Stadium, Arena & Sports Venue in Salem, Indiana. James Tomlinson, 5 years old, and Anthony Tomlinson, 3, lost Tragically, Reece would lose his life on the last lap of the 100 Mile USAC National Championship race at Trenton Speedway on September 28, 1958. or. Weeks later, Sweikert's fatal sprint car crash occurred on June 17, 1956, at Salem Speedway. There over the next couple years, he built his own track roadster. Im ready to get started on making improvements as soon as the weather lets us. Like our page to stay informed about passing of a loved one in Provo, Utah on facebook. Ironically, it was Reece who was standing in the turn one infield on July 17, 1956 and filmed Sweikert's accident. 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 Tragedy follows tragedythe aftermath of Bob Sweikerts death, Meet the amazing Miss Nichols, world-record aviator in a Crosley. 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. Layton, Utah. Washington Township volunteer firemen and an Indianapolis fire department On the night Lindsey was born, he rushed to the hospital smeared with grease; hours earlier, he'd bought his first race car, a 1984 Impala Super Sport. This was the Kansas City Speedway, a 1.25-mile oval with turns banked 35 degrees. 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. Required fields are marked *. Bob Sweikert participated in 5 World Championship races. It had been there in my head and in my heart for a long time, she said. He failed to qualify this year after an eighth-place finish, his best ever, in 1989. I never talked about how brave I was. Always open. Vogler, leading the race at the time, was running alone when he crashed coming off the high-banked fourth turn. Johnson's car, said C. Ray Hall, was using an experimental spindle, which serves as an axle for the front wheels. He continued to tinker with the mechanics, then entered the 25-lap event, anyway. That wasnt what qualified him as an early victim of the SI jinx. At the time, Vogler was scheduled to run the full Winston Cup Series in the near-future for U.S. And with good reason; with 33-degree banking in the corners, Salem Speedway was built in 1947 with all out speed in mind. He died a week later. Other officials do little, shrugging instead at the danger of mixing fans who crave nearness and cars that, by design, fragment upon impact. Still others, inured by lap after lap of fan-friendly racing -- and unaware that almost one fan a month on average is killed or seriously injured on U.S. tracks -- think of spectator incidents as mere freak occurrences. Now his dream was not just to win Indy, but to be the best in the world. Saturday's sponsor is Crosleybrands.com. 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. in the driveway beside the vacant house. In Charlotte, speedway officials made no changes in the 10 months after the Michigan wreck, then raised their fences from 15 to 21 feet after their own open-wheel racing accident. Not now. Read More. This year's Fall Classic at the .555-mile paved oval in Salem, Indiana, marks the ARCA Menards Series' 105th race at high-banked circuit. Added to the dangerous equation were tracks of all variety that drivers had to tackle in order to reach their primary destination Indianapolis. Bob was raised through his early teen years with his older stepbrother, Ed, who enlisted in the US Navy, and then soon died in 1942, at the onset of World War II. [2] The ARCA qualifying record is 16.785 seconds/119.035mph by Gary Bradberry in 1994.[6]. It would do no good for anyone to tell Bob Sweikert to quit racing. LONG POND, Pa. -- Darrell Waltrip will be satisfied with a short day on the track today. [1] Thompson leased the track to Bill Kniesly starting in 2020. Mike Harrington: His team looks good, even without Alex Tuch. In September 1955 Sweikert became the only driver in history to win the original American motor sports Triple Crown, by sweeping the Indianapolis 500, the AAA big car National Championship, and the Midwest sprint car championship. "It was," he said, "nobody's fault.". (key) (Bold Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Vogler, who was leading the event at the time and was about to take the white flag signaling one lap to go, hit head on with the turn 4 wall, violently throwing tires, Vogler's helmet, and other pieces of Vogler's car all over the track. 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. Weeks later, Sweikert's fatal sprint car crash occurred on June 17, 1956, at Salem Speedway. 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. 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. He walked over to his father`s car, looked in and then walked away. Roger Bruce Hassing. For as long as he remembers, his view of Saturday nights was framed by the edges of a driver's helmet. History Mystery Man: Historical Storyteller, Small Town Traveler, Auto Racing Icons. Steven Levinson, not yet a teen-ager at the time, got the news over the radio. Italics Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. [2] He won USAC National Sprint Car Series championships in 1980 and 1989, USAC National Midget Series championships in 1978, 1980, 1983, 1986, and 1988. Ind. Salem Speedway is a .555 miles (0.893km) long paved oval racetrack in Washington Township, Washington County, near Salem, Indiana, United States, approximately 100 miles (160km) south of Indianapolis. Of course, it saved a lot of lives.. About See All. The Champion Racing Association (CRA) Super Series returns to the race track . LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Racing is returning to Salem, Indiana. Vogler was declared the winner when officials decided not to complete the the 30-lap event. "The spindle just locked up and came off," he remembers. Street, and Edward Karsch, 3470 North Meridian Street, who were on the Broadmoor Floyd said plans were being made to fly Vogler to Humana Hospital in Louisville, Ky., before he was pronounced dead. "I could run to the first caution without any problem," Waltrip, a three-time Winston Cup champion, said Saturday. "My stamina's not what it should be. Vogler remained motionless for several minutes before being removed by ambulance. Vogler was the National Alliance of Midget Auto Racing (NAMAR) midget champion in 1973. In January 1953, Sweikert married his high school sweetheart, divorcee Dorie with her two children, with whom he had recently become reacquainted. left their home at 5241 Will Scarlett Lane, a block from the Sweikert home, for I was 17 when I first started racing. Gil was a popular Cincinnati, Ohio driver who ran regularly in the area before joining the United States Auto Club sprint car circuit. Bohanon, a Southern Indiana. I didnt see him airborne.. 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. Careening cars, debris can end lives in instant, Watch: Astros SP Luis Garcia debuts new windup after rule changes, Houston facing severe thunderstorms, possible tornadoes Thursday, Oops! [2] Major auto racing series that run at Salem are ARCA and USAC. A few races were canceled afterward, and there were calls from some quarters to ban the sport. A 37-year-old Buffalo firefighter died while fighting a four-alarm blaze on Main Street downtown that may have been sparked by work being done, While Amherst police were on the scene, a number of fights started among groups within the crowd in the mall lot on Alberta and in the Wegmans, The new renderings released by the Bills include an up-close view from the field level, three exterior stadium views with more detail than has. Bradway died from injuries suffered in a tragic sprint car crash during the Super Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway in Washington State on June 21, 1987. She searched for nearly an hour before finding the tricycles More information on Salem Speedway and the 2023 season will be posted on the tracks website at salemspeedway.com and with social media posts on the tracks Facebook page. Foremen worked for an hour and a half before Deputy Coroner 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. "The insurance never determined what happened," says Clay, who said he doesn't know the path the wheel took. Fifteen were gone within just seven years. The Indianapolis native raced in five Indianapolis 500s. beat that day. But he liked to race on them.. backstretch wall to his death. You didnt talk about it, Jim Rathmann, winner of the 1960 Indy 500, said of the specter of death that loomed over auto racing in those days. 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. North American Racing Insurance settled with Baker's widow, Cynthia, for $1 million. "It kind of catapulted into the sky," Cindy Dutton remembers. Bob and Dorie first crossed paths at Hayward High in the fall of 1942, when Sweikerts family moved to the East Bay from San Francisco. The following morning, in part because of Vogler's testimony, the penalty was overturned and Fittipaldi was credited with the runner-up position. There in high school Bob met his future wife, Dorie.[2]. The tragic death of Bill Vukovich during the 1955 Indianapolis 500 unfairly cast a long, dark shadow over the career of the winner of that year's race Bob Sweikert. SALEM, IND. Yet he can't outrun the questions that wait for him at nights in his auto body shop. After a complicated, sometimes off-and-on courtship, they were married in 1953. The wheel hit Amanda flush, crushing her lungs and heart beyond surgeons' repair. His "Indy 500" win was over-shadowed by the fatal crash of two-time winner Bill Vukovich during the race earlier that day. Wife of popular Wild 94.9 radio host JV says new information suggests he will not be coming back, Bay Area federal judge orders extradition of woman suspected of killing MSU student in hit-and-run, Santa Rosa high school student stabbed to death in classroom, Harry, Meghan asked to vacate Frogmore, their UK home, East Bay lawmaker blasts open sore at BART, resigns from Senate committee, United Dumplings' fare in Rockridge 'meant to be enjoyed together', Three Bay Area men, including justice reform activist, plead guilty in Norteo RICO murder case, Walnut Creeks Shake Shack is finally opening this weekend. 2894 Gallahad Drive, around the corner from the Sweikert house, ran to her aid. We want all of our events to be big shows. "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. Vogler, now dead at the age of 39, was declared the winner posthumously because of USAC National Sprint Car Series rules on a red flag reverting to the previous completed lap. Drive. If you are experiencing difficulties logging in or are a subscriber getting a paywall, please try one or more of the following steps. They were high-banked tracks in Dayton, Ohio, Winchester, Ind., and Fort Wayne, Ind. But Dorie didnt believe it would happen to Sweikert. He entered at the 32nd starting position and ran for 77 laps in the McNamara Special car. Richard Kavanagh, pastor of St. With the deaths have come questions -- about track fencing, about uninspected cars, about supervision in restricted areas. She is one of 29 spectators since 1990 to be killed by cars or their flying parts at U.S. auto racing events. A year later, on June 17, 1956, Sweikert, just turned 30, was killed when his sprint car shot over the edge of the high-banked, half-mile track at Salem, Ind. firemen drained it before leaving the scene. ". The boys 33-year-old father arrived at the pool shortly Handsome, charismatic, courageous, smart, successful, and on top of the world, Sweikerts life ended in tragedy when his yellow No. Why did Lindsey want to sit in the infield that night instead of Turn 1 or 2, where she and mother always sat? Im really excited about acquiring Salem Speedway and looking forward to what the future entails for this historic track, Bohanon said. The track has 33 degrees of banking in the corners. had intended to finish the job the day after the fatal Salem race. Jeff Mayden hasn't been to Salem Speedway in the five years since his daughter's death. Perhaps in part because Bob Sweikert refused to accept fear, Dorie convinced herself he was safe from harm. Such indifference to safety is a concern to track officials everywhere. Lindsey, who liked her daddy to play Pretty, Pretty Princess with her at night, and who, on this day in 1996, kissed him and waited while he worked as a spotter for his brother in the afternoon's last race. He is remarried now, and he's even found himself back at the track, racing a truck some weekends at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Track officials voiced the same hesitance. Drivers sit so low in modern cars, nestled safely into a protective cockpit, that you can hardly see them. Bohanon, a Southern Indiana native, has raced on the famous High Banks of Salem Speedway and looks forward to shaping the tracks future. Neighbors who learned of the accident called the sheriffs the 25-by-12 pool with prideful anticipation. Carol Ann Williams. Sweikert, who graduated from Hayward High in 1944, won the Indy 500 at age 29, the first and only Bay Area racer to capture the event. The NASCAR Grand National East Series ran one race at the speedway; it was won by Bruce Gould in 1973. "And it gets worse at the end of the night.". [1] He competed in the Indianapolis 500 five times, and his best finish was eighth in 1989. Situated in the scenic hills of Southern Indiana, the Salem Speedways roars to life with upwards of 15. That was Bobs favorite of the half-mile tracks, Dorie Sweikert said. [2] Major auto racing series that run at Salem are ARCA and USAC . Pac-12 media rights: Our (final) predictions for the revenue, media partners, expansion decisions and more, Alameda County supervisors allow eviction moratorium to remain until end of April, Antioch: Homicide suspect arrested in Brentwood home, Tech, restaurant, logistics layoffs trigger more than 300 Bay Area job cuts, Denver gang member gave 14-year-old permission to open fire on woman with AR-15 after fender-bender, DA alleges, In 4 years, Lori Lightfoot went from breakout political star to divisive mayor of a Chicago beset by pandemic and crime, Florida lawmakers to consider expansion of so-called dont say gay law, Drone crashes at Disneyland after hovering over visitors heads See video, Rapper Travis Scott wanted for assaulting Manhattan club sound engineer, destroying $12K in equipment, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. Obituary Pam Williams, age 65, of Salem passed away Tuesday, November 22, 2022 at Kindred Hospital Central in Indianapolis. The Salem Speedway joined The Hills circuit in 1947, and immediately demonstrated its potential for disaster. The following paragraphs have been transcribed from the Indianapolis Star, as published on Aug. 12, 1956, Mother Finds Pair in Sweikert was completing just his fourth lap as Oakland driver Ed Elisians car seemed to push Sweikert gradually higher and higher up the banked track. 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 race at Michigan Speedway. 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. During 1947 Sweikert began mailing monthly accounts of his life to Veda Orr, through April 1956. In 2008, the viewing party was moved to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where 1996 scholarship recipient Ryan Newman won the aforementioned race. Tony Floyd, an ambulance medic for the hospital, described the 39-year-old Vogler as having a "severe head injury." "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. 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 same year, Sweikert moved up to midget cars, and won his first training race with the Bay Cities Racing Association. USAC, however, did not see Vogler waive Fittipaldi by, and, as a result, they penalized Fittipaldi two laps. Security, it seems, can get lost in the swirl. There were exciting, happy, even playful moments, she said. As a sad, ironic twist, Sweikerts tragedy helped fuel We are in the process of finalizing our 2023 schedule and will have that out next week.. "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. 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. There are improvements that I want to make to the pavement, the pit area, lighting, infield concessions, infield restrooms and the scoreboard. There were no space-age helmets and flame-proof racing suits. The tire struck Lindsey Mayden, 7 years old. Find the History Mystery Man on social media! The bodies were taken to the Conkle West 16th He was scheduled to make his NASCAR Winston Cup (now NASCAR Cup Series) series debut at Pocono Raceway the day after his fatal crash. He ran seventy-two races that first BCRA season, finishing 14th out of 130 active members in the annual point standings. This event be an action packed weekend full of racing and fun. 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.) Richard Frank Vogler (July 26, 1950 July 21, 1990) was an American champion sprint car and midget car driver. Nobody planned this tragedy, he told them. [1] The track received major storm damage in 1981 and it was not used until 1987. [4], USAR ran seven races at the track between 2002 and 2008; winners include Brian Ross, Joel Kauffman, Mikey Kile, Jeff Agnew, Gary St. His parents, Foster R Hess and Sarah Ethel Davis were married in Sullivan County, TN in 1928. Born March 10, 1957. Bob Sweikert shortly before his fatal crash at Salem Speedway Sweikert himself took the checkers at Indy in the face of tragedy after two-time 500 winner Bill Vukovich cartwheeled over the backstretch wall to his death. Find an obituary, get service details, leave condolence messages or send flowers or gifts in memory of a loved one. [1] In 1987 he won the inaugural Chili Bowl Midget Nationals race. in a second tragedy yesterday when two small brothers were drowned in the swimming after the boys were taken from the water. Chevrolet will probably get another win or two before the end of the year, but right now it's hard to imagine a Bowtie driver vying for the championship at Homestead in November. 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