Martin took the pole for today's 12:10 p.m. race, qualifying his Ford at 158.264 mph. Find the History Mystery Man onFacebookandYouTube. 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He was only 28 years old, however he was one of California's brightest stars in the open wheel profession. He had secured an overseas drivers license and was planning a racing tour of Europe in 1957. backstretch wall to his death. A grim reminder of the darkness of the board-track era of the 1920s. Mike Harrington: His team looks good, even without Alex Tuch. Ind. Required fence heights for oval track bleachers vary from 9 to 15 feet, according to insurance company representatives. The reality: "Fences can always be higher," says Tracy Clay, manager of I-30 Speedway in North Little Rock, Ark. That was your job. It would do no good for anyone to tell Bob Sweikert to quit racing. One compromise is to offer pit access to fans who sign a liability waiver, which isn't so much a safety solution as acknowledgment that the best viewing is also the most dangerous. He won 1 race and accumulated a total of 8 championship points. Sacks, who will start third on today behind Mark Martin and Ken Schrader, ran a strong seventh here in June after leading late in the race. 1949_07_25 -2 Drivers Killed at Salem Speedway- Louisville Courier-Journal pg 1 (1 of 2) Speedway infield. No other cars were involved. He was scheduled to make his NASCAR Winston Cup (now NASCAR Cup Series) series debut at Pocono Raceway the day after his fatal crash. I never talked about how brave I was. After a complicated, sometimes off-and-on courtship, they were married in 1953. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The wheel came off in Turn 2, snapped from its axle in a two-car collision. The first major fund-raiser for the fund has been a Daytona 500 viewing party in Indianapolis, today well-attended with a silent auction and notable names in auto racing in the state as guests. The wheel, witnesses would say later, bounced through the unrepaired hole in the fence, then struck Baker above his right eye. Six days before, on Sept. 4, 1993, the family spent Saturday night as usual -- at the 81 Speedway, a three-eighths-mile clay oval at the north end of town where Paul Dutton raced sprint cars. The following paragraphs have been transcribed from the Indianapolis Even his victory in 1955 was muted by sadness when Bill Vukovich, a friend and the two-time defending Indy champ, crashed on the 56th lap and was killed. In January 1953, Sweikert married his high school sweetheart, divorcee Dorie with her two children, with whom he had recently become reacquainted. For Dorie Sweikert, the loss never really went away. [3] Former driver Nick Bohanon bought the racetrack in December 2022. One of his frequent local competitors on the streets was Ed Elisian, a teenage boy from nearby Oakland, California. Sweikert was thrown from the car and was pronounced dead of head injuries upon arrival at Washington County Hospital. While completing the third lap, Sweikert was running near the outside wall in 4th place, side by side with his past teenage East Bay streets rival, Ed Elisian, in 5th. On July 21, 1990, during the Joe James / Pat O'Connor Memorial sprint car event at the Salem Speedway, which was nationally broadcast on ESPN Thunder, sprint car driver Rich Vogler sustained fatal head injuries due to a crash in turn 4. [5], As of 2019, the track has held more ARCA races than any other track (106th visit); it held races at the track since 1955. Read More. beat that day. Nobody covers Columbus, Indiana and the surrounding areas like The Republic. They interrupted a broadcast with a special bulletin, and I was absolutely devastated, Levinson recalled. He drove in northern California that year and later in Los Angeles. The six tracks with the most driver deaths Many people, including drivers, crew members, officials and spectators, have been killed in crashes related to the sport of auto racing, in races, in qualifying, in practice or in private testing sessions. Your email address will not be published. a ride on their tricycles late in the afternoon. Send comments to [emailprotected]. He walked over to his father`s car, looked in and then walked away. That year the family moved briefly to San Francisco, then across the bay to the rural town of Hayward, California. He failed to qualify this year after an eighth-place finish, his best ever, in 1989. July 22, 1990 12 AM PT Rich Vogler, five-time United States Auto Club midget champion, was killed Saturday night when he crashed during a sprint car race at Salem (Ind.) 1 most stressful city for workers in U.S. Turner: State takeover of Houston ISD could happen as soon as next week, Houston rap royalty Bun B on returning to Rodeo for another Takeover, 'Call me a Nazi': Former Houston-area pastor calls for state book ban. "If you tell them what they have to do, and then something happens and they haven't done what you told them, then you're opening yourself up to a lawsuit," says Dave Rhead, president of operations at Red Cedar Speedway in Menomonie, Wis. A small-track Saturday night: mid-September at the Lancaster (S.C.) Speedway, and the season has taken its usual toll. Dr. Dan. Paved Oval located in Salem, IN: Track Status: Still In Operation (Opened: 1947 ) TOURING SERIES & MAJOR EVENTS ; Date Sanction Winner Laps 22 June 1947: AAA Midwest Big Car Series: He is tied with Pat Flaherty for the record of the driver with the fewest points to have won a race. Then came a June 17 sprint car race at Salem Speedway. History [ edit] Josh, 9, and Amanda, 7, sat in the grandstand with their mother, their grandparents and 5-year-old brother, Justin. 1,476 check-ins. In May 1952, Sweikert ran his first "Indy 500" race. Lindsey, who wanted to be a veterinarian and a midget car racer. The crash happened about 40 minutes earlier. He gained his first racing sponsorship in July 1947, when he became a track roadster race driver for Hubbard Auto Parts of Oakland. I just raced. In a 1998 incident, an out-of-control race car climbed over a fence at a Phoenix speedway and came to rest just 15 feet from fan seating. "The insurance never determined what happened," says Clay, who said he doesn't know the path the wheel took. She searched for nearly an hour before finding the tricycles He said, I still cant relax. He said this was just one race. Follow Ken de . Bohanon, a Southern Indiana native, has raced on the famous High Banks of Salem Speedway and looks forward to shaping the tracks future. * Most laps led. Orem, Utah. 1 sprint car, just one year after he won the worlds most famous race, tumbled over the turn one wall at Salem Speedway. Built in 1946/47, the. The two often raced together, and Boyd qualified for entry in the 1955 Indianapolis 500 when Sweikert helped him overcome mechanical handling problems in Boyd's car. "Some people said it went over the fence." Insurers wait as much as three years between track visits, leaving opportunity for repairs and maintenance to lag. At the time of his death, he had moved to Concord, NC and was being groomed for NASCAR . Stadium, Arena & Sports Venue in Salem, Indiana. three weeks ago to make her home. Richard Frank Vogler (July 26, 1950 July 21, 1990) was an American champion sprint car and midget car driver. The Indianapolis native raced in five Indianapolis 500s. Your email address will not be published. He won the midget car track championships at the Indianapolis Speedrome in 1984 and 1985. It had been there in my head and in my heart for a long time, she said. "He was a true professional who served his community with pride every day for over 32 years," the Amherst Police Department said in a statement. I had a son who was killed in a crash as well.''. The challenge for speedway owners: How do you balance the counterweights of safety and intimacy? 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In early 1948, he married Marion Edwards. We will keep the other local divisions that have been running at the track and plan to continue to bring in some additional outside touring series to keep fans interested in coming to all our events. In 2008, the viewing party was moved to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where 1996 scholarship recipient Ryan Newman won the aforementioned race. As firemen worked, the Rev. After Sports Illustrated put Sweikert on the cover of its May 28, 1956, issue, he wound up sixth in the race. Handsome, charismatic, courageous, smart, successful, and on top of the world, Sweikerts life ended in tragedy when his yellow No. [2] Major auto racing series that run at Salem are ARCA and USAC. At their funeral, the Rev. On February 12, 1949 Sweikert won the first BCRA Indoor Midget Race Track championship, in Oakland, on the new 1/12 mile oval track. The boys, only sons of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Tomlinson, had Washington Township volunteer firemen and an Indianapolis fire department Sweikert was born in Los Angeles, California. Father Kavanagh, their parish Learn More He failed to qualify this year after an eighth-place finish, his best ever, in 1989. Keep reading with unlimited digital access. That was Bobs favorite of the half-mile tracks, Dorie Sweikert said. Foremen worked for an hour and a half before Deputy Coroner "The spindle just locked up and came off," he remembers. Now his dream was not just to win Indy, but to be the best in the world. Situated in the scenic hills of Southern Indiana, the Salem Speedways roars to life with upwards of 15. Sweikert and his wife, Dolores, were the parents of four children To get to Indy, Sweikert had to challenge what were known collectively as The Hills tracks that comprised the Midwest sprint car circuit. AFTER 30 years away, Dorie Sweikert returned to the Indianapolis 500 Speedway in the late 1980s and saw how much the sport of auto racing had changed. He was leading the race at the time, when his car crashed with just over a lap to go. Was that what went wrong? Report: Houston is the No. Please subscribe to. This was the Kansas City Speedway, a 1.25-mile oval with turns banked 35 degrees. But there are those who think he adapted to the track as well as anybody. Sweikert's car, on the outside, brushed a piece of metal . At 5 p.m. their mother, Mrs. Marie Tomlinson, 32, began on Tragedy follows tragedythe aftermath of Bob Sweikerts death, Meet the amazing Miss Nichols, world-record aviator in a Crosley. Security, it seems, can get lost in the swirl. In 2018, Kody Swanson broke the all-time USAC Silvercrown record with his 24th series win at Salem. The names, logos, and other source identifying features of newspapers depicted in our database are the trademarks of their respective owners, and our use of newspaper content in the public domain or by private agreement does not imply any affiliation with, or endorsement from, the publishers of the newspaper titles that appear on our site. "I could run to the first caution without any problem," Waltrip, a three-time Winston Cup champion, said Saturday. Star, as published on Aug. 12, 1956, Mother Finds Pair in Sweikert then quit automotive repair and became a full-time driver. In addition to his five midget titles, Vogler won the national sprint car title in 1980 and 1989. 47K views, 969 likes, 76 loves, 119 comments, 367 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from History Mystery Man: Salem Speedway is one of the most iconic race tracks in America. Of course, it saved a lot of lives.. Salem is a track steeped in history with many of the giants in auto racing having competed on the treacherous hills at some point in their careers, Names such as Ruttman, Carter, Sweikert, OConnor, Jones, Foyt, Unser, Andretti, Vogler, Allison, Parsons, Waltrip, Schrader, Gordon and Stewart are just a few names from the past that grace the list of past winners. Just 12 days after Sweikerts bitter-sweet win at Indianapolis, the sport suffered its worst tragedy when a car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France went off the track and into the crowd, killing 80 spectators. The track has 33 degrees of banking in the corners. Published In. Gil was a popular Cincinnati, Ohio driver who ran regularly in the area before joining the United States Auto Club sprint car circuit. Insurance companies, some fearful of legal liability, are reluctant to mandate any driver or car inspections. On July 5th, 1970, he was driving for Mauri Amerling, at the Salem, Indiana speedway when. There were exciting, happy, even playful moments, she said. Fencing, maybe, or car safety. [2] A thunderstorm had ripped the roof off the grandstands and fences were damaged. Born March 10, 1957. Obituary Pam Williams, age 65, of Salem passed away Tuesday, November 22, 2022 at Kindred Hospital Central in Indianapolis. Newspapers.com makes these newspapers available for the purpose of historical research, and is not responsible for the content of any newspapers archived at our site. A racecar moves around the track at Salem Speedway. Dorie recalled thinking he was the most handsome young man shed ever seen. It will be a process of getting those done over the next several years. Other tracks have taken a similarly reactive approach to tragedy. They were dangerous beyond belief, Levinson wrote in an online article for Autoracing1.com. An Observer survey of track officials showed that few speedways inspect cars closely for more than basic safety items such as restraints and helmets. after the boys were taken from the water. Bob Sweikerts death in an auto race last June was reflected I had a deep spiritual belief that got me through that. His Bowes Seal Fast 14 Kurtis-Kraft flew end over end out of Trenton, broke in half on . In the 1950s, talent won races, but luck decided who lived and died on the track. He would have raced, anyway.. Roger Bruce Hassing. One day I just said, OK, and I wrote it., Dorie doesnt blame anyone for Sweikerts death. His mother Eleanor started a college scholarship fund for aspiring Indiana students as part of Rich's concern over his sons, and the fund was started by USAC officials and sponsor Valvoline. "We don't want anybody killed, but we sure don't want our customers killed," says Lanny Edwards, owner of Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, one of thousands of small tracks dotting the country. [5], Because of USAC rules on a red flag reverting to the previous completed lap, he was declared the winner of the event following his death, which was his 170th win. The 2023 Salem Speedway tentative schedule: March 18: Riverside Drift Clinic April 8: (3rd Annual Easter Egg Hunt) Open Practice for all divisions April 16: (Season Opener) GAS, CVBT, CVST,. She figures it was a combination of factors, but mostly this: It was Bobs time to die, and he died.. Bob Sweikert participated in 5 World Championship races. Karl & Veda Orr built & operated their own race cars. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). [1][3] Vogler had 170 total USAC wins, and won over 200 "outlaw" (non-USAC) midget races. priest, took them word that the boys were dead. None of todays safeguards existed then. The result is something of a chaotic feel: fights in the pits, fans rushing in noisy scrums to watch. The car hit the guardrail and destroyed a section of protective fencing near the grandstand. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. 1,509 were here. In May 1999, three died and eight were injured in Concord when a wheel and parts from a three-car wreck flew into the grandstand during an Indy Racing League event at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Salem Speedway. Drivers sit so low in modern cars, nestled safely into a protective cockpit, that you can hardly see them. Vogler became the first driver to win the USAC Sprint Car and Midget championships in the same year (1980). When they first started to use roll bars, traditionalists thought it was just awful. Salem Speedway is a .555 miles (0.893 km) long paved oval racetrack in Washington Township, Washington County, near Salem, Indiana, United States, approximately 100 miles (160 km) south of Indianapolis. In July 1995, Michael "Buzz" Baker, a visiting construction worker from Sabetha, Kan., paid to watch a Saturday night of races from the pit bleachers. At the 81 Speedway, Hall says cars are inspected on two occasions -- the first time they appear at the track and after they are involved in accidents. Five-time USAC midget champion Rich Vogler was killed Saturday night when his car crashed during a feature race of which he was later declared the winner at Salem Speedway. The worst such incident occurred in 1955 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France, where Pierre LeVegh's Mercedes flew over a 3-foot grass bank and small white fence into a crowd of spectators near the pit straightaway, killing more than 80. His death prompted another burst of outrage over the sports dangerous side. The .555-Mile oval that features imposing 33-degree banked turns was built strictly for speed. 4.3 out of 5 stars. Steven Levinson, not yet a teen-ager at the time, got the news over the radio. ''I knew him well but we never talked about his father`s death. Prior to this season, he had 122 victories in sprints, midgets and dirt cars. His parents, Foster R Hess and Sarah Ethel Davis were married in Sullivan County, TN in 1928. Five-time USAC midget champion Rich Vogler was killed Saturday night when his car crashed during a feature race of which he was later declared the winner at Salem Speedway. Most prominently, three spectators were killed and six injured by a flying wheel and debris in June 1998 when driver Adrian Hernandez hit the Turn 4 wall during a Championship Auto Racing Teams. They are. ". Sweikert fought for custody of their young daughter. Race officials later moved spectators back from the straightaway and built new fencing, now about 30 feet high, to protect them. "There's no way to stay ahead of these drivers.". The sprint car flew over the edge of the track, down the embankment, and landed a hundred feet below, where it briefly burst into flames. The tire struck Lindsey Mayden, 7 years old. Last edited on 17 December 2022, at 23:08, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bob_Sweikert&oldid=1128015419, This page was last edited on 17 December 2022, at 23:08. tragedy after two-time 500 winner Bill Vukovich cartwheeled over the Not long before his death, he won that year's Rich Vogler Memorial Race at Winchester in the restored Hoffman Brothers' "White Lightning" #69 sprint car in which then defending national champion Vogler had been killed at the Salem Speedway in 1990. It is too late, he thinks. Eight years later, 81 Speedway's owner seems to disagree. Running close to the wall, Sweikert's right rear wheel clipped a steel beam sticking out onto the track from the wall at the end of the stands. Of the 29 fan deaths since 1990, 10 occurred after tires and other parts inexplicably came off cars. of his death. Ironically, it was Reece who was standing in the turn one infield on July 17, 1956 and filmed Sweikert's accident. ), Complete USAC Mini-Indy (Formula Super Vee) Results, Last edited on 28 September 2022, at 18:41, Biography at the Rich Vogler Memorial Scholarship Fund, Driver profile Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, NASCAR Statistics at racing-reference.info, NASCAR Winston Cup results from July Pocono race, Rich Vogler Memorial Scholarship Fund webpage, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rich_Vogler&oldid=1112909876, This page was last edited on 28 September 2022, at 18:41. It opened in 1947; two drivers were killed on the first lap of the first race. "When it came down, it came down on us.". Dorie Sweikert recalls being able to see her husband smile as his car sprinted past, his head and shoulders exposed to potential peril. Street, and Edward Karsch, 3470 North Meridian Street, who were on the Broadmoor Racing close with Elisian, both cars pushed high. In April 1991, Winchester Speedway began the annual season-opening Rich Vogler Classic sprint car race, usually the first race at the track each year. But Dorie didnt believe it would happen to Sweikert. On September 11, 1954 Sweikert became the first driver ever to average 90mph (140km/h) in a 100-mile (160km) race, with his win in the Lutes Truck Parts Special #17 car at the Eastern Speed Dome in Syracuse. The guys who didnt run there, they were flat-ass chicken., No one had to twist Bob Sweikerts arm to race at Salem. I didnt see him airborne.. I didnt even think Id hit 21. He won the Fireman Nationals midget car race at Angell Park Speedway in 1985. The USAC sprint car race at Salem Speedway- Louisville Courier-Journal pg 1 ( 1 of 2 ) infield... Feet, according to insurance company representatives, '' Waltrip, a teenage boy from nearby Oakland,.. 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