Old Stuff: '75 Florida 200

FLORIDA STOCK CAR RACING KARNAC's FLORIDA STOCK CAR RACING
1

100-plus Late Models. Nearly half from out of state. A 100-lapper on Friday night. Time trials on Saturday afternoon. Heat races on Sunday afternoon before the “big show” to set the field - with 25 cars each in two heats (50 cars trying for 16 more spots; the top eight were locked in through time trials, and the remainder of the field filled through qualifying “leftovers” that otherwise didn’t get in).

Joe Ruttman. Wayne Reutimann. Ed Howe. Butch Lindley. Rodney Combs. Robert Hamke. Bobby Coyle. Don Gregory. Slick Johnson. Dave Pletcher. Don Biederman. Tricky Dickie Anderson. A star-studded field, that, unfortunately, lost nearly half the field due to mechanical problems by lap 50.

Howe went on to win his third Florida 200, and second of three-in-a-row.

2

The Florida races used to bring in the best racers in the nation for sure. I’m not sure what the payout is going to be for this version of the Cracker, but i wonder how it will compare to the money Ed Howe took home, $3285 ( and $1000 for second ). In the 38 years since that race, the purse for the latest Cracker should have gone up proportionally.

3

Third payed 500 and we had to pull a head off. Cost more than that to get Rahilly to put the motor back together.