Sweikert finished sixth at Indianapolis the following May, but then died weeks later, at age 30, in 1956 after crashing a Sprint car at Salem Speedway. But I'm doing therapy every day.". Sam was sitting on the driveway, You could still light them on fire, said Rathmann, 79, the oldest living Indy 500 winner. Find the History Mystery Man on social media! Richard Frank Vogler (July 26, 1950 July 21, 1990) was an American champion sprint car and midget car driver. Lindsey took to cars with the same fervor. Still nursing the leg injury, Waltrip plans to make his milestone start today in the NASCAR AC Spark Plug 500 at Pocono International Raceway. 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. He was one of the good guys. office. Learn how your comment data is processed. Mrs. Sweikerts last order before leaving Indianapolis, the neighbors said, was that the fence be completed at once. Racing but was replaced posthumously by Ted Musgrave. 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.) 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. 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 is buried at Lone Tree Cemetery in Fairview, California.[3]. None of todays safeguards existed then. 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. "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. [1][3] Vogler had 170 total USAC wins, and won over 200 "outlaw" (non-USAC) midget races. Perhaps in part because Bob Sweikert refused to accept fear, Dorie convinced herself he was safe from harm. One of his frequent local competitors on the streets was Ed Elisian, a teenage boy from nearby Oakland, California. 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. There are improvements that I want to make to the pavement, the pit area, lighting, infield concessions, infield restrooms and the scoreboard. The Pocono race was not his first attempted NASCAR Winston Cup start: two weeks before, he entered the Michigan race but failed to qualify. Carol Ann Williams. 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. Vogler, a native of Glen Ellyn, Ill., who lived in Indianapolis with his wife and three children, was pronounced dead from massive head injuries at Washington County Memorial Hospital, said USAC Vice President Bill Marvel. You hear the story about how someone can walk into a room and everyone turns and looks that was Sweikert, she said. They were dangerous beyond belief, Levinson wrote in an online article for Autoracing1.com. [1] Thompson leased the track to Bill Kniesly starting in 2020. Ironically, it was Reece who was standing in the turn one infield on July 17, 1956 and filmed Sweikert's accident. "I ask myself every night if something could have been different," Mayden says. Washington Township volunteer firemen and an Indianapolis fire department From The Third Turn, an online resource for all news and results stock car racing. No other cars were involved and no other injuries reported. [2] A thunderstorm had ripped the roof off the grandstands and fences were damaged. "There's no way to stay ahead of these drivers.". Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *. That was Bobs favorite of the half-mile tracks, Dorie Sweikert said. "It was," he said, "nobody's fault.". 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. Published In. Find the History Mystery Man onFacebookandYouTube. When Vogler got word of Fittipaldi's penalty, he went up to USAC to testify for him, calling the penalty "unjust." waiting patiently for the boys. SALEM, IND. Not now. 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. Clipping found in The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky on Jul 25, 1949. High powered sprint cars accelerate down the straights at speeds reaching nearly 140 miles per hour. Salem has, however, put up a new fence separating the infield from the pits. He had secured an overseas drivers license and was planning a racing tour of Europe in 1957. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Drive. 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. Sweikert was born in Los Angeles, California. 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. Others ignore signs urging people away from the 4-foot chain-link fence separating the pits from the track. Vogler's helmet flew off his head and he suffered severe head injuries that proved to be fatal. to Indianapolis and listed the house for sale. 1,476 check-ins. "I still love to go to races," Cynthia says now. During most of his IndyCar tenure he was sponsored by KFC, whom he had a longtime professional relationship with. There is also a Team Vogler Classic at the Indianapolis Speedrome. 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. Speedway infield. They were joined by Myron Weinberger, 221 East 70th From age 16 Sweikert worked after school as a mechanic at the local Ford dealership in Hayward. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. 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. Orem, Utah. The event at one of the iconic short tracks in the county is being . 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. It had been there in my head and in my heart for a long time, she said. In May 1956, at his final return to the Indianapolis 500, Sweikert began in the 10th starting position and came in for a 6th-place finish, with the team's D-A Lubricant roadster. They are. Johnson's car, said C. Ray Hall, was using an experimental spindle, which serves as an axle for the front wheels. Yard of Sweikert Home. Weeks later, Sweikert's fatal sprint car crash occurred on June 17, 1956, at Salem Speedway. Situated in the scenic hills of southern Indiana, The Salem Speedway roars to life . There in high school Bob met his future wife, Dorie.[2]. At 5 p.m. their mother, Mrs. Marie Tomlinson, 32, began Nobody covers Columbus, Indiana and the surrounding areas like The Republic. 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. [1] Don Gettelfinger Sr. bought the track in 1987 and he replaced the fence with concrete. He would have raced, anyway.. Father Kavanagh, their parish In 2018, Kody Swanson broke the all-time USAC Silvercrown record with his 24th series win at Salem. Log In. [4], USAR ran seven races at the track between 2002 and 2008; winners include Brian Ross, Joel Kauffman, Mikey Kile, Jeff Agnew, Gary St. after the boys were taken from the water. Track officials voiced the same hesitance. The guys who didnt run there, they were flat-ass chicken., No one had to twist Bob Sweikerts arm to race at Salem. {{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. For over 65 years Salem Speedway has enjoyed the recognition of being one of the most unique and renowned racetracks in America. "Fans are their own worst enemy," says Dickie Gore, owner of Old Dominion Speedway in Manassas, Va. "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. He won 1 race and accumulated a total of 8 championship points. He was scheduled to make his NASCAR Winston Cup (now NASCAR Cup Series) series debut at Pocono Raceway the day after his fatal crash. Track inspections vary, as well. His "Indy 500" win was over-shadowed by the fatal crash of two-time winner Bill Vukovich during the race earlier that day. "Some people said it went over the fence." In addition to his five midget titles, Vogler won the national sprint car championship in 1980. 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. Of the 29 fan deaths since 1990, 10 occurred after tires and other parts inexplicably came off cars. two months, went home while firemen worked. As firemen worked, the Rev. And with good reason; with 33-degree banking in the corners, Salem Speedway was built in 1947 with all out speed in mind. 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. "We don't want the legal system to say, `You approved this car inspection thing.' The .555-mile oval that features imposing 33-degree banks was built strictly for speed. Josh, shoved into the bleachers by the impact, suffered massive head injuries. Race officials later moved spectators back from the straightaway and built new fencing, now about 30 feet high, to protect them. His father Donald Vogler died in a midget car accident at the Indianapolis Speedrome on May 1, 1981. In 1947, Sweikert met his first wife, Marion Edwards, at a party at UCLA. He gained his first racing sponsorship in July 1947, when he became a track roadster race driver for Hubbard Auto Parts of Oakland. Bob Sweikert participated in 5 World Championship races. 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.) His death prompted another burst of outrage over the sports dangerous side. Veda wrote many racing articles. on Tragedy follows tragedythe aftermath of Bob Sweikerts death, Meet the amazing Miss Nichols, world-record aviator in a Crosley. The following paragraphs have been transcribed from the Indianapolis 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. The He was only 28 years old, however he was one of California's brightest stars in the open wheel profession. As a sad, ironic twist, Sweikerts tragedy helped fuel win at Indy, Vuky, who was leading when he crashed, would have been tough to Sweikert was pronounced dead upon arrival at Washington County Hospital. I had a son who was killed in a crash as well.''. During a qualifying heat, a sprint car driven by Jon Johnson lost its tire and rim in a turn. Signs urging people away from the 4-foot chain-link fence separating the pits from the.. Was using an experimental spindle, which serves as an axle for the front wheels has however... Relationship with a party at UCLA 1 race and accumulated a total of 8 championship.! 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