1991 HRA Menards Grand-Am Truck Series

Race 1: Exxon 100 at Texas World Speedway; College Station, Texas; April 21st, 1991

HURTS SO GOOD, SUPER TEX TAKES OPENER BEFORE HOMESTATE CROWD

By Carson Gallagher/Bryan-College Station Eagle - April 22nd, 1991

COLLEGE STATION, TX - The Heartland Racing Alliance has made the historical Texas World Speedway the site of their season opener since 1988 and the first three races at the two-mile oval [similar to Michigan International Speedway] have been nothing short of exciting. While the stars of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series were trading paint in North Wilkesboro over in the Carolinas, the HRA field included some star power of their own with the likes of off-road racers Ivan "Ironman" Stewart, Walker Evans, and Rob MacCachren, sprint car racers Steve Kinser and Sammy Swindell, former ARCA champion Bob Keselowski, ASA driver Scott Hansen, and Houston's own racing legend A.J. Foyt.

The full field of 42 trucks was led to the green by 23-year old defending series champion Jack Lockhart of Salina, Kansas in his newly-numbered #1 Old Milwaukee GMC Sierra, the number traditionally reserved for the defending champion, with a qualifying lap of 44.11 seconds (163.228 mph) with 1982 Rookie of the Year and 1983 series champion Rich Bickle in his #45 Piggly Wiggly Chevrolet Silverado starting to his outside. Bickle, who has raced across several divisions since leaving the old WTRA before the 1984 season, returns to the HRA in hopes of advancing his career elsewhere once more. Racing was close around two-thirds of the field throughout the entire race and strategy reared its head at the halfway caution at lap 25 as some trucks elected to come to pit road to top off with fuel, others electing to stay out thinking they could make the whole 50 lap distance without stopping.

Unfortunately some trucks were forced to pit coming to three laps to go, including the likes of 1988 RotY Frank Kimmel, Steve Kinser, 1983 RotY and 1986 champion Raymond Brooks, Tony Roper, and defending RotY Kenny Irwin, Jr. With trucks needing to get to pit road, this caused the race to finish under caution when 10th place truck Rick Beebe came down across the nose of 1984 champion Chester Wallace and slid up the race track, only to be hit by Frank Kimmel, Steve Kinser, and Jack Lockhart, all five drivers finishing 38th, 15th, 37th, 40th, and 34th respectively. Lockhart was a strong frontrunner in the early going, leading 11 laps. "I thought I was gonna clear the 6, but we got clipped on the left front and I about lost the truck. Definitely not the way we wanted to start our season. We had a really fast truck, and sure as hell didn't get the result we should've got." Lockhart was quoted saying after the race.

"I didn't know Chester [Wallace] was right there when I came down. I heard the truck spluttering and tried getting down as fast as I could so I didn't hold anyone up. Instead, we went and made a big mess of things." Beebe said post-race, going to each of the drivers affected to apologize.

The race only had two cautions and a low attrition rate as only two trucks dropped out before the lap 48 accident; rookie Charlie Menard suffering suspension problems on lap 22 resulting in a last place finish and fellow rookie Stan Boyd burning his clutch on lap 34, finishing 41st.

But undoubtedly the star of the race was the biggest race car driver to hail from the Lone Star State as "Super Tex" A.J. Foyt took the race lead on lap 22 from Terry Parker in the third and fourth turn and never looked back. Foyt's trademark #14 Copenhagen GMC led the remaining 28 laps, including all of the second half of this race, en route to victory under caution from his 24th place starting spot in his first race back since suffering a near career-ending crash at Road America last September. "Our truck was miserable in practice and sluggish in qualifying, but if we could stick with the draft then I knew we had a shot at winning this damn thing. I didn't think I'd be ready to race here, much less lead more than half the race, but here we are!" Foyt said in victory lane. "We were lucky the caution came out when it did, and we were hoping like hell we'd see the yellow before we saw the white. When I saw those lights change from green to yellow comin' off four, I had a big ol' grin on my face knowing we had this thing won if we beat the 60 to the line." Foyt added, speaking of the strategy to stay out. Foyt stated that he would run a couple of HRA events to help rehabilitate his body after going head-on into the turn one embankment, causing severe injury to his legs.

When it came to the strategy of staying out, probably the next biggest beneficiary was Dean Chandler in his #00 Burger King Ford. Chandler qualified 31st, was 22nd at the time of caution, restarted 18th, and ran between 11th and 13th when trucks starting diving for pit road, the wiley 51-year old veteran of Memomonie, Wisconsin managing to have enough fuel to bring his truck home in 7th, gaining 24 positions, the most of anybody.

Though Foyt is the points leader after the Exxon 100, Foyt will not be running the full season. Neither will Ivan Stewart (Finished 3rd, 4th in points), Sammy Swindell (6th in race & points), or Scott Hansen (8th in race & points), so the focus shifts to guys like 1988 champion Reed Harrison (2nd in race & points), Dick Trickle (4th in race, 3rd in points), Tim Sauter (5th in race & points), Dean Chandler (7th in race & points), 1981 RotY Daniel Richards (9th in race & points), and Rich Bickle (10th in race & points) as the teams load up and head north to the Hoosier State for Mayiana; four races in four weeks across Indiana starting with Illiana on May 4th, Salem on May 11th, Terre Haute on May 18th, and finally under the lights at IRP the night before the 75th running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 25th.

The Illiana, Salem, and Terre Haute races will be broadcasted through WVTV-18 Milwaukee across the midwest (subject to availability) while the IRP event will be broadcasted on ESPN.

Contingency Awards

Menards Pole Award: Jack Lockhart (44.11 seconds/163.228 mph)
Goodyear Fastest Lap: A.J. Foyt (43.572 seconds/165.244 mph)
Mopar Hard Charger: Dean Chandler (+24) (Started 31st, Finished 7th)
Unocal Rookie of the Race: Tracy Hines (Finished 13th)

Race 1 Results.html (15.91 KB)
Race 1 Points.html (25.35 KB)

Race 2: Subway 150 at Illiana Motor Speedway; Schererville, Indiana, May 4th, 1991.

WALLACE DOMINATES ILLIANA

By Fred Pollard/Times of Northwest Indiana - May 5th, 1991

SCHERERVILLE, IN - Although another Wallace won on Saturday, being Rusty Wallace at the IROC race in Talladega, Alabama, Chester Wallace and his #4 GMC absolutely dominated the field at Illiana Motor Speedway by leading 149 of 150 laps as runner-up Harry Armstrong led lap 113 with pole-sitter Will Davis finishing third. The win catapulted Wallace from 15th in the points all the way up to fourth, just four points behind A.J. Foyt who continues to lead the standings despite finishing back in 11th. The field saw consistent battles throughout as the caution flag only flew three times for 15 laps, the second caution at lap 65 serving as the halfway yellow though no trucks would pit for tires nor fuel, the latter not a factor unlike it was in College Station.

Caution Report:
1. Lap 35 - Frank Kimmel's truck drops a piston, stopped in turn 3, finished 34th
2. Lap 65 - Tracy Hines's truck stops in turn two, continues, finished 12th
3. Lap 107 - Scott Hansen's truck loses a camshaft, stopped past start/finish, finished 32nd

Two drivers whose bad luck carried over from Texas World were Raymond Brooks in the #74 Chevrolet and Frank Kimmel in the #02 GMC. Kimmel was running third when his engine blew on lap 35, relegating him to a last place finish. Brooks meanwhile was running 13th when his gearbox failed on lap 54. Brooks missed the pit entrance and was able to go around the track again to reach pit road, negating the need for a caution. Brooks and Kimmel as a result of their misfortunes find themselves 35th and 38th in points respectively. With two races in the books, A.J. Foyt leads Reed Harrison by a single point in the championship standings though Foyt is not expected to run at Salem as he prepares to return to CART action at Indianapolis. Tim Sauter is two points back in third, Chester Wallace is four points back in fourth, then Harry Armstrong and Terry Parker are tired for fifth in points, eleven points back.

"We felt like we had the truck for long runs and it just felt like everything worked our way today though Harry [Armstrong] gave us a run for our money on that last restart." Wallace said in victory lane as his hometown of Oakfield, Wisconsin will definitely be celebrating since Wallace's truck is sponsored by practically the entire town as local business logos are all over the blue #4.

Next week the HRA will head to Salem Speedway in Salem, Indiana for the Indiana Ford Dealers 150. Coverage on WVTV (subject to availability) will start Saturday, May 11th at 1:00PM Eastern time.

Contingency Awards

Menards Pole Award: Will Davis (19.75 seconds/91.139 mph)
Goodyear Fastest Lap: Will Davis (19.934 seconds/90.298 mph)
Mopar Hard Charger: Daniel Richards (+13) (Started 31st, Finished 18th)
                               Clay Davidson (+13) (Started 34th, Finished 21st)
Unocal Rookie of the Race: Barry Douglas (Finished 8th)

Race 2 Results.html (14.79 KB)
Race 2 Points.html (25.31 KB)

Race 4: Craftsman 100 at Terre Haute Action Track; Terre Haute, Indiana, May 18th, 1991

WALLACE WINS WITH LATE PASS

By Paul Chambers/Tribune-Star - May 19th, 1991

TERRE HAUTE, IN - The Menards Grand-Am Truck Series has never managed to disappoint here in Terre Haute since their first trip here in 1987 and yesterday's race was no different as 30 trucks took to the track running three and four wide on the initial start as well as restarts over the course of 100 laps as Chester Wallace made a pass on Raymond Brooks to take the lead with only two laps to go and claim his second win of the season. Dick Trickle overcame another poor qualifying effort to finish second with Brooks falling back to third, Kenny Irwin, Jr. finishing fourth, and Terry Parker finishing fifth. The stars came out for this race as the likes of Walker Evans, Ivan Stewart, Steve Kinser, and Sammy Swindell joining the fray while Rob MacCachren failed to qualify. Because the HRA only booked the circuit for a couple of days it meant that qualifying had to be streamlined, meaning there were no heat races or last-chance qualifiers as the nine slowest trucks were sent home.

The yellow only waved three times during the race; starting with the halfway caution at lap 50, then on lap 62 when Steve Kinser lost a camshaft and came to a stop on the backstraight, and finally on lap 87 when Tim Sauter blew an engine in turn two. As for our part-timers though; Walker Evans was the best finisher in tenth with Ivan Stewart in 11th, Sammy Swindell in 18th after starting second, and Steve Kinser being relegated to a 28th-place finish after starting fifth. Apart from Sauter, there were other series regulars who suffered from issues on Saturday such as Earl Donovan who lost his radiator on lap 52, Elmer Watkins dropping a valve on lap 56, and defending-champion and polesitter Jack Lockhart having gearbox problems on lap 82.

After finishing sixth today, Reed Harrison continues to lead the points standings by five over Chester Wallace with Dick Trickle moving up to third just 13 points behind, Terry Parker falling back to fourth only 14 points behind, and Dean Chandler jumping up from ninth to fifth 33 points back. Kenny Irwin, Jr. had the biggest leap in points from 13th to sixth after finishing fourth and leading a few laps as he sits 36 points behind Harrison.

Everybody around the series garage is excited as the final stop on the Hoosier stint brings the series onto the national stage and under the lights as ESPN will broadcast their first of three races from Indianapolis Raceway Park on the eve of the Indianapolis 500; May 25th for the Kroger 150. Coverage will begin at 7:00pm eastern time.

Contingency Awards
Menards Pole Award: Jack Lockhart (19.749 sec/91.144 mph)
Valvoline Lap Leader: Chester Wallace (35 of 100 Laps)
Goodyear Fastest Lap: Reed Harrison (20.669 sec/87.087 mph)
Mopar Hard Charger: Dick Trickle (+27, Started 29th, Finished 2nd)
Unocal Rookie of the Race: Mark Connor (Finished 16th)

Race Results
Points Standings

Race 6: Miller Lite 100 at The Milwaukee Mile; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 1st, 1991

LOCKHART BESTS BICKLE FOR MILWAUKEE WIN

By Aaron Dean/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - June 2nd, 1991

MILWAUKEE, WI - Open wheel and stock car fans alike were treated to an amazing showing of the HRA Menards Grand American Truck Series yesterday afternoon as six trucks duked it out for the win as defending-champion Jack Lockhart managed to hold off polesitter Rich Bickle for his first win of his championship defense. Lockhart started 11th and led 24 laps while Bickle was the driver of the afternoon as he led 59 laps while battling with Harry Armstrong early in the going. Armstrong started fourth, led 12 laps, and wound up 15th. Walker Evans, Nicole Phillips, and Earl Donovan rounded out the top five. Trucks shuffled positions all day and it led to some drivers having excellent gains like seventh-place finisher Terry Parker who started all the way back in 33rd and some drivers to drop like flies such as outside polesitter Rick Beebe who finished 33rd.

Walker Evans proved to be the best-finishing part-timer in the field this afternoon in third with Arie Luyendyk finishing a solid ninth and A.J. Foyt crashing out in 37th after running 16th. Luyendyk will start 14th in today's Miller Genuine Draft 200 while Foyt will start 15th.

The caution waved three times during the race; once for the halfway break at lap 50, then on lap 55 when Reed Harrison made it four-wide going into turn one trying to make up track position after starting last on the grid, causing Tony Roper to drift up into A.J. Foyt and Daniel Richards, sending all three trucks into the outside wall in turn two. Foyt would finish 37th, Richards in 32nd, and Roper 24th. The final caution came out on lap 80 when Walker Evans hooked the right rear of Dick Trickle's truck while they battled for sixth position. Trickle hit the turn three wall head-on and was forced to drop out of the race, finishing 36th. Trickle would later confront Evans on the accident after the race though no strong emotions were displayed by either driver.

With Reed Harrison starting last and finishing 20th and Chester Wallace finishing sixth, both drivers are tied for the points lead though Harrison gets the tiebreaker with one more top-five finish than Wallace. Terry Parker is nine points back in third, Kenny Irwin, Jr. holds onto fourth 43 points back, and Dick Trickle falls back to fifth 45 points behind as we reach the end of the first quarter of the season. Barry Douglas is the leading rookie in this year's class and is the only rookie with a top-ten finish. Douglas finds himself 15th in points 74 points behind Harrison and Wallace while Tracy Hines is the only rookie with a pole this season at IRP. Although Jack Lockhart managed to get his first win of the season, his two early DNFs have proven to be costly as he sits tied for 19th with Tony Roper, both 94 points behind.

The second stop of the Wisconsin homestand is at the famous Slinger Speedway for the Kwik Trip 100 on June 14th, giving teams a week to recuperate and prepare for the second night race of the season. With Slinger only holding 25 starters, a special qualifying procedure will take place as the series has more time reserved with the track. Similarly to NASCAR's qualifying procedure for the Daytona 500, the front row will lock themselves in on qualifying times alone and are not required to run these qualifying races. The top 20 drivers in points will be automatically locked in, leaving the remaining spots for drivers to race their way in through 40-lap qualifying races. Highlights of qualifying will air on a special WVTV half-hour presentation on Thursday night, June 13th and the race will be Friday night, June 14th starting at 7:00pm central time on WVTV (subject to availability).

Contingency Awards
Menards Pole Award: Rich Bickle (31.022 sec/116.047 mph)
Valvoline Lap Leader: Rich Bickle (59 of 100 Laps)
Goodyear Fastest Lap: Walker Evans (31.103 sec/115.745 mph)
Mopar Hard Charger: Terry Parker (+26, Started 33rd, Finished 7th)
Unocal Rookie of the Race: Barry Douglas (Finished 18th)

Race Results
Points Standings