Kansas State Super Stock Championship Races
On the Historic Half-mile Racetrack at the
Kansas State Fairgrounds
Hutchinson, Kansas
Thursday September 23, 1971
Promotional Company Merrick Racing Promotions (M.R.P.)
Race Director Jack Merrick of Dodge City, Kansas
Attendance 5,000
Surveying the Aftermath of the 27-car Pileup that occurred just after the A Feature Face got Underway
Mel Montgomery (wearing helmet) looks over the #5 John Hebb owned Ford that he had been driving while Bill Mills surveys the carnage from atop the deck lid of an unidentified car. The other men and cars in this photo have yet to be identified. Click your mouse on the photo above to see another photo that was taken just seconds from when this photo was taken and also shows the back part of the #5 Ford as well as the #39x Ford driven by Gary Hill that was also involved in the wreck. No one else in that photo has been identified yet either - Mike Cornelison photos
First Heat Race
Place |
Driver |
From |
1 |
Tom Lutkie |
Wichita, Kansas |
2 |
Steve Lutkie |
Wichita, Kansas |
Second Heat Race
Place |
Driver |
From |
1 |
Bud Haehn |
Wichita, Kansas |
2 |
Larry Reigle |
Dodge City, Kansas |
Third Heat Race
Place |
Driver |
From |
1 |
Dick Hendershot* |
Hutchinson, Kansas |
2 |
Mike Lutkie |
Wichita, Kansas |
Fourth Heat Race
Place |
Driver |
From |
1 |
Oren Haas |
Wichita, Kansas |
2 |
Corky VanGotten |
Chanute, Kansas |
Trophy Dash
Place |
Driver |
From |
1 |
Dick Hendershot* |
Hutchinson, Kansas |
2 |
Mike Lutkie |
Wichita, Kansas |
B Feature
Place |
Driver |
From |
1 |
Bill Mills |
Newton, Kansas |
2 |
Jim Kizzar |
Chase, Kansas |
3 |
Loyd Pickering |
Greensburg, Kansas |
4 |
Elmo Lane |
Hutchinson, Kansas |
A Feature 38 Cars
Place |
Driver |
From |
1 |
Dick Hendershot* |
Hutchinson, Kansas |
2 |
Mike Lutkie |
Wichita, Kansas |
3 |
Steve Lutkie |
Wichita, Kansas |
4 |
Jim Goss |
Great Bend, Kansas |
Mel Montgomery |
Wichita, Kansas |
|
Bill Mills |
Newton, Kansas |
|
|
Elmo Lane |
Hutchinson, Kansas |
|
Gary Hill |
Hutchinson, Kansas |
DNF |
Dennis Narron |
Hutchinson, Kansas |
The flagman raised his pointer finger skyward indicating that he did not like the way the cars were aligned for the start of this race but the racetrack was so dusty that only the first few rows of cars could see him. Those few drivers slowed only to be hit from behind by an onrushing multitude of others who could not see the starter through the dust and took a chance that the race was underway. The result was a 27-car pileup in the southwest turn that took more than ½ hour to untangle. The first six cars were not involved and the last five had dropped back far enough behind the field that they were able to get stopped in time to avoid piling into the mass of tangled steel.
Before the race was restarted, an invitation was extended to some of the remaining cars that had not qualified for the A feature so that twenty cars were able to take the green flag for the restart.
The Big Crash had just Occurred
This photo was taken through the dust in the southwest turn during the false start to the A feature. The crash that eventually involved 27 cars was underway at this point as only about half of the cars that would eventually be involved had piled into the mess at this point. The 1964 Ford Fairlane #14 at left was driven by Elmo Lane of Hutchinson and the #88 Ford Fairlane in the center was driven by Dennis Narron of Hutchinson but those are the only cars in this photo that has been identified to date Hutchinson News photo
The Aftermath of the 27-Car Pileup
This photo was taken after about half of the cars had already been removed from the 27-car pileup that took place just entering the southwest turn during a false start in the A feature Hutchinson News photo
Dick Hendershot* Schrater family collection |
Tom Lutkie Steve Lutkie collection |
Oren Haas 81 Speedway program |
Bud Haehn Cummins collection |
Mike Lutkie 81 Speedway program |
Dennis Narron Dennis Narron collection |
Steve Lutkie Steve Lutkie collection |
Bill Mills Mills collection |
Elmo Lane
Elmo Lane collection
* Richard M. Dick Hendershot (1925-1976) was fatally injured in a racing accident at Salina, Kansas.
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