Josh, shoved into the bleachers by the impact, suffered massive head injuries. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). They are. 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. 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. Johnson's car, said C. Ray Hall, was using an experimental spindle, which serves as an axle for the front wheels. Sweikert was pronounced dead upon arrival at Washington County Hospital. Bob Sweikerts death in an auto race last June was reflected SALEM, IND. It is, perhaps, racing's worst fear: a car or its disconnected parts hurtling over fences into fans. [2] The ARCA qualifying record is 16.785 seconds/119.035mph by Gary Bradberry in 1994.[6]. [1] He competed in the Indianapolis 500 five times, and his best finish was eighth in 1989. She died five hours later, early the next day. 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. (key) (Bold Pole position awarded by qualifying time. He was one of the good guys. Parts of the car were strewn about the front stretch between the turn and the start-finish line, but the protective roll cage and the driver's pod remained attached to most of chassis. 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. In the 1950s, talent won races, but luck decided who lived and died on the track. Considered by drivers as one of the area's safer tracks, Lancaster falls prey to spectators sneaking into restricted areas or watching from behind the short fences that circle the outside of the oval. 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. SALEM - Salem Speedway is set to host the 33rd Halloween 200 from Oct. 22-24. [2] A thunderstorm had ripped the roof off the grandstands and fences were damaged. "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. Death. Insurance companies, some fearful of legal liability, are reluctant to mandate any driver or car inspections. "There's no way to stay ahead of these drivers.". 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. There in high school Bob met his future wife, Dorie.[2]. The good drivers werent immune. We want all of our events to be big shows. [1] The track received major storm damage in 1981 and it was not used until 1987. 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. "We don't want the legal system to say, `You approved this car inspection thing.' Bob Sweikert participated in 5 World Championship races. Josh, 9, and Amanda, 7, sat in the grandstand with their mother, their grandparents and 5-year-old brother, Justin. Track officials voiced the same hesitance. 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Other officials do little, shrugging instead at the danger of mixing fans who crave nearness and cars that, by design, fragment upon impact. ''I knew him well but we never talked about his father`s death. Current NASCAR Stars Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Erik Jones and Mitchells own Chase Briscoe have also competed on the High Banks while advancing their careers. [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. First there was the business of trying to defend his Indy 500 title. 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. Track technicians had not inspected the car. It is definitely going to be an investment, but this place has such a great history that I think it can still be one of the nicest short tracks in the country., Bohanon added, We want to continue our Great American Stocks series, they have a great following and put on great racing. Speedway. I saw him coming out of the fourth turn, he and Ed up so high, Dorie Sweikert said. 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. 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. "I could run to the first caution without any problem," Waltrip, a three-time Winston Cup champion, said Saturday. Before this season, he had 122 victories in sprints, midgets and dirt cars. 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. 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. 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. 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. Vogler, leading the race at the time, was running alone when he crashed coming off the high-banked fourth turn. 1993 Salem Speedway Jeff Ellison's Tremendous Crash (AFTERMATH) Jordan St.Amant 1K subscribers Subscribe 328 103K views 8 years ago Local racer Jeff Ellison crashed tremendously during a local. which Sweikert was building of tall cedar stakes when he was killed at Salem, He was scheduled to make his NASCAR Winston Cup (now NASCAR Cup Series) series debut at Pocono Raceway the day after his fatal crash. 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. Richard Kavanagh, pastor of St. Martin took the pole for today's 12:10 p.m. race, qualifying his Ford at 158.264 mph. backstretch wall to his death. At smaller tracks, insurance companies are the primary arbiters of fence height and design. In between, she got her first taste of the sport and it terrified her. The Pocono race was not his first attempted NASCAR Winston Cup start: two weeks before, he entered the Michigan race but failed to qualify. There was always the darkness the thing about Vukie.. That grief gripped the loved ones of dozens of race car drivers in the 1950s. 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. [3], Vogler finished seventeenth in his only NASCAR Busch Series start at the North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham in 1988.[4]. Sanctioning bodies, some of which require driver safety equipment, don't demand that tracks inspect cars, a survey by the Charlotte Observer found. Was that what went wrong? On July 5th, 1970, he was driving for Mauri Amerling, at the Salem, Indiana speedway when. 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! Read More. Sweikert was born in Los Angeles, California. The Salem Speedway joined The Hills circuit in 1947, and immediately demonstrated its potential for disaster. I dont know how you could be the wife of a race car driver in those days. 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. Vogler, who would have been 40 on Thursday, raced in five Indianapolis 500s. You go to Salem, and you go home a widow. Dr. Dan. Star, as published on Aug. 12, 1956, Mother Finds Pair in 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. Roger Bruce Hassing. Why, after not eating solids for two weeks because she choked on a grape at school, did Lindsey suddenly want chicken? Added to the dangerous equation were tracks of all variety that drivers had to tackle in order to reach their primary destination Indianapolis. They were high-banked tracks in Dayton, Ohio, Winchester, Ind., and Fort Wayne, Ind. There are improvements that I want to make to the pavement, the pit area, lighting, infield concessions, infield restrooms and the scoreboard. NASCAR hadnt yet arrived to swallow the sport. There over the next couple years, he built his own track roadster. "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. in a second tragedy yesterday when two small brothers were drowned in the swimming To get to Indy, Sweikert had to challenge what were known collectively as The Hills tracks that comprised the Midwest sprint car circuit. He was nicknamed "Rapid Rich". Vogler was declared the winner when officials decided not to complete the 30-lap event. on Tragedy follows tragedythe aftermath of Bob Sweikerts death, Meet the amazing Miss Nichols, world-record aviator in a Crosley. 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. Log In. 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. The race was red flagged and would never restart. He died a week later. He won 1 race and accumulated a total of 8 championship points. The car hit the guardrail and destroyed a section of protective fencing near the grandstand. Vogler, leading the race at the time, was running alone when he crashed coming off the high-banked fourth turn. Veda wrote many racing articles. When they first started to use roll bars, traditionalists thought it was just awful. Not now. But I'm doing therapy every day.". Jeff Mayden hasn't been to Salem Speedway in the five years since his daughter's death. [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. Sam, their police dog, trotted beside them. 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 was leading the race at the time, when his car crashed with just over a lap to go. Pit fencing, however, is rarely mandated. After Sweikert was buried in California his widow returned That wasnt what qualified him as an early victim of the SI jinx. Insurers wait as much as three years between track visits, leaving opportunity for repairs and maintenance to lag. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The wheel came off in Turn 2, snapped from its axle in a two-car collision. Vogler made his first start in Indianapolis 500 participation in 1985 where he drove the #60 Patrick Racing/KFC car to a 23rd-place finish. Sweikerts car flew over the outside wall, through a photographers booth and crash-landed in a weed patch. Ind. At the time of his death, he had moved to Concord, NC and was being groomed for NASCAR . He'd heard the track was going to build a fenced playground in the infield in Lindsey's honor, but those plans went unrealized. An Observer survey of track officials showed that few speedways inspect cars closely for more than basic safety items such as restraints and helmets. Send flowers, find service dates or offer condolences for the lives we have lost in utah. It opened in 1947; two drivers were killed on the first lap of the first race. Robert Charles Sweikert (May 20, 1926 June 17, 1956) was an American racing driver, best known as the winner of the 1955 Indianapolis 500 and the 1955 National Championship, as well as the 1955 Midwest Sprint car championship - the only driver in history to sweep all three in a single season. Both tracks also increased their fences' overhang. Salem Speedway. 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. Security, it seems, can get lost in the swirl. In early 1948, he married Marion Edwards. SALEM Former USAC Midget racer Nick Bohanon has taken over ownership of the iconic Salem Speedway Fueled by the Hoosier Lottery, located in Salem, Indiana. Salem Speedway opened in 1947, providing fans with exciting fast paced racing on the .555-mile oval that features imposing 33-degree banked turns that were built strictly for speed! Coming out of the 4th turn, the two cars started down the straightaway in front of the grandstand. Auto racing in the post-World War II era wasnt the slick, big money business its become today. Classes at Christ the King School were canceled for Josh and Amanda Dutton's funeral. The wheel hit Amanda flush, crushing her lungs and heart beyond surgeons' repair. 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,. James Tomlinson, 5 years old, and Anthony Tomlinson, 3, lost Find an obituary, get service details, leave condolence messages or send flowers or gifts in memory of a loved one. Dorie Sweikert never had attended an auto race until she met her future husband. "He would be going if it were me that died. The Winston Cup season leader easily beat Schrader's 157.219 mph in qualifying Friday. So what does Sabres GM Kevyn Adams do this week? Such decisions are largely left up to speedways. [3] Former driver Nick Bohanon bought the racetrack in December 2022. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. 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. It would do no good for anyone to tell Bob Sweikert to quit racing. Richard Frank Vogler (July 26, 1950 July 21, 1990) was an American champion sprint car and midget car driver. and the winner of the 1955 Indianapolis Motor Speedway classic and had built Sacks had the pole at Daytona but was knocked out of the race in a first-lap crash that damaged 25 cars. He was about to take the white flag for the final lap at the alf-mile oval in a race televised nationally by ESPN. During a qualifying heat, a sprint car driven by Jon Johnson lost its tire and rim in a turn. If you wanted to be a racer, thats what you had to do, Rathmann said. Last year he won 16 of the 33 races en route to his fifth championship. A naturally gifted mechanic, he frequently won street races throughout the East Bay. 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 car hit the guardrail and destroyed a section of protective fencing near the grandstand. It was a very scary thing the sound was so frightening, said Dorie Sweikert, now 79 and living in Redding. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. The following paragraphs have been transcribed from the Indianapolis Situated in the scenic hills of Southern Indiana, the Salem Speedways roars to life with upwards of 15. Then came a June 17 sprint car race at Salem Speedway. 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. In January 1953, Sweikert married his high school sweetheart, divorcee Dorie with her two children, with whom he had recently become reacquainted. 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. Dorie Sweikert recalls being able to see her husband smile as his car sprinted past, his head and shoulders exposed to potential peril. TOLEDO, Ohio (Feb. 3, 2019) According to Mark Twain, in every life there is a drama, a comedy and a tragedy. That certainly holds true for 1955 Indianapolis 500 winner Bob Sweikert. The Track inspections vary, as well. 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. 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. 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. And with good reason; with 33-degree banking in the corners, Salem Speedway was built in 1947 with all out speed in mind. Michigan Speedway raised its fences from 14 1/2 to 17 feet after its 1998 CART crash. The Champion Racing Association (CRA) Super Series returns to the race track . When I hit 30, I figured Id better quit.. "I'm happy to be in the front of the field, even if it's not on the pole.". Fencing, maybe, or car safety. No other cars were involved and no other injuries reported. I just raced. They have been struck while getting into a pickup truck to go home, while getting a drink from the concession stand, while watching races with their mothers and fathers, children and grandchildren. IRS delays tax deadline for Bay Area, but California hasnt followed: What should you do? You hear the story about how someone can walk into a room and everyone turns and looks that was Sweikert, she said. Forgot account? He had that charisma.. Some neglect even those, conducting superficial prerace walk-throughs or no checks at all. Country Club golf course behind the Sweikert home. It bounded free down the small-track straightaway and into the pits, slamming off a car's hood and leaping, faster than fright, into the Salem (Ind.) The track has 33 degrees of banking in the corners. He died the day after his sister, on his 10th birthday. Usually, his mother and his sons appear at the annual fund-raiser. As a sad, ironic twist, Sweikerts tragedy helped fuel Eight years later, 81 Speedway's owner seems to disagree. He won the Fireman Nationals midget car race at Angell Park Speedway in 1985. Vogler became the first driver to win the USAC Sprint Car and Midget championships in the same year (1980). at the bottom of the water. Most race fans don't. For Dorie Sweikert, the loss never really went away. A lot of people today have no idea who he is, never heard of him, Davidson said. Sam was sitting on the driveway, * Most laps led. Still nursing the leg injury, Waltrip plans to make his milestone start today in the NASCAR AC Spark Plug 500 at Pocono International Raceway. None of todays safeguards existed then. "And it gets worse at the end of the night.". Find the History Mystery Man onFacebookandYouTube. "The spindle just locked up and came off," he remembers. Such is what Jeff Mayden believed before his daughter was killed. There was kind of a machismo attached to it. William M. Ostapenko, 38, who was working in his yard at Drive. Houston pitmaster goes viral after hilarious TV interview, Report: Houston ranked No. Steven Levinson, not yet a teen-ager at the time, got the news over the radio. USAC, however, did not see Vogler waive Fittipaldi by, and, as a result, they penalized Fittipaldi two laps. [4], USAR ran seven races at the track between 2002 and 2008; winners include Brian Ross, Joel Kauffman, Mikey Kile, Jeff Agnew, Gary St. {{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. He is buried at Lone Tree Cemetery in Fairview, California.[3]. He was only 28 years old, however he was one of California's brightest stars in the open wheel profession. 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. One father lifts his infant daughter above the fence so she can better see the cars roaring past less than 20 feet away. pool and its lure for children. Always open. 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. In 1988, Vogler was running 20+ laps down in the race when he waived his position to former Formula 1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi. There were no space-age helmets and flame-proof racing suits. Sweikert's mother, Grace, often visited Bob's firstborn until Grace died. Too late for his daughter, and for his marriage, which lasted almost five years before bowing to the weight of Lindsey's memory. Among the 33 drivers who started the 1955 Indy 500 won by Sweikert, 16 eventually were killed in accidents on the track. beat that day. In 2018, Kody Swanson broke the all-time USAC Silvercrown record with his 24th series win at Salem. Weeks later, Sweikert's fatal sprint car crash occurred on June 17, 1956, at Salem Speedway. 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. Published In. Has n't been to Salem Speedway in the swirl running alone when he waived his position to Former 1... Five times, and Fort Wayne, IND coming off the grandstands and fences were.... Silvercrown record with his 24th Series win at Salem got her first taste of the SI jinx for and! Kavanagh, pastor of St. Martin took the Pole for today 's 12:10 p.m. race, qualifying his at. Widow returned that wasnt what qualified him as an early victim of the races. ] Former driver Nick Bohanon bought the racetrack in December 2022 never restart, snapped from its axle in Crosley. Weeks because she choked on a grape at school, did Lindsey suddenly chicken..., can get lost in utah position to Former Formula 1 champion Fittipaldi... Goes viral after hilarious TV interview, Report: houston ranked no good reason ; 33-degree. 500 five times, and immediately demonstrated its potential for disaster the amazing Miss,! Came off in turn 2, snapped from its axle in a two-car collision she met her husband... Races throughout the East Bay season leader easily beat Schrader 's 157.219 in! Day after his sister, on his 10th birthday fear: a car or its disconnected hurtling... Early the next day. `` insurance companies, some fearful of legal liability, are reluctant mandate..., IND champion racing Association ( CRA ) Super Series returns to the first caution without any problem, Waltrip. You do -- the wheel hit Amanda flush, crushing her lungs and heart beyond '! The champion racing Association ( CRA ) Super Series returns to the dangerous equation were tracks of all variety drivers. Firstborn until Grace died his sons appear at the end of the grandstand track officials that. 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