CHICAGO WHISPERS
by Stan Kalwasinski

Chicago , Ill. , September 20—Wow!  Where has the time gone?  Illiana Motor Speedway in Schererville , Ind. hosted its 49th annual Tony Bettenhausen Memorial 100-lap late model stock car race on September 11 with Boris Jurkovic, a native of the Calumet City/South Holland area, scoring the victory.

            Jurkovic defeated a solid, competitive field that included second-place finishing Brett Sontag of Joliet , who was going for his third consecutive Bettenhausen victory.  Coming close to victory before, Jurkovic held of the challenge of Sontag to become the 24th different winner of the annual Midwestern stock car classic.  Fast qualifier Eddie Hoffman finished third and Blake Brown, after leading some 60-plus laps, came home fourth, followed by Ross Kenseth.

            “Last year, I let him (Sontag) go early (into the lead) and I couldn’t get him back,” Jurkovic said.  “I figured (this year) I’d try and stay out in front of him and it paid off.”

            Trying to join nine-time race winner Frank Gawlinski as a driver to claim three Bettenhausen 100 victories in a row, Sontag and his Ford Fusion came up a little short in the quest.

            “Boris is a tough guy to pass sometimes,” Sontag said.  “He would push up down in (turns) three and four and I would get underneath him.  We probably could have won.  I’m happy with second.  It was a good night.

            “It would have been neat to win three in a row.  I always thought that Frank Gawlinski was one of the best race car drivers ever.”

            I personally have witnessed 45 of the 49 Bettenhausen races held over the years, attending my first one in 1963 when the race was part of the old United States Auto Club (USAC) stock car schedule.  I remember my Dad and I driving from our home on the southside of Chicago to attend our first ever race at Illiana.

            I thought this was a pretty big deal.  Illiana was a big half-mile paved race track compared to the smaller Raceway Park in Blue Island , where I had seen most of my stock car racing since about the age of five.  Some real “name” drivers were in the lineup that October afternoon, including “Indy 500” winner A.J. Foyt, NASCAR driver Curtis Turner, Paul Goldsmith, Don White, Norm Nelson and racing newcomer Gary Bettenhausen (Tony’s oldest son) to name a few.

            Goldsmith, driving a Plymouth for Norm Nelson, won the 100 lap USAC race that afternoon, defeating his car owner, Nelson, and Colorado driver John Rostek.

            The annual event began in 1962 when friends and associates of the late Tony Bettenhausen planned to have a memorial race for Bettenhausen, who was killed in a practice crash at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May of 1961.  The event was to be somewhat of a “kickoff” to raise money for a hospital to be built in the south suburban Chicago area in honor of Bettenhausen, who was a fan favorite throughout the Midwest since beginning his racing career in the late 1930’s.  A hospital would be built – Advocate South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest with a Tony Bettenhausen section being part of it.

            Illiana founder and owner Harry Molenaar offered his track to be used as the site for the first USAC-sanctioned Bettenhausen 100 on September 30, 1962, which was officially called the “1st Annual Tony Bettenhausen Hospital Fund 100 Lap Late Model National Championship Stock Car Race.”  Troy Ruttman, who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1952, drove his 1962 Mercury to the win that day.  Van Senus Auto Parts sponsored Ruttman’s winning car with owner Fred Van Senus participating in the victory festivities after Ruttman’s win.

            USAC sanctioned the race again in 1964 with Norm Nelson, winning the event as a driver for the first time, but as owner for the second time in a row.  USAC and Molenaar had a few “ups and downs” between themselves over the years and a “short field” for an early USAC stock car contest in  early 1965 gave Molenaar an idea for an “open competition” Bettenhausen race.

            Working with local tracks, drivers and officials, including Frank “Ham” Lobaza, who was the race director at O’Hare Stadium in Schiller Park, Molenaar would host the first “open” Bettenhausen event on October 10, 1965 with the main event being shortened to 50 laps because of the possibility that most area “short track” cars couldn’t last 100 laps on the big, half-mile.

            Over 70 entries showed up that day with Conan “Moose” Myers of Fort Wayne, Ind. and his real light and real fast 1957 Chevrolet convertible setting fast time (a track record of 23.20 seconds) and taking home the win in the 25-mile chase. 

            I remember Myers wheeling around the wide Illiana turns, passing cars on the outside (sometimes three-wide) to get to the front during the early laps.  Myers chased early race leader – Santa Fe Speedway’s Ken Finley for awhile, finally taking the lead on lap 19.

            All the Chicago area tracks were represented that day with a special “Race of Champions” being held for top drivers from all of the speedways.         Gene Marmor (representing Rockford Speedway) won the 8-lap event over Roy Martinelli (O’Hare Stadium), Finley, Jack Reilly (Baer Field Speedway, Fort Wayne , Ind. ), Jim O’Connor (Sugar Island Speedway, Kankakee ), Jim Vandermeir (Bob-Jo Speedway, Sycamore) and Bud Koehler ( Raceway Park ).  Marmor and Koehler tangled in this event and later in the 50 lap main event and some fisticuffs flew afterwards. 

            The next year (1966) the race was returned to its usual 100-lap distance.  Because of a threat of rain, Molenaar and race officials started 47 cars.  A big wreck during the early laps saw Bill Carr flip his Chevelle convertible on the backstretch and end up in turn three without any serious injuries.  Myers and his faithful ’57 Chevy “ragtop” won the race again. 

            Some of the strongest fields of cars were on hand for the 1967 and 1969 events, both won by Joy Fair from Pontiac , Mich.  Midwestern late model standout Bob Senneker of Dorr , Mich. finished in the “top five” in both of these races.

            I missed the 1968 and 1970 races.  The 1970 event saw Rich Kleich and Jim Harden tangle in turn four with both cars jumping over the outside guardrail and crashing through the wheel fence with Kleich’s car ending up five rows into the grandstands.  Fortunately, no one was seriously injured.

            Some other memories of Bettenhausen races over the years include…Myers winning for the third time in 1971.  Tom Jones winning in 1973 the day that Whitey Gerken was involved in a qualifying crash, which killed pit spectator Dennis Shelton with Gerken passing away from his injuries the next day.

            In 1974, Wisconsin ’s Tom Reffner made the trip down to Illiana four consecutive weeks, finally winning the race after three scheduled Sunday afternoons were weathered-out.  Perennial Illiana championship winner Ed Hoffman won his first Bettenhausen 100 lapper in 1975.  Chicagoland favorite Ray Young won back to back races in 1976 and 1977.  Local dirt track speedster Tony Izzo “surprised” a lot of people when he won the TB 100 in 1978, defeating Young and Hoffman. 

            Visitors Joe Shear and Jim Sauter won in 1979 and 1980 respectively both driving for former driver, turned car owner, Dave Evans.  Eventual nine-time race winner Frank Gawlinski won his first race in 1981 with the program sanctioned by John McKarns’ ARTGO Racing.  Dick Trickle, Junior Hanley, Alan Kulwicki, Jim Back, Fred Campbell and Jim Weber were in the lineup, along with the likes of Reffner, Jones, Hoffman, Young, Shear, Sauter, Larry Schuler, Dave Weltmeyer and Billy Kuhn, making it probably the most competitive Bettenhausen field ever. 

            Gawlinski and Hoffman seemed to win almost ever year after with Schuler winning his first of three Bettenhausen battles in 1986.  Ted Musgrave won in 1988 and Scott Hansen in 1989.  Gawlinski became the first and only driver to win three straight 100 lappers, doing it from 1990 through 1992.

            Dana Transport sponsored the race in 1995 and Dave Weltmeyer won over $5,000, driving the Howe Racing Enterprises “house car” to the win.  Eddie Hoffman and car owner Fred Huckstorf teamed up in 1998 with the second generation driver winning his first of four Bettenhausen classics.

            During the first 10 years of the new century, it seemed your name had to be Weltmeyer, Hoffman, Kelly or Sontag if you had ideas of winning the Bettenhausen 100.  Weltmeyer and Hoffman each posted their fourth career victories during this period with Pat Kelly winning an impressive three times.  Sontag scored victory laurels in 2008 and 2009 and seemed ready to win for the third straight time until Jurkovic derailed his attempt.

Upcoming Events

Shadyhill Speedway in Medaryville , Ind. will host its final stock car racing program on Saturday evening, September 25.  Nick Allen has all but wrapped up the United Midwestern Promoters (UMP) modified stock car track championship.  It is Allen’s fourth modified title at “The Hill.”

PACE Promotions will present the Bill Waite, Jr. Memorial Outlaw Sprint Car Race at LaSalle ( Ill. ) Speedway on Sunday, September 26.  In addition to the winged outlaw sprint car racing, which will be sanctioned by the Interstate Racing Association (IRA), United Midwestern Promoters (UMP) modifieds and UMP hornets will see action.  Racing is slated to begin at 6:00 p.m. (CST). 

The United Midget Auto Racing Association (UMARA), headed by Steve Thinnes, has rescheduled its midget and stock car spectacular at the Grundy County Speedway in Morris for Friday night, October 1.  This past Saturday’s original date was rained out.

The 45th annual National Short Track Championships will take place October 1 – 3 at the Rockford Speedway.  Sunday’s super late model 200 lapper will highlight the weekend of racing at the high-banked quarter mile paved oval. 

Looking for some late season racing to attend, mark down the annual Oktoberfest Race Weekend at the LaCrosse ( Wis. ) Fairgrounds Speedway the weekend of October 7 – 10.  The Champion Racing Association (CRA) Super Series will do battle in the Winchester 400 at the Winchester ( Ind. ) Speedway on Sunday afternoon, October 17.

            The address for news and comments is 9618 Cypress Ave. , Munster , Ind. 46321-3418 or e-mail to skalwasinski@yahoo.com.

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