Wednesday, October 21, 1970 Statesville Record & Landmark
SPORTS VIEWSBy HERMAN HICKMAN
Lund Is Still Seeking Speed Record For Mile
ROCKINGHAM Tiny Lund almost did it. But almost doesn't count, especially when, as they say, "a miss is good as a mile".Lund, the fish camp operator, explained why he thought the Grand Americancarscould outrun the big 4,000- pound Grand Nationals."The Grand American cars, because of their size and weight and handling abilities, are better suited for tracks of a mile,"but he fell short of the world speed record for a one- mile closed course Tuesday at North Carolina Motor Speedway.The 40-year-old Lund, driving a Chevrolet Camaro prepared by Ronnie Hopkins of Greenville, S. C., turned a lap of 134.900 miles an hour despite mechanical problems which plagued him throughout the sunny afternoon.The winningest driver on NASCAR's Grand American series, Lund was after the world record of 139.048 set here March 5 by Bobby Allison of Hueytown, Ala., in a Dodge prepared by Mario Rossi of Spartanburg, S.C..Lund had five laps on the banked mile oval before noon. After lunch, the 6-4, 250-pound driver went back to the Camaro and spent the next five hours trying to beat Allison's record. A leaking oil breather kept Lund in and out of the pits early in the afternoon. By the time the leak was repaired, the track was slippery with oil. Although bitterly disappointed, Lund remained confident that the Grand American boys would show up the Grand National drivers when they gather for a100-mile Grand American race scheduled here for Oct. 24.The next day is the sixth annual American 500 for Grand National drivers. "We had several problems which cropped up and our time was limited today," said Lund. "I believe we could have broken the record if we had a couple of days to work on it."Lund, who has won 17 GA events this year and 32 during the first three years of the division, won the inaugural title in 1968then called Grand Touring. He drove a Cougar prepared by Bud Moore of Spartanburg. Moore's Cougars won 11 of the series' 19 events, with Lund in victory lane nine times.Hard times, which are nothing new to Lund, greeted him in 1969. He won six races, but the point title went to Ken Rush of High Point, N. C. Lund joined Hopkins this year and they signed on with a sponsor, Pepsi Cola. The team won a record-tying 10 races in a row, and lead the current point standings with 17 victories.
ROCKINGHAM FAVORITE Tiny Lund and his No. 55 Pepsi Special are Titanic". . . - favorites in the final Grand American Challenge Series Race scheduled Satururday, at North Carolina Motor Speedway at Rockingham.
updated by @dennis-andrews: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
