Big Dave Kaut
Car #44

Page 11 of 11 

Welcome to Page Eleven  of 

The  Racing Years

By David L. Kaut

1975 Racing

First race- Playland- May 24th, 1975. "75 is here. I honestly didn't think I would be writing in this book again, but here I am.  It was a long cold winter thinking about making up my mind.  I really did not want to race but after trying to sell the car & not succeeding, I just couldn't let it sit there in the garage; I had too much money in it.  So, Dutch & I teamed up once again, not knowing what was ahead.  He decided to limit the racing to one night a week at Playland. The tires weren't the best & we did nothing to the engine.  The first night at the track the car had made an about-face & its personality had changed.  The car handled & ran like it never had before.  I really enjoy racing the car but deep down inside I would rather be doing something else.  I don't know what.  It's just the way I feel about it.  But while I'm in the car I give it all I have to give & I am determined to win & beat the track.  

The bitch is back #44!

Won my heat, 2nd in the trophy dash and won the "A" feature. Won $175.

Second race- Playland- May 26th, 1975- Memorial Day- Came in 2nd in the heat and trophy dash and won the "A" Feature.  Won the Buck Schram Memorial Trophy.  The car is working beautifully. It's never hooked up like this before. The engine is running fine.  Won $170.

Third race- Playland- Sunday, June 1, 1975-  The track was damp today. I spun out after getting the lead in the heat. Ended up in 5th place. Got in the "B" Feature and won it. Came in 3rd in the "A" behind Fitzsimmons and Ron Tilley. Won $90.

Fourth race- Playland- Saturday, June 7, 1975- Came in 3rd in the heat and 2nd in the trophy dash and won the "A" Feature. Won $145.

Fifth race- Playland- Saturday, June 14, 1975- Came in 2nd in the heat.  Car was running good again. We tried another tire and it was hooking up good again.  Then in the T.D. I was trying to take the elad and it happened. Another engine bit the dust.  We didn't know how extensive the damage was, but as it turned out almost everything was lost.  Won $10.

Sixth and seventh races- Playland-  June 21 and 28, 1975- Didn't race.  I couldn't make up my mind whether to put the car back together or not. I had a feeling Dutch wanted to.  He offered to loan me the money to build another engine.  I didn't want to borrow all the money so decided to part with my trailer to get the money to put my engine together.   We found a '74 350 truck block and crank. We decided to do everything there is to do to an engine.  We bought new heads.  It took us two weeks to get the engine together because Charley's was so busy. We worked till midnight on July 3rd and all day July 4th to get it ready for Saturday night.

Eighth race- Playland- Saturday, July 5, 1975-  Had some problems with the car.  We had to replace the oil pump.  The other one just wouldn't work in it. Then broke a rocker arm in the heat and didn't know it until after the trophy dash. Came in 2nd in the heat, 3rd in the T.D. and 2nd in the "A".  Car ran like hell.  I kept up with Ron Tilley's $10,00 car all the way.  Won $135.

Ninth race- Playland- Friday, July 11, 1975-  Came in 2nd in the heat, 5th in the T.D. and 6th in the "A".  Blew my transmission while trying to take over 2nd place.  Had to put it in third gear for the rest of the race.  Won $30.

Tenth race- Playland- Saturday, July 19, 1975-  Won my heat, came in 5th in the T.D. and 3rd in the "A" Fetaure. Won $55.

On Sunday morning at 8 a.m., I got a call from Dave Widtfeldt asking me if I wanted to sell my car.  I said yes.  He offered me $1700.  I told him I wanted $2500.  He said he's pay $200 and I told him I would think about it.  Later on that day, I decided that I would go talk to him.  We made an agreement that he would pay $2000 and half my bill at H&K which was around $100.  He wanted me to continue driving the car at Playland and I would do the minor maintenance on it for 40% of what I won.  Next year was mentioned but was not definitely decided upon. Everything went with the car that I had left. I own nothing that pertains to stock cars now.

Eleventh race- Playland- Saturday, July 26, 1975-  Came in 3rd in the heat, 3rd in the T.D. and 2nd in the "A".  Won $95.

Twelfth race- Playland- Saturday, August 2, 1975-  Came in 1st in the heat, Got spun out by the #27 after taking over the lead in the T.D. and won  the "A".  Won $120 ($48).

Thirteenth race- Playland- Saturday, August 9, 1975-  Came in 2nd in the heat, won the T.D. (finally) after drawing #6 again.  The "A" Feature was very confusing.  The race was stopped because the track was so slick.  The Rochas had a big row about the race and I ended up going home without my money even though I had officially won the race.   Won $125 ($44).

Fourteenth race- Playland- Saturday, August 16, 1975-  Came in 4th in the heat, 3rd in the "A" Feature .  Won $55 ($22).

Fifteenth race- Playland- Saturday, August 23, 1975-  Came in 2nd in the heat, won the T.D.  and came in 3rd in the "A" Feature.  Won $65 ($26).

Sixteenth race- Playland- Saturday, August 30, 1975-  Came in 3rd in the heat, won the T.D.  and came in 3rd in the "A" Feature.  Won $65 ($26).

Sixteenth race- Playland- Monday, Sept 1, 1975-  Came in 2nd in the heat, 3rd in the T.D.  and came in 3rd in the "A" Feature.  Won $50 ($20).

Eighteenth race- Playland- Saturday, Sept 6, 1975-  Came in 4th in the heat  and came in 4th in the "A" Feature.  Won $45 ($18).

Ninteenth race- Playland- Saturday, Sept 13, 1975-  Came in 2nd in the heat   and came in 2nd in the "A" Feature.  Won $55 ($22). Points ended tonight and I won the point championship again!

DAVE'S LAST SEASON OF RACING HAS COME TO A CLOSE WITH ANOTHER POINTS CHAMPIONSHIP!!

Let's recap-

1970- Bronco Champ

1971-Bronco Champ

1972-3rd in Late Model Points

1973-Late Model Champ

1974-Late Model Champ

1975-Late Model Champ