Street, and Edward Karsch, 3470 North Meridian Street, who were on the Broadmoor So what does Sabres GM Kevyn Adams do this week? left their home at 5241 Will Scarlett Lane, a block from the Sweikert home, for Sweikert was born in Los Angeles, California. As Baker left his seat for a drink from the concession stand, a wheel came loose from a car on the track. "There's no way to stay ahead of these drivers.". [4], The ASA National Tour ran six races at the track, from 1998 through 2003 and the winners were Scott Hansen (twice), David Stremme, Tim Sauter, Gary St. Amant and Robbie Pyle. Richard Kavanagh, pastor of St. 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.) "And it gets worse at the end of the night.". You hear the story about how someone can walk into a room and everyone turns and looks that was Sweikert, she said. Security, it seems, can get lost in the swirl. Country Club golf course behind the Sweikert home. The series has visited Salem more than any other track in its almost 70-year history. Lindsey, who wanted to be a veterinarian and a midget car racer. . After a complicated, sometimes off-and-on courtship, they were married in 1953. In the winner's circle, Sweikert and Dorie celebrated with singer-actress Dinah Shore. Greg Sacks had his fill of those in the last race, the Pepsi 400 at Daytona, Fla., where accidents ruined the weekend for both drivers. But I'm doing therapy every day.". 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. A grim reminder of the darkness of the board-track era of the 1920s. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Published In. You just couldnt be afraid all the time.. Such is what Jeff Mayden believed before his daughter was killed. From The Third Turn, an online resource for all news and results stock car racing. January 22, 2023 (76 years old) View obituary. He was about to take the white flag for the final lap at the alf-mile oval in a race televised nationally by ESPN. ), 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. "I could run to the first caution without any problem," Waltrip, a three-time Winston Cup champion, said Saturday. Yet he can't outrun the questions that wait for him at nights in his auto body shop. their lives while wading in the pool behind Sweikerts house at 5301 Lancelot If hed come along a half-century later, Bob Sweikert might have been that lucky young driver. Death. pool and its lure for children. 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: Layton, Utah. 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. 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. The Indianapolis native raced in five Indianapolis 500s. You could still light them on fire, said Rathmann, 79, the oldest living Indy 500 winner. If you are experiencing difficulties logging in or are a subscriber getting a paywall, please try one or more of the following steps. Keep reading with unlimited digital access. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Clipping found in The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky on Jul 25, 1949. None of todays safeguards existed then. (key) (Bold Pole position awarded by qualifying time. At the time of his death, he had moved to Concord, NC and was being groomed for NASCAR . 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. SALEM, IND. 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. During most of his IndyCar tenure he was sponsored by KFC, whom he had a longtime professional relationship with. 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. But Dorie didnt believe it would happen to Sweikert. There were exciting, happy, even playful moments, she said. "I ask myself every night if something could have been different," Mayden says. Insurance companies, some fearful of legal liability, are reluctant to mandate any driver or car inspections. But there are those who think he adapted to the track as well as anybody. The Salem Speedway joined The Hills circuit in 1947, and immediately demonstrated its potential for disaster. Forgot account? The tire struck Lindsey Mayden, 7 years old. On the first lap of the first race held at Salem, on June 22, 1947, Clay Corbitt locked wheels with Jack Schultz, went over the banking and was killed. After 1949 Sweikert became close friends with Johnny Boyd of Fresno, California when he met him on the California racing circuit. Saturday's sponsor is Crosleybrands.com. * Most laps led. I wanted what he wanted, she said. "Fans are their own worst enemy," says Dickie Gore, owner of Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, Va. "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. 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. Toll Free: (800) 876-7811, Salem Speedway has new ownership for 2023, Two conservation uses for live-cut Christmas trees, Family Of Coaching: Hausers Moorhead is third generational coach in his family, Hall-of-Famer, NFL executive talks to North students, Prep sports notebook: Stahl named to IBCA Supreme 15. Mrs. Tomlinson ran behind the Sweikert house. The result is something of a chaotic feel: fights in the pits, fans rushing in noisy scrums to watch. Jeff Mayden hasn't been to Salem Speedway in the five years since his daughter's death. Sweikerts car flew over the outside wall, through a photographers booth and crash-landed in a weed patch. 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! It is too late, he thinks. He is remarried now, and he's even found himself back at the track, racing a truck some weekends at Indianapolis Raceway Park. 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. Weeks later, Sweikert's fatal sprint car crash occurred on June 17, 1956, at Salem Speedway. The tragedy brought complaints from neighbors about the open He said, I still cant relax. He said this was just one race. Their shoes where on the pools rim. 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. beat that day. Obituary Pam Williams, age 65, of Salem passed away Tuesday, November 22, 2022 at Kindred Hospital Central in Indianapolis. Bohanon, a Southern Indiana. Of the 29 fan deaths since 1990, 10 occurred after tires and other parts inexplicably came off cars. In late 1952 his first wife, Marion, started divorce proceedings. "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. Find an obituary, get service details, leave condolence messages or send flowers or gifts in memory of a loved one. Bohanon, a Southern Indiana native, has raced on the famous High Banks of Salem Speedway and looks forward to shaping the tracks future. "I still love to go to races," Cynthia says now. It had been there in my head and in my heart for a long time, she said. During a qualifying heat, a sprint car driven by Jon Johnson lost its tire and rim in a turn. He was leading the race at the time, when his car crashed with just over a lap to go. backstretch wall to his death. Ind. 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. Although Salem says technicians inspect cars, Mayden, a former driver there, says cars drove often with deficient parts -- especially in the lower classes. 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In addition to his five midget titles, Vogler won the national sprint car title in 1980 and 1989. Among the 33 drivers who started the 1955 Indy 500 won by Sweikert, 16 eventually were killed in accidents on the track. 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. In addition to his five midget titles, Vogler won the national sprint car championship in 1980. 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. She figures it was a combination of factors, but mostly this: It was Bobs time to die, and he died.. waiting patiently for the boys. Vogler's helmet flew off his head and he suffered severe head injuries that proved to be fatal. 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. In 2018, Kody Swanson broke the all-time USAC Silvercrown record with his 24th series win at Salem. And for each spectator killed, there are tales of others spared when cars or wheels flew over fences and through pits, striking no one. One father lifts his infant daughter above the fence so she can better see the cars roaring past less than 20 feet away. Both tracks also increased their fences' overhang. Then came a June 17 sprint car race at Salem Speedway. another. [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. 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