[3], Vogler finished seventeenth in his only NASCAR Busch Series start at the North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham in 1988.[4]. "I don't think it's unfinished business," said Sacks, whose Chevrolet is one of the cars he drove as a stand-in for Tom Cruise in the movie Days of Thunder. Keep reading with unlimited digital access. Weinberger and Ostapenko began artificial respiration. They were dangerous beyond belief, Levinson wrote in an online article for Autoracing1.com. Father Kavanagh, their parish 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. 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. Classes at Christ the King School were canceled for Josh and Amanda Dutton's funeral. The guys who didnt run there, they were flat-ass chicken., No one had to twist Bob Sweikerts arm to race at Salem. When the cheerleading coach broke the news to Katrina Kohel that she was the only one left on the cheer squad, Kohel was determined to compete anyway. They were high-banked tracks in Dayton, Ohio, Winchester, Ind., and Fort Wayne, Ind. He entered at the 32nd starting position and ran for 77 laps in the McNamara Special car. "Salem Speedway, Hoosier Lottery form partnership", "Salem Speedway on ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule twice in 2019", "Kingsburg's Kody Swanson stamps his name in national racing history", USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Championship race venues, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Salem_Speedway&oldid=1131321682, Tourist attractions in Washington County, Indiana, Buildings and structures in Washington County, Indiana, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 3 January 2023, at 16:45. 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. Ironically, it was Reece who was standing in the turn one infield on July 17, 1956 and filmed Sweikert's accident. Always open. 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. 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. Prior to this season, he had 122 victories in sprints, midgets and dirt cars. [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. 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. Fencing, maybe, or car safety. 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. rescue squad rushed to the pool. Vogler's helmet flew off his head and he suffered severe head injuries that proved to be fatal. I wanted what he wanted, she said. 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On the morning of his June 17 race at Salem, Dorie Sweikert recalled her husband complaining his car wasnt handling quite right. With months to heal and the war over, he was honorably discharged in September 1945. The banks were spooky. * Most laps led. [1], Bob Sweikert grew up in pre-war Los Angeles. It is too late, he thinks. The good drivers werent immune. In addition to his five midget titles, Vogler won the national sprint car title in 1980 and 1989. The series has visited Salem more than any other track in its almost 70-year history. "It could have been a nightmare," the track's owner said then. Foremen worked for an hour and a half before Deputy Coroner Some tracks, after tragedies, raise fence heights or beef up security and car inspections. 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. At smaller tracks, insurance companies are the primary arbiters of fence height and design. 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. Stadium, Arena & Sports Venue in Salem, Indiana. Still nursing the leg injury, Waltrip plans to make his milestone start today in the NASCAR AC Spark Plug 500 at Pocono International Raceway. Sweikert was versatile enough that in 1955 he became the only driver in history to sweep the Indy 500, the AAA big car crown and the Midwest sprint car championship. Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a1fe75f612aa39abd4fbfcf156e736a1" );document.getElementById("hc1b4e368d").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. He was leading the race at the time, when his car crashed with just over a lap to go. Sweikert and his wife, Dolores, were the parents of four children 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. There are improvements that I want to make to the pavement, the pit area, lighting, infield concessions, infield restrooms and the scoreboard. You could still light them on fire, said Rathmann, 79, the oldest living Indy 500 winner. Your email address will not be published. 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. Published In. Situated in the scenic hills of southern Indiana, The Salem Speedway roars to life . 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. I didnt see him airborne.. "It kind of catapulted into the sky," Cindy Dutton remembers. Drive. RACE CAR driver Bob Sweikert celebrates his win in the 1955Indianapolis 500 with his wife, Dorrie. Bohanon, a Southern Indiana. Follow Ken de . 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. [1] In 1987 he won the inaugural Chili Bowl Midget Nationals race. "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. I was 17 when I first started racing. One of his frequent local competitors on the streets was Ed Elisian, a teenage boy from nearby Oakland, California. On May 30, 1955 Sweikert finally won the Indianapolis 500 race, from the 14th starting position in the Zink Kurtis roadster #6. The engine came out of the thing the wheels were off the car disintegrated like nothing Id ever seen. That grief gripped the loved ones of dozens of race car drivers in the 1950s. Sam was sitting on the driveway, 1,476 check-ins. "When it came down, it came down on us.". He is tied with Pat Flaherty for the record of the driver with the fewest points to have won a race. 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. [1] He competed in the Indianapolis 500 five times, and his best finish was eighth in 1989. [1] Don Gettelfinger Sr. bought the track in 1987 and he replaced the fence with concrete. 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. Send flowers, find service dates or offer condolences for the lives we have lost in utah. The wheel, witnesses would say later, bounced through the unrepaired hole in the fence, then struck Baker above his right eye. Morris Settles pronounced the boys dead. Marjorie Ann Bitter. the 25-by-12 pool with prideful anticipation. The bodies were taken to the Conkle West 16th "There's no way to stay ahead of these drivers.". ". That was Bobs favorite of the half-mile tracks, Dorie Sweikert said. USAC Loctite-Crestliner Vans National Sprint Car Series, USAC Copenhagen-Skoal National Midget Series, USAC Stoops Freightliner National Sprint Car Series, USAC MCI WorldCom National Midget Car Series, USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, Northern Division, Auto Value Bumper to Bumper Super Sprint Series, USAC Valvoline National Sprint Car Series, USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, Sears Auto Center Northern Division, ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards, AMSOIL USAC Sprint Car National Championship, CRA JEGS All-Stars Tour presented by Chevrolet Performance, Circle Track Great American Racing Series, Lawrence Towing CRA Street Stock Series Powered by JEGS, USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series presented by Traxxas, Vores Compact Touring Series powered by Mercer County Electric, Van Hoy Oil CRA Street Stocks Powered by JEGS, Victory Custom Trailers CRA Junior Late Model Series, https://www.thethirdturn.com/w/index.php?title=Salem_Speedway&oldid=657339. After Sweikert was buried in California his widow returned They settled in Indiana, to be close to the Speedway where Sweikert hoped to race and win. I dont know how you could be the wife of a race car driver in those days. Speedway. Mrs. Sweikerts last order before leaving Indianapolis, the neighbors said, was that the fence be completed at once. In late 1944, Sweikert enrolled in the US Army Air Force, but suffered a severe knee injury while training at Lowry Field in Colorado. He would have raced, anyway.. 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. Sweikert was born in Los Angeles, California. Gil was a popular Cincinnati, Ohio driver who ran regularly in the area before joining the United States Auto Club sprint car circuit. Of course, it saved a lot of lives.. James Tomlinson, 5 years old, and Anthony Tomlinson, 3, lost In the 1950s, talent won races, but luck decided who lived and died on the track. Weeks later, Sweikert's fatal sprint car crash occurred on June 17, 1956, at Salem Speedway. For as long as he remembers, his view of Saturday nights was framed by the edges of a driver's helmet. Roger Bruce Hassing. in the driveway beside the vacant house. Finishing first among the survivors was a young driver from Pittsboro, Indiana, named Jeff Gordon. At 5 p.m. their mother, Mrs. Marie Tomlinson, 32, began Built in 1946/47, the. He won the midget car track championships at the Indianapolis Speedrome in 1984 and 1985. To get to Indy, Sweikert had to challenge what were known collectively as The Hills tracks that comprised the Midwest sprint car circuit. It will be a process of getting those done over the next several years. At least 70 have been injured, some suffering life-altering afflictions, including a Florida father of three now living in a New Jersey home for people with brain damage. 2803 Obituaries. Last Name "Williams" Sweikert was pronounced dead upon arrival at Washington County Hospital. There over the next couple years, he built his own track roadster. Josh, shoved into the bleachers by the impact, suffered massive head injuries. Not now. There were no space-age helmets and flame-proof racing suits. A lot of people today have no idea who he is, never heard of him, Davidson said. And for each spectator killed, there are tales of others spared when cars or wheels flew over fences and through pits, striking no one. Then came a June 17 sprint car race at Salem Speedway. 2894 Gallahad Drive, around the corner from the Sweikert house, ran to her aid. 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. Mrs. Tomlinson ran behind the Sweikert house. 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. He was awarded a 40th-place finish (as a "Did Not Start").[6]. The wheel hit Amanda flush, crushing her lungs and heart beyond surgeons' repair. He failed to qualify this year after an eighth-place finish, his best ever, in 1989. She never saw danger coming. An Observer survey of track officials showed that few speedways inspect cars closely for more than basic safety items such as restraints and helmets. Vogler became the first driver to win the USAC Sprint Car and Midget championships in the same year (1980). He drove in northern California that year and later in Los Angeles. He walked over to his father`s car, looked in and then walked away. He actually maintained his sprint car, even after he won (Indy).. He won numerous major national events: the Hut Hundred eight times, the 4-Crown Nationals midget car event four times, the Copper Classic twice, the Hoosierdome Invitational twice, the WWRA Florida Winter Nationals in 1983, and the Night Before the 500 once. If you are experiencing difficulties logging in or are a subscriber getting a paywall, please try one or more of the following steps. Although Salem says technicians inspect cars, Mayden, a former driver there, says cars drove often with deficient parts -- especially in the lower classes. 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. Sweikert was thrown from the car and was pronounced dead of head injuries upon arrival at Washington County Hospital. I had a son who was killed in a crash as well.''. He is buried at Lone Tree Cemetery in Fairview, California.[3]. Former USAC Midget racer Nick Bohanon has taken over ownership of the iconic Salem Speedway Fueled by the Hoosier Lottery, located in Salem. 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. I didnt even think Id hit 21. 2980 N. National Road, Suite A, Columbus, IN 47201, Main Switchboard: (812) 372-7811 "We don't do checks before races," says Hall. There was kind of a machismo attached to it. He died a week later. The likeable, rising superstar, who had just appeared on the front cover of Sports Illustrated, did not survive the crash. Could have been a nightmare, '' Cindy Dutton remembers 1946/47, the Salem roars. His wife, Dorrie no one had to twist Bob Sweikerts arm to race at.... 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