their lives while wading in the pool behind Sweikerts house at 5301 Lancelot Forgot account? [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. 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. Perhaps in part because Bob Sweikert refused to accept fear, Dorie convinced herself he was safe from harm. "When it came down, it came down on us.". Among the 33 drivers who started the 1955 Indy 500 won by Sweikert, 16 eventually were killed in accidents on the track. Country Club golf course behind the Sweikert home. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Learn how your comment data is processed. Father Kavanagh, their parish Donald Davidson, historian for the Indianapolis 500, said Sweikert is highly regarded among those familiar with the sports heritage. the 25-by-12 pool with prideful anticipation. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The wheel came off in Turn 2, snapped from its axle in a two-car collision. One day I just said, OK, and I wrote it., Dorie doesnt blame anyone for Sweikerts 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. From The Third Turn, an online resource for all news and results stock car racing. [3] Former driver Nick Bohanon bought the racetrack in December 2022. She figures it was a combination of factors, but mostly this: It was Bobs time to die, and he died.. As the field favorite going for his third consecutive Mrs. Tomlinson ran behind the Sweikert house. 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.) Gil was a popular Cincinnati, Ohio driver who ran regularly in the area before joining the United States Auto Club sprint car circuit. He'd heard the track was going to build a fenced playground in the infield in Lindsey's honor, but those plans went unrealized. This event be an action packed weekend full of racing and fun. 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. 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. She died five hours later, early the next day. There are improvements that I want to make to the pavement, the pit area, lighting, infield concessions, infield restrooms and the scoreboard. Was that what went wrong? 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. Washington Township volunteer firemen and an Indianapolis fire department Sheriff Robert A. ONeal ordered the pool be drained. 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. Sweikert was pronounced dead upon arrival at Washington County Hospital. Lindsey, who wanted to be a veterinarian and a midget car racer. 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. The bodies were taken to the Conkle West 16th 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. Before this season, he had 122 victories in sprints, midgets and dirt cars. Speedway infield. pool and its lure for children. At their funeral, the Rev. Always open. They are. The tire hit a concrete barrier in front of the grandstand. He would have raced, anyway.. Find the History Mystery Man onFacebookandYouTube. [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. Auto racing in the post-World War II era wasnt the slick, big money business its become today. 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He ran seventy-two races that first BCRA season, finishing 14th out of 130 active members in the annual point standings. 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. [1] Don Gettelfinger Sr. bought the track in 1987 and he replaced the fence with concrete. A few races were canceled afterward, and there were calls from some quarters to ban the sport. I know that sounds corny, but thats the way it was. The .555-Mile oval that features imposing 33-degree banked turns was built strictly for speed. Italics Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. and the winner of the 1955 Indianapolis Motor Speedway classic and had built left their home at 5241 Will Scarlett Lane, a block from the Sweikert home, for Send flowers, find service dates or offer condolences for the lives we have lost in utah. 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. It was completed about the time Then came a June 17 sprint car race at Salem Speedway. 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. NASCAR hadnt yet arrived to swallow the sport. 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. Now his dream was not just to win Indy, but to be the best in the world. 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: 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. 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. Dr. Dan. They were dangerous beyond belief, Levinson wrote in an online article for Autoracing1.com. There were exciting, happy, even playful moments, she said. 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. RACE CAR driver Bob Sweikert celebrates his win in the 1955Indianapolis 500 with his wife, Dorrie. 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. We want all of our events to be big shows. Bob Sweikert participated in 5 World Championship races. The Champion Racing Association (CRA) Super Series returns to the race track . A grim reminder of the darkness of the board-track era of the 1920s. Lindsey took to cars with the same fervor. 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. Find an obituary, get service details, leave condolence messages or send flowers or gifts in memory of a loved one. Fifty years later, her memories of those days paint a picture of the entire experience. Usually, his mother and his sons appear at the annual fund-raiser. She is one of 29 spectators since 1990 to be killed by cars or their flying parts at U.S. auto racing events. "My stamina's not what it should be. You could still light them on fire, said Rathmann, 79, the oldest living Indy 500 winner. Dorie recalled thinking he was the most handsome young man shed ever seen. "I could run to the first caution without any problem," Waltrip, a three-time Winston Cup champion, said Saturday. Salem Speedway. Street Funeral Home. They were high-banked tracks in Dayton, Ohio, Winchester, Ind., and Fort Wayne, Ind. Still nursing the leg injury, Waltrip plans to make his milestone start today in the NASCAR AC Spark Plug 500 at Pocono International Raceway. "We don't do checks before races," says Hall. Not all would race The Hills. Six-time Indy 500 entrant Jimmy Reece refused, calling it the idiot circuit., For most drivers, the Midwest sprint car series was a necessary proving ground. hunting for them, to call them to supper. In addition to his five midget titles, Vogler won the national sprint car title in 1980 and 1989. [1] In 1987 he won the inaugural Chili Bowl Midget Nationals race. Obituary Pam Williams, age 65, of Salem passed away Tuesday, November 22, 2022 at Kindred Hospital Central in Indianapolis. This page was last edited on 23 December 2014, at 08:46. His parents, Foster R Hess and Sarah Ethel Davis were married in Sullivan County, TN in 1928. 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. Such indifference to safety is a concern to track officials everywhere. Why, after not eating solids for two weeks because she choked on a grape at school, did Lindsey suddenly want chicken? "I'm happy to be in the front of the field, even if it's not on the pole.". In late 1952 his first wife, Marion, started divorce proceedings. He is tied with Pat Flaherty for the record of the driver with the fewest points to have won a race. Saturday's sponsor is Crosleybrands.com. One father lifts his infant daughter above the fence so she can better see the cars roaring past less than 20 feet away. 4.3 out of 5 stars. Drive. 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,. The result is something of a chaotic feel: fights in the pits, fans rushing in noisy scrums to watch. A good Sunday was when every driver cheated death and went home alive.. Situated in the scenic hills of Southern Indiana, the Salem Speedways roars to life with upwards of 15. Some tracks, after tragedies, raise fence heights or beef up security and car inspections. They settled in Indiana, to be close to the Speedway where Sweikert hoped to race and win. During 1947 Sweikert began mailing monthly accounts of his life to Veda Orr, through April 1956. The same year, Sweikert moved up to midget cars, and won his first training race with the Bay Cities Racing Association. In January 1953, Sweikert married his high school sweetheart, divorcee Dorie with her two children, with whom he had recently become reacquainted. Now, he says softly, he doesn't know. He was scheduled to make his NASCAR Winston Cup (now NASCAR Cup Series) series debut at Pocono Raceway the day after his fatal crash. An Observer survey of track officials showed that few speedways inspect cars closely for more than basic safety items such as restraints and helmets. 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. That grief gripped the loved ones of dozens of race car drivers in the 1950s. The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Sacks, who will start third on today behind Mark Martin and Ken Schrader, ran a strong seventh here in June after leading late in the race. office. He was leading the race at the time, when his car crashed with just over a lap to go. The Salem Speedway joined The Hills circuit in 1947, and immediately demonstrated its potential for disaster. It was a very scary thing the sound was so frightening, said Dorie Sweikert, now 79 and living in Redding. 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. There in high school Bob met his future wife, Dorie.[2]. The challenge for speedway owners: How do you balance the counterweights of safety and intimacy? The following paragraphs have been transcribed from the Indianapolis The other thing that was really noteworthy about him is most drivers then were hands-on, technically, but he more than most. For over 65 years Salem Speedway has enjoyed the recognition of being one of the most unique and renowned racetracks in America. [2] A thunderstorm had ripped the roof off the grandstands and fences were damaged. I had a deep spiritual belief that got me through that. They entered the pool area through a gap in the high fence Sixteen have been killed in grandstands and bleachers, nine in pit and infield areas, one leaning against a track fence, another sitting on his vehicle at the end of a drag strip. "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. But I'm doing therapy every day.". Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. His 134 wins (95 Midget, 35 Sprint, and four Silver Crown wins) in national events is second only to A. J. Foyt's 169. Vogler became the first driver to win the USAC Sprint Car and Midget championships in the same year (1980). That was your job. of his death. "The spindle just locked up and came off," he remembers. Speedway. Sweikert and his wife, Dolores, were the parents of four children In late 1944, Sweikert enrolled in the US Army Air Force, but suffered a severe knee injury while training at Lowry Field in Colorado. Weeks later, Sweikert's fatal sprint car crash occurred on June 17, 1956, at Salem Speedway. Ind. Dorie Sweikert recalls being able to see her husband smile as his car sprinted past, his head and shoulders exposed to potential peril. Track officials voiced the same hesitance. Michaels Catholic Church, arrived and gave last rites. As Baker left his seat for a drink from the concession stand, a wheel came loose from a car on the track. "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. 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. The engine came out of the thing the wheels were off the car disintegrated like nothing Id ever seen. Sweikerts car flew over the outside wall, through a photographers booth and crash-landed in a weed patch. She never saw danger coming. "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. Both tracks also increased their fences' overhang. The boys, only sons of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Tomlinson, had It will be a process of getting those done over the next several years. [1] The track received major storm damage in 1981 and it was not used until 1987. He was nicknamed "Rapid Rich". Morris Settles pronounced the boys dead. 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. A naturally gifted mechanic, he frequently won street races throughout the East Bay. [1][3] Vogler had 170 total USAC wins, and won over 200 "outlaw" (non-USAC) midget races. 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. Sweikert was thrown from the car and was pronounced dead of head injuries upon arrival at Washington County Hospital. You just couldnt be afraid all the time.. 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