. Billy Engelhart (1), 21. Bobby Olivero (4), 22. Gary Hieber (17), 23. Tracy Potter (23), 24. Arnie Knepper (22). 1:01:13.00
**Eddie Leavitt flipped during the second qualifying race.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-48 Billy Engelhart, Laps 49-100 Rich Vogler.
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RICE LEADS HOOSIER HUNDRED WIRE-TO-WIRE
Indianapolis, Indiana………Larry Rice led all 100 laps in the Pizza Hut of St. Louis Chevy to win the 29th annual Hoosier Hundred September 13 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
Larry started on the pole and the victory moved him to second in the USAC Silver Crown points behind Rich Vogler, runner-up to Rice in the 100-miler.
George Snider, eighth-place finisher in the Hoosier Hundred, took over first place in the USAC Gold Crown point standings as a result of his performance, now 80 points ahead of former point leader Geoff Brabham.
Defending race winner Gary Bettenhausen, who started next to Rice on the front row, was second behind Larry until late in the race when Vogler was able to move past on the backstretch.
USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: September 12, 1981 – Indiana State Fairgrounds – Indianapolis, Indiana – Hoosier Hundred
QUALIFYING: 1. Larry Rice, 55, Middleton-35.428; 2. Gary Bettenhausen, 14, Delrose/Holt-35.592; 3. Mark Alderson, 97, Enslow-35.691; 4. Johnny Parsons, 17, Smith-35.715; 5. Tom Bigelow, 56, Gohr-35.787; 6. Jim McElreath, 66, Kendrick-35.818; 7. Joe Saldana, 33, Johnson-35.865; 8. Billy Engelhart, 28. Weaver-35.867; 9. Rich Vogler, 3, Vance-36.068; 10. Billy Vukovich, 30, Kurtz-36.111; 11. Steve Chassey, 1, Delrose/Holt-36.310; 12. Bobby Olivero, 5, Leader Card-36.320; 13. Steve Cannon, 42, Marcello-36.370; 14. Larry Martin, 20, Peterson/Niebel-36.388; 15. Jerry Nemire, 22, Syring-36.407; 16. Chuck Gurney, 15, Kurtz/DiGeronimo-36.409; 17. Paul Pitzer, 51, GCQ-36.444; 18. Sheldon Kinser, 34, Amerling-36.476; 19. Smokey Snellbaker, 54, Lloyd-36.542; 20. Jerry Miller, 85, Miller-36.619; 21. Chuck Amati, 71, B.U.F.-36.700; 22. Rick Hood, 61, Winterbotham-36.757; 23. Larry Dickson, 18, Jo/Ol-36.845; 24. Roger Rager, 64, McCray-36.874; 25. Gary Patterson, 45, Aden-36.880; 26. Duke Cook, 25, Aberle-36.963; 27. Jeff Bloom, 57, Roberts-37.007; 28. Bobby Adkins, 26, Linsmeyer-37.038; 29. Greg Leffler, 43, Armstrong-37.154; 30. Bobby Marshall, 19, Marshall-37.238; 31. Bill Tyler, 7, LaGrande-37.318; 32. Johnny Coogan, 50, Miller/Vetzel-37.333; 33. Danny Milburn, 81, B.U.F.-37.380; 34. George Snider, 41, LeFevre-37.389; 35. Ron Shuman, 90, Howard-37.403; 36. Jerry Potter, 62, Booth-37.426; 37. Karl Busson, 31, Mataka-37.508; 38. Art Bisch Jr., 72, Brzozowski-37.521; 39. Mike Gregg, 27, Petauro-37.904; 40. Frank Weiss, 24, MacPherson-37.939; 41. Bud Wilmot, 84, Wilmot-37.966; 42. Bill Puterbaugh, 59, Robinson-38.042; 43. Brian Seidel, 63, Scats/Anfuso-38.154; 44. Manny Rockhold, 76, Rockhold-38.193; 45. Gary Irvin, 78, Conrad-38.263; 46. Al Unser Jr., 75, King-38.289; 47. Buz Tapply, 40 Hoffman-39.050; 48. Gary Gray, 83, GAPCO-39.420; 49. Billy Earl, 88, Earl-43.499; 50. Richard Powell, 77, ]\Powell-NT; 51. Jack Hewitt, 58, DePalma-NT; 52. Mel Kenyon, 39, Fortune-NT; 53. Mack McClellan, 89, Soubirou-NT; 54. Gary Hieber, 47, EWH-NT; 55. Jerry Weeks, 32, Johnson-NT; 56. Eddie Leavitt, 53, Schmidt-NT; 57. Sleepy Tripp, 29, Seymour-NT.
QUALIFYING RACE: (12 laps) 1. Larry Dickson, 2. Greg Leffler, 3. Jeff Bloom, 4. Chuck Amati, 5. George Snider, 6. Bill Tyler, 7. Bobby Marshall, 8. Art Bisch Jr., 9. Frank Weiss, 10. Bud Wilmot, 11. Danny Milburn, 12. Manny Rockhold, 13. Jerry Potter, 14. Johnny Coogan, 15. Ron Shuman, 16. Roger Rager, 17. Karl Busson. NT
FEATURE: (100 laps, starting position in parentheses) 1. Larry Rice (1), 2. Rich Vogler (9), 3. Gary Bettenhausen (2), 4. Mark Alderson (3), 5. Tom Bigelow (5), 6. Billy Vukovich (10), 7. Sheldon Kinser (18), 8. George Snider (25), 9. Jerry Nemire (16), 10. Larry Martin (14), 11. Greg Leffler (22), 12. Chuck Amati (24), 13. Jack Hewitt (#26) (26), 14. Steve Chassey (11), 15. Smokey Snellbaker (19), 16. Johnny Parsons (4), 17. Paul Pitzer (17), 18. Jeff Bloom (23), 19. Jerry Miller (20), 20. Bobby Olivero (12), 21. Chuck Gurney (15), 22. Joe Saldana (7), 23. Larry Dickson (21), 24. Jim McElreath (6), 25. Steve Cannon (13), 26. Billy Engelhart (8). NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-100 Larry Rice.
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STEVE KINSER THE 4-CROWN STAR AT ELDORA; RICE TAKES THE TITLE
Rossburg, Ohio………Steve Kinser rode the cushion to a pair of stunning victories in two 4-Crown Nationals feature events Sunday afternoon at Eldora Speedway.
Kinser came from 18th starting position to win the 50-lap Silver Crown race after earlier coming from 19th to win the 30-lap USAC Sprint Car feature, driving a pair of Aristocrat Product Chevies owned by Dayton, Ohio’s Johnny Vance. Steve’s Silver Crown machine was qualified by Joe Saldana as he fulfilled other commitments on Saturday, so he started at the back in each series feature on Sunday.
Larry Rice, second behind Kinser in the Silver Crown feature, became a two-time USAC Silver Crown champion, finishing 23 points ahead of Rich Vogler, who was sidelined with racing injuries.
The Silver Crown finale found Steve Kinser returning for an encore of his back-to-front drive in the Sprint Car main event as he worked the high line to perfection, catching Larry Rice on the 31st lap and never trailing the rest of the way. Rice was second ahead of Gary Bettenhausen, who started on the pole and led the first 17 laps. Jack Hewitt, who needed a victory for any chance at the title, was fourth.
USAC SILVER CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: October 11, 1981 – Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio – 4-Crown Nationals
QUALIFYING: 1. Gary Bettenhausen, 1, Delrose/Holt-17.458; 2. Joe Saldana, 3, Vance-17.631; 3. Tom Bigelow, 56, Gohr-17.840; 4. Larry Rice, 55, Middleton-17.909; 5. Mark Alderson, 97, Enslow-17.957; 6. Jack Hewitt, 58, DePalma-17.990; 7. Paul Pitzer, 51, GCQ-18.117; 8. Larry Dickson, 18, Jo/Ol-18.169; 9. Ken Schrader, 39, Fortune-18.269; 10. Jeff Bloom, 57, Roberts-18.275; 11. Sheldon Kinser, 61, W & W-18.294; 12. Greg Leffler, 43, Armstrong-18.366; 13. Karl Busson, 31, Mataka-18.493; 14. Bill Puterbaugh, 59, Robinson-18.609; 15. Chuck Amati, 71, B.U.F.-18.690; 16. Gary Gray, 83, GAPCO-18.708; 17. Bud Wilmot, 84, Wilmot-18.910; 18. Jerry Nemire, 22, Syring-18.943; 19. Manny Rockhold, 76, Rockhold-18.963; 20. Danny Milburn, 81, B.U.F.-19.021; 21. Larry Martin, 20, Peterson/Niebel-19.046; 22. Tracy Potter, 24, MacPherson-19.065; 23. Johnny Coogan, 50, Miller/Vetzel-19.148; 24. Bobby Olivero, 5, Leader Card-18.149; 25. Gary Irvin, 78, Conrad-18.153; 26. Richard Powell, 77, Powell-18.347; 27. Gary Hieber, 47, EWH-18.507; 28. Art Bisch Jr., 72, Brzozowski-20.176.
QUALIFYING RACE: (20 laps) 1. Jack Hewitt, 2. Larry Dickson, 3. Sheldon Kinser, 4. Mark Alderson, 5. Jeff Bloom, 6. Ken Schrader, 7. Greg Leffler, 8. Gary Gray, 9. Chuck Amati, 10. Karl Busson, 11. Bud Wilmot, 12. Bill Puterbaugh, 13. Larry Martin, 14. Manny Rockhold, 15. Tracy Potter, 16. Paul Pitzer, 17. Jerry Nemire, 18. Danny Milburn. NT
FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Steve Kinser (#3) (18), 2. Larry Rice (3), 3. Gary Bettenhausen (1), 4. Jack Hewitt (4), 5. Mark Alderson (6), 6. Ken Schrader (8), 7. Sheldon Kinser (7), 8. Greg Leffler (10), 9. Chuck Amati (11), 10. Bud Wilmot (14), 11. Jerry Nemire (20), 12. Karl Busson (12), 13. Larry Martin (16), 14. Manny Rockhold (15), 15. Bill Puterbaugh (13), 16. Danny Milburn (19), 17. Tracy Potter (17), 18. Jeff Bloom (9), 19. Larry Dickson (5), 20. Tom Bigelow (2).
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1981 USAC SILVER CROWN DRIVER POINTS
1. (513) Larry Rice, Brownsburg, Ind.
2. (490) Rich Vogler, Indianapolis, Ind.
3. (475) Jack Hewitt, Troy, Ohio
4. (390) George Snider, Bakersfield, Calif.
5. (311) Tom Bigelow, Whitewater, Wisc.
6. (285) Sheldon Kinser, Bloomington, Ind.
7. (267) Gary Bettenhausen, Monrovia, Ind.
8. (231) Joe Saldana, Lincoln, Neb.
9. (184) Mark Alderson, Timberlake, S.D.
10. (147) Jim McElreath, Arlington, Texas
11. (128) Ron Shuman, Mesa, Ariz.
12. (125) Ken Schrader, Fenton, Mo.
13. (114) Eddie Leavitt, Kearney, Mo.
14. (110) Roger Rager, Mound, Minn.
15. (108) Smokey Snellbaker, Emigsville, Pa.
16. (105) Jerry Nemire, Toledo, Ohio
17. (103) Greg Leffler, St. Paul, Ind.
18. (100) Johnny Parsons, Indianapolis, Ind.
19. (100) Chuck Amati, Freeman Spur, Ill.
20. (98) Paul Pitzer, Loganville, Pa.
21. (89) Billy Vukovich, Coarsegold, Calif.
22. (77) Steve Chassey, Clermont, Ind.
23. (60) Johnny Coogan, Alexandria, Ind.
24. (52) Steve Cannon, Danville, Ill.
25. (50) Bobby Olivero, Lakewood, Calif.
26. (44) Jerry Miller, Albuquerque, N.M.
27. (42) Lealand McSpadden, Tempe, Ariz.
28. (37) Bill Compton, Toledo, Ohio
29. (34) Jerry Weeks, Anaheim, Calif.
30. (34) Larry Martin, Martinsville, Ind.
31. (32) Gary Patterson, Sacramento, Calif.
32. (32) Art Bisch, Jr., Newport Beach, Calif.
33. (25) Chris Cumberworth, Santa Ana, Calif.
34. (19) Bud Wilmot, Middletown, Ohio
35. (17) Larry Dickson, Marietta, Ohio
36. (11) Tracy Potter, Speedway, Ind.
37. (10) Jeff Bloom, Kalamazoo, Mich.
38. (9) Duke Cook, Sidney, Ohio
39. (8) Billy Engelhart, Madison, Wisc.
40. (5) Lennie Waldo, Columbus, Ohio
41. (5) Sleepy Tripp, Costa Mesa, Calif.
42. (5) Karl Busson, Northwood, Ohio
43. (3) Jerry Potter, Kansas City, Mo.
44. (3) Gary Hieber, Langhorne, Pa.
45. (3) Arnie Knepper, Belleville, Ill.
46. (3) Chuck Gurney, Livermore, Calif.
47. (3) Manny Rockhold, Pekin, Ill.
48. (2) Mack McClellan, Dayton, Ohio
49. (1) Bill Puterbaugh, Indianapolis, Ind.
1981 USAC SILVER CROWN ENTRANT POINTS
1. (542) Aristocrat Products, Dayton, Ohio (#3)
2. (470) Radio Hospital, Lima, Ohio (#58)
3. (417) George Middleton, Florissant, Mo. (#55)
4. (414) David LeFevre, Lafayette, Ind. (#41)
5. (410) Bill King, Dallas, Texas (#75)
6. (286) Gohr Distributing, Buffalo, N.Y. (#56)
7. (205) Ben Leyba, South Bend, Ind. (#11)
8. (202) Delrose-Holt Racing, Joliet, Ill. (#1)
9. (186) Richard Johnson, Bethany, Conn. (#33)
10. (181) Cecilia Smith, Eaton, Ohio (#17)
11. (180) Steve Enslow, Huntington, W.Va. (#97)
12. (180) B.U.F. Racing, Dayton, Ohio (#71)
13. (173) Damon Fortune, Boonville, Ind. (#39)
14. (165) Doug Lang, Caledonia, Mich. (#7)
15. (144) Delrose-Holt Racing, Joliet, Ill. (#14)
16. (142) Michael Syring, Toledo, Ohio (#22)
17. (128) Larry Howard, Bellflower, Calif. (#90)
18. (114) Commercial Truck Components, Chandler, Ind. (#53)
19. (108) Charles Lloyd, Highspire, Pa. (#54)
20. (108) Sherman Armstrong, Winchester, Ind. (#43)
21. (98) GCQ Racing, Yoe, Pa. (#51)
22. (96) Transportation Computer Systems, Ontario, Calif. (#30)
23. (92) J.F. McCray Plastering, West Sacramento, Calif. (#64)
24. (65) Louis Seymour, Marlboro, Mass. (#29)
25. (62) Mauri Amerling, Kingston, N.Y. (#34)
26. (60) Miller/Vetzel Racing, Tampa, Fla. (#50)
27. (50) Leader Cards, Milwaukee, Wisc. (#5)
28. (48) Mason Cook, Concord, Calif. (#49)
29. (45) Gapco, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind. (#83)
30. (44) Wayne Miller, Albuquerque, N.M. (#85)
31. (36) Peterson-Niebel Racing, Edinburg, Ind. (#20)
32. (32) John Aden, Breckenridge, Colo. (#45)
33. (32) G.S. Brzozowski, La Habra, Calif. (#72)
34. (21) Joe Conroy & Ollie Feuerstein, Brunswick, Ohio (#18)
35. (19) Steve Wilmot, Middletown, Ohio (#84)
36. (15) W-W Molded Plastics, Dayton, Ohio (#61)
37. (12) Lyle Roberts, Kalamazoo, Mich. (#57)
38. (11) Steve MacPherson, Indianapolis, Ind. (#24)
39. (9) Michael Aberle, Jackson, Mich. (#25)
40. (6) Frank Marcello, Henderson, Colo. (#42)
41. (6) B.U.F. Racing, Dayton, Ohio (#81)
42. (5) Jack Linsmeyer, Columbia City, Ind. (#26)
43. (5) William Mataka, Lebanon, N.J. (#31)
44. (5) David Robinson, Indianapolis, Ind. (#59)
45. (3) Joe Booth, Kansas City, Mo. (#62)
46. (3) E.W.H. Service, Langhorne, Pa. (#47)
47. (3) Tom Fischer, Troy, Ill. (#35)
48. (3) Kurtz-DiGeronimo Brothers Racing, Independence, Ohio (#15)
49. (3) E.D. Kendrick, Indianapolis, Ind. (#66)
50. (3) Manny Rockhold, Pekin, Ill. (#76)
51. (2) Lloyd Shores, Indianapolis, Ind. (#52)
52. (2) Sherman Armstrong, Winchester, Ind. (#44)
53. (2) Lloyd Weaver, Toledo, Ohio (#28)