"We don't want anybody killed, but we sure don't want our customers killed," says Lanny Edwards, owner of Devil's Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, one of thousands of small tracks dotting the country. another. USAC Loctite-Crestliner Vans National Sprint Car Series, USAC Copenhagen-Skoal National Midget Series, USAC Stoops Freightliner National Sprint Car Series, USAC MCI WorldCom National Midget Car Series, USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, Northern Division, Auto Value Bumper to Bumper Super Sprint Series, USAC Valvoline National Sprint Car Series, USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, Sears Auto Center Northern Division, ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards, AMSOIL USAC Sprint Car National Championship, CRA JEGS All-Stars Tour presented by Chevrolet Performance, Circle Track Great American Racing Series, Lawrence Towing CRA Street Stock Series Powered by JEGS, USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series presented by Traxxas, Vores Compact Touring Series powered by Mercer County Electric, Van Hoy Oil CRA Street Stocks Powered by JEGS, Victory Custom Trailers CRA Junior Late Model Series, https://www.thethirdturn.com/w/index.php?title=Salem_Speedway&oldid=657339. Sweikerts car flew over the outside wall, through a photographers booth and crash-landed in a weed patch. He won the midget car track championships at the Indianapolis Speedrome in 1984 and 1985. 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. Pit fencing, however, is rarely mandated. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). During most of his IndyCar tenure he was sponsored by KFC, whom he had a longtime professional relationship with. You go to Salem, and you go home a widow. 2980 N. National Road, Suite A, Columbus, IN 47201, Main Switchboard: (812) 372-7811 Street Funeral Home. Sweikert and his wife, Dolores, were the parents of four children 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. 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 race at Michigan Speedway. ". 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. See more of Salem Speedway on Facebook. 1 most stressful city for workers in U.S. Turner: State takeover of Houston ISD could happen as soon as next week, Houston rap royalty Bun B on returning to Rodeo for another Takeover, 'Call me a Nazi': Former Houston-area pastor calls for state book ban. 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. [2] Major auto racing series that run at Salem are ARCA and USAC . In September 1955 Sweikert became the only driver in history to win the original American motor sports Triple Crown, by sweeping the Indianapolis 500, the AAA big car National Championship, and the Midwest sprint car championship. Speedway infield. He was only 30, leaving behind his wife Dolores and four children. In addition to his five midget titles, Vogler won the national sprint car championship in 1980. The banks were spooky. Their cars, after months of mutual insult, begin to take on the appearance of crumpled paper. I know that sounds corny, but thats the way it was. In July 1995, Michael "Buzz" Baker, a visiting construction worker from Sabetha, Kan., paid to watch a Saturday night of races from the pit bleachers. If you are experiencing difficulties logging in or are a subscriber getting a paywall, please try one or more of the following steps. One of his frequent local competitors on the streets was Ed Elisian, a teenage boy from nearby Oakland, California. For over 65 years Salem Speedway has enjoyed the recognition of being one of the most unique and renowned racetracks in America. It would do no good for anyone to tell Bob Sweikert to quit racing. "I'm happy to be in the front of the field, even if it's not on the pole.". In the winner's circle, Sweikert and Dorie celebrated with singer-actress Dinah Shore. Yard of Sweikert Home. [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. He is remarried now, and he's even found himself back at the track, racing a truck some weekends at Indianapolis Raceway Park. 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. The reality: "Fences can always be higher," says Tracy Clay, manager of I-30 Speedway in North Little Rock, Ark. Built in 1946/47, the. But there are those who think he adapted to the track as well as anybody. Eight years later, 81 Speedway's owner seems to disagree. 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. USAC, however, did not see Vogler waive Fittipaldi by, and, as a result, they penalized Fittipaldi two laps. He said, I still cant relax. He said this was just one race. He ran seventy-two races that first BCRA season, finishing 14th out of 130 active members in the annual point standings. 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. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The wheel came off in Turn 2, snapped from its axle in a two-car collision. They are. We are in the process of finalizing our 2023 schedule and will have that out next week.. in the driveway beside the vacant house. Track officials voiced the same hesitance. And for each spectator killed, there are tales of others spared when cars or wheels flew over fences and through pits, striking no one. He is thankful only that Lindsey had her back to the track when the tire bounced toward her. He gained his first racing sponsorship in July 1947, when he became a track roadster race driver for Hubbard Auto Parts of Oakland. 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. Eugene Gerber, bishop of Wichita's Roman Catholic diocese and a family friend, tried to console the mournful. The event at one of the iconic short tracks in the county is being . Sweikert himself took the checkers at Indy in the face of 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! Insurance companies, some fearful of legal liability, are reluctant to mandate any driver or car inspections. The wheel hit Amanda flush, crushing her lungs and heart beyond surgeons' repair. In late 1944, Sweikert enrolled in the US Army Air Force, but suffered a severe knee injury while training at Lowry Field in Colorado. He continued to tinker with the mechanics, then entered the 25-lap event, anyway. It opened in 1947; two drivers were killed on the first lap of the first race. Community See All. Finishing first among the survivors was a young driver from Pittsboro, Indiana, named Jeff Gordon. Weeks later, Sweikert's fatal sprint car crash occurred on June 17, 1956, at Salem Speedway. The race was red flagged and would never restart. Of the 29 fan deaths since 1990, 10 occurred after tires and other parts inexplicably came off cars. She went back to California Usually, his mother and his sons appear at the annual fund-raiser. Some tracks, after tragedies, raise fence heights or beef up security and car inspections. Vogler was the National Alliance of Midget Auto Racing (NAMAR) midget champion in 1973. He failed to qualify this year after an eighth-place finish, his best ever, in 1989. 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. [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. He is buried at Lone Tree Cemetery in Fairview, California.[3]. Such is what Jeff Mayden believed before his daughter was killed. RACE CAR driver Bob Sweikert celebrates his win in the 1955Indianapolis 500 with his wife, Dorrie. Your email address will not be published. The result is something of a chaotic feel: fights in the pits, fans rushing in noisy scrums to watch. 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. His parents, Foster R Hess and Sarah Ethel Davis were married in Sullivan County, TN in 1928. Sweikert fought for custody of their young daughter. Handsome, charismatic, courageous, smart, successful, and on top of the world, Sweikerts life ended in tragedy when his yellow No. Dr. Dan. February 27, 2023 (100 years old) View obituary. Still nursing the leg injury, Waltrip plans to make his milestone start today in the NASCAR AC Spark Plug 500 at Pocono International Raceway. 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But I'm doing therapy every day.". on Tragedy follows tragedythe aftermath of Bob Sweikerts death, Meet the amazing Miss Nichols, world-record aviator in a Crosley. The boys, only sons of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Tomlinson, had Saturday's sponsor is Crosleybrands.com. Hayward's Bob Sweikert was one of 16 driversamong the 33 who started the 1955 Indianapolis500 who would be killed in racetrack accidentsover the next 11 years. Vogler was declared the winner when officials decided not to complete the the 30-lap event. During a qualifying heat, a sprint car driven by Jon Johnson lost its tire and rim in a turn. No other cars were involved. Sweikert was pronounced dead upon arrival at Washington County Hospital. 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. Beyond surgeons ' repair penalized Fittipaldi two laps is buried at Lone Tree Cemetery in Fairview, California. 3... 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