Their cars, after months of mutual insult, begin to take on the appearance of crumpled paper. Ostapenko and Karsch removed the boys from the water. Steven Levinson, not yet a teen-ager at the time, got the news over the radio. * Most laps led. Johnson's car, said C. Ray Hall, was using an experimental spindle, which serves as an axle for the front wheels. 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. "It kind of catapulted into the sky," Cindy Dutton remembers. Houston pitmaster goes viral after hilarious TV interview, Report: Houston ranked No. 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. 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. Gil was a popular Cincinnati, Ohio driver who ran regularly in the area before joining the United States Auto Club sprint car circuit. Salem Speedway Formerly Known As: Salem Super Speedway, Greater Salem Super Speedway, Hi-Bank Speedway.555 mi./0.893 km. 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 winner. which Sweikert was building of tall cedar stakes when he was killed at Salem, He said, I still cant relax. He said this was just one race. 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. 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. 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. Other tracks have taken a similarly reactive approach to tragedy. He actually maintained his sprint car, even after he won (Indy).. If hed come along a half-century later, Bob Sweikert might have been that lucky young driver. Pit fencing, however, is rarely mandated. Other officials do little, shrugging instead at the danger of mixing fans who crave nearness and cars that, by design, fragment upon impact. After Sweikert was buried in California his widow returned Fencing, maybe, or car safety. Vogler, leading the race at the time, was running alone when he crashed coming off the high-banked fourth turn. They were joined by Myron Weinberger, 221 East 70th You have permission to edit this article. Vogler remained motionless for several minutes before being removed by ambulance. Star, as published on Aug. 12, 1956, Mother Finds Pair in At smaller tracks, insurance companies are the primary arbiters of fence height and design. 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. Track officials voiced the same hesitance. When I hit 30, I figured Id better quit.. 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. He was scheduled to make his NASCAR Winston Cup (now NASCAR Cup Series) series debut at Pocono Raceway the day after his fatal crash. Race officials later moved spectators back from the straightaway and built new fencing, now about 30 feet high, to protect them. 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. 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. There in high school Bob met his future wife, Dorie.[2]. ), 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. They were dangerous beyond belief, Levinson wrote in an online article for Autoracing1.com. February 27, 2023 (100 years old) View obituary. Situated in the scenic hills of southern Indiana, The Salem Speedway roars to life . She went back to California She never saw danger coming. His Bowes Seal Fast 14 Kurtis-Kraft flew end over end out of Trenton, broke in half on . At the time, Vogler was scheduled to run the full Winston Cup Series in the near-future for U.S. 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. For Dorie Sweikert, the loss never really went away. [1] Don Gettelfinger Sr. bought the track in 1987 and he replaced the fence with concrete. SALEM, IND. Carol Ann Williams. The wheel, witnesses would say later, bounced through the unrepaired hole in the fence, then struck Baker above his right eye. It was completed about the time at the bottom of the water. [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. He entered at the 32nd starting position and ran for 77 laps in the McNamara Special car. Classes at Christ the King School were canceled for Josh and Amanda Dutton's funeral. Before this season, he had 122 victories in sprints, midgets and dirt cars. "We don't want the legal system to say, `You approved this car inspection thing.' Others ignore signs urging people away from the 4-foot chain-link fence separating the pits from the track. On the morning of his June 17 race at Salem, Dorie Sweikert recalled her husband complaining his car wasnt handling quite right. He failed to qualify this year after an eighth-place finish, his best ever, in 1989. High powered sprint cars accelerate down the straights at speeds reaching nearly 140 miles per hour. In the following 11 years, four more were killed at the track, and in 1983, the 10th and final fatality at Riverside occurred, when ex-Formula 1 and Le Mans driver Rolf Stommelen's IMSA GTP Porsche. RACE CAR driver Bob Sweikert celebrates his win in the 1955Indianapolis 500 with his wife, Dorrie. They entered the pool area through a gap in the high fence About See All. 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. He was nicknamed "Rapid Rich". On February 12, 1949 Sweikert won the first BCRA Indoor Midget Race Track championship, in Oakland, on the new 1/12 mile oval track. their lives while wading in the pool behind Sweikerts house at 5301 Lancelot Why did Lindsey want to sit in the infield that night instead of Turn 1 or 2, where she and mother always sat? It would do no good for anyone to tell Bob Sweikert to quit racing. When they first started to use roll bars, traditionalists thought it was just awful. 1949_07_25 -2 Drivers Killed at Salem Speedway- Louisville Courier-Journal pg 1 (1 of 2) 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 car hit the guardrail and destroyed a section of protective fencing near the grandstand. Born March 10, 1957. Most race fans don't. The following paragraphs have been transcribed from the Indianapolis The event at one of the iconic short tracks in the county is being . 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. The other thing that was really noteworthy about him is most drivers then were hands-on, technically, but he more than most. Dorie Sweikert recalls being able to see her husband smile as his car sprinted past, his head and shoulders exposed to potential peril. On Memorial Day, May 26, 1947 Sweikert ran his first race for prize money at the Oakland Speedway, and finished second. "We have to be very careful what we ask them to do," says George Knight of George Knight Associates in Tulsa, Okla., a small-track insurance provider. Track technicians had not inspected the car. Your email address will not be published. They are. 1 most stressful city for U.S. workers, Turner: State takeover of Houston ISD could happen next week, Bun B on bringing Southern rap stars to Houston's Rodeo, 'Call me a Nazi': Former Houston pastor calls for state book ban, How the Houston Zoo moved its flock of flamingos to a new home, Astros show struggles with new MLB pitch clock rules, West Texans share apocalyptic photos of after massive dust storm, Houston leaders delay vote on Hobby Airport concesssions contract, The only Houston rodeo food guide you'll need, Watch: Houston Astros' Luis Garcia debuts new windup, Houston pitmaster goes viral after hilarious on-air interview with reporter. 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. The tire struck Lindsey Mayden, 7 years old. Weeks later, Sweikert's fatal sprint car crash occurred on June 17, 1956, at Salem Speedway. 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. Community See All. tragedy after two-time 500 winner Bill Vukovich cartwheeled over the The .555-mile oval that features imposing 33-degree banks was built strictly for speed. to Indianapolis and listed the house for sale. ''They were both at the track practicing. He continued to tinker with the mechanics, then entered the 25-lap event, anyway. 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. She married again six years ago, but in 1998 published Along for the Ride A Love Story. The book is a personal, poignant and sometimes painful look back on her time with Bob Sweikert. Sam, their police dog, trotted beside them. The same year, Sweikert moved up to midget cars, and won his first training race with the Bay Cities Racing Association. 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. I never talked about how brave I was. The fencing had been laid in position on the ground and Sweikert 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. 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. Sweikert himself took the checkers at Indy in the face of In late 1944, Sweikert enrolled in the US Army Air Force, but suffered a severe knee injury while training at Lowry Field in Colorado. 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. Father Kavanagh, their parish More often, like Lindsey Mayden, spectators die with less publicity at smaller ovals and asphalt drag strips on Friday and Saturday nights. When Vogler got word of Fittipaldi's penalty, he went up to USAC to testify for him, calling the penalty "unjust." For over 65 years Salem Speedway has enjoyed the recognition of being one of the most unique and renowned racetracks in America. three weeks ago to make her home. [1], Bob Sweikert grew up in pre-war Los Angeles. 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! This was his 170th win. "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. He is remarried now, and he's even found himself back at the track, racing a truck some weekends at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Send comments to [emailprotected]. It had been there in my head and in my heart for a long time, she said. Forgot account? 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. Hit the guardrail and destroyed a section of protective fencing near the grandstand the most unique and racetracks. Vogler was scheduled to run the full Winston Cup Series in the high fence See! 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