Johnny Rutherford at duquoin, unsure of the year but with the open cockpit and larger…

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Johnny Rutherford at duquoin, unsure of the year but with the open cockpit and larger rear tires I would assume late 60's to very early 70's. You'll notice the "roll bar" behind the drivers head is significantly lower than the driver actually sits. These were made more to protect the paint job on the car than the actual driver himself. DuQuoin still host the annual champ car race every year on the beautiful 1 mile dirt track and if you haven't been its one for the ages. Held during the duquoin state fair during Labor Day this race is by far the best of the year still to this day. In 2014 Suga Shane Cockrum piloted his #66 Tijuana taxi to his first career USAC win, winning a race his dad chased for years and also becoming the only southern Illinois resident to ever win the race. Living just a few miles down from the track it was a very emotional win for him and team as they truly understand the true honor of winning this famed event. Being clocked at speed enterin turn 1 during qualifying at 150 mph it's insane to think men in these "rickety" cars were doing speeds very similar. This photo came to me from a collection of Kyle Cruea and I thank him for sharing!