He was leading the race at the time, when his car crashed with just over a lap to go. [1] Owen and Beverly Thompson bought the track and reopened it in 1996 after adding a new building, redoing the grandstand seating to a new capacity of 6000 people, and renovating the pits. 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. She is one of 29 spectators since 1990 to be killed by cars or their flying parts at U.S. auto racing events. They were joined by Myron Weinberger, 221 East 70th The fencing had been laid in position on the ground and Sweikert Weinberger and Ostapenko began artificial respiration. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. The Pocono race was not his first attempted NASCAR Winston Cup start: two weeks before, he entered the Michigan race but failed to qualify. I wanted what he wanted, she said. He actually maintained his sprint car, even after he won (Indy).. 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. Now his dream was not just to win Indy, but to be the best in the world. In early 1948, he married Marion Edwards. 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. [1] Thompson leased the track to Bill Kniesly starting in 2020. There is also a Team Vogler Classic at the Indianapolis Speedrome. "I'm happy to be in the front of the field, even if it's not on the pole.". Father Kavanagh, their parish Learn More Your email address will not be published. A few races were canceled afterward, and there were calls from some quarters to ban the sport. "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. The bodies were taken to the Conkle West 16th Why, after not eating solids for two weeks because she choked on a grape at school, did Lindsey suddenly want chicken? Drivers wore helmets basically made of reinforced cardboard and T-shirts soaked in Borax. [3], Vogler finished seventeenth in his only NASCAR Busch Series start at the North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham in 1988.[4]. The following morning, in part because of Vogler's testimony, the penalty was overturned and Fittipaldi was credited with the runner-up position. Drivers, nursing accumulated grudges, satisfy them on and off the track. Ind. First there was the business of trying to defend his Indy 500 title. His parents, Foster R Hess and Sarah Ethel Davis were married in Sullivan County, TN in 1928. Speedway infield. left their home at 5241 Will Scarlett Lane, a block from the Sweikert home, for Sweikert fought for custody of their young daughter. In late 1944, Sweikert enrolled in the US Army Air Force, but suffered a severe knee injury while training at Lowry Field in Colorado. ''They were both at the track practicing. Sweikert was versatile enough that in 1955 he became the only driver in history to sweep the Indy 500, the AAA big car crown and the Midwest sprint car championship. A 37-year-old Buffalo firefighter died while fighting a four-alarm blaze on Main Street downtown that may have been sparked by work being done, While Amherst police were on the scene, a number of fights started among groups within the crowd in the mall lot on Alberta and in the Wegmans, The new renderings released by the Bills include an up-close view from the field level, three exterior stadium views with more detail than has. In April 1991, Winchester Speedway began the annual season-opening Rich Vogler Classic sprint car race, usually the first race at the track each year. He is buried at Lone Tree Cemetery in Fairview, California.[3]. ''I knew him well but we never talked about his father`s death. the 25-by-12 pool with prideful anticipation. They were dangerous beyond belief, Levinson wrote in an online article for Autoracing1.com. and the winner of the 1955 Indianapolis Motor Speedway classic and had built [3] Former driver Nick Bohanon bought the racetrack in December 2022. Vogler's helmet flew off his head and he suffered severe head injuries that proved to be fatal. pool that the 500-Mile-Race winner had built for his own children. Bob Sweikerts death in an auto race last June was reflected They settled in Indiana, to be close to the Speedway where Sweikert hoped to race and win. [4], NASCAR Southeast Series ran two races at the facility between 1996 and 1997; the races were won by Steven Christian and Ron Young respectively. After Sweikert was buried in California his widow returned Insurance companies, some fearful of legal liability, are reluctant to mandate any driver or car inspections. 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. [4], Salem Speedway has seen many great racers who are household names, such as Ruttman, Carter, Sweikert, OConnor, Parnelli Jones, A. J. Foyt, Al Unser, Mario Andretti, Vogler, Allison, Parsons, Waltrip, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Busch, Kasey Kahne, Ken Schrader, Joey Logano, and the list goes on. And with good reason; with 33-degree banking in the corners, Salem Speedway was built in 1947 with all out speed in mind. 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.) "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. You hear the story about how someone can walk into a room and everyone turns and looks that was Sweikert, she said. Obituary Pam Williams, age 65, of Salem passed away Tuesday, November 22, 2022 at Kindred Hospital Central in Indianapolis. On July 5th, 1970, he was driving for Mauri Amerling, at the Salem, Indiana speedway when. "I have 200 fires to put out," track president Doug McManus says. "There's no way to stay ahead of these drivers.". That car now resides in the Museum at the Indianapolis racetrack. His father Donald Vogler died in a midget car accident at the Indianapolis Speedrome on May 1, 1981. Coming out of the 4th turn, the two cars started down the straightaway in front of the grandstand. Eugene Gerber, bishop of Wichita's Roman Catholic diocese and a family friend, tried to console the mournful. 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. The car hit the guardrail and destroyed a section of protective fencing near the grandstand. For as long as he remembers, his view of Saturday nights was framed by the edges of a driver's helmet. Sweikert then quit automotive repair and became a full-time driver. Usually, his mother and his sons appear at the annual fund-raiser. 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. As firemen worked, the Rev. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! He gained his first racing sponsorship in July 1947, when he became a track roadster race driver for Hubbard Auto Parts of Oakland. Salem Speedway. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). which Sweikert was building of tall cedar stakes when he was killed at Salem, He would make consecutive starts at Indy from then on, up until 1990. From age 16 Sweikert worked after school as a mechanic at the local Ford dealership in Hayward. His mother had married his stepfather, an electrician for the state of California, when Bob was an infant. Bohanon, a Southern Indiana. The same year, Sweikert moved up to midget cars, and won his first training race with the Bay Cities Racing Association. Handsome, charismatic, courageous, smart, successful, and on top of the world, Sweikerts life ended in tragedy when his yellow No. 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. Vogler, who would have been 40 on Thursday, raced in five Indianapolis 500s. Sweikert himself took the checkers at Indy in the face of In 1988, Vogler was running 20+ laps down in the race when he waived his position to former Formula 1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi. Running close to the wall, Sweikert's right rear wheel clipped a steel beam sticking out onto the track from the wall at the end of the stands. 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. His "Indy 500" win was over-shadowed by the fatal crash of two-time winner Bill Vukovich during the race earlier that day. Last Name "Williams" 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. A dozen years later, Elisian and Sweikert were engaged in the racing duel that led to Sweikert's fatal crash at Salem Speedway. Neighbors who learned of the accident called the sheriffs Some tracks, after tragedies, raise fence heights or beef up security and car inspections. The track has 33 degrees of banking in the corners. He'd heard the track was going to build a fenced playground in the infield in Lindsey's honor, but those plans went unrealized. Sanctioning bodies, some of which require driver safety equipment, don't demand that tracks inspect cars, a survey by the Charlotte Observer found. "I told her I'd see her as soon as Uncle Pete was done," says her father, Jeff Mayden. IRS delays tax deadline for Bay Area, but California hasnt followed: What should you do? Death. Both boys were He continued to tinker with the mechanics, then entered the 25-lap event, anyway. two months, went home while firemen worked. No other cars were involved. He failed to qualify this year after an eighth-place finish, his best ever, in 1989. 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. In between, she got her first taste of the sport and it terrified her. Auto racing in the post-World War II era wasnt the slick, big money business its become today. The event at one of the iconic short tracks in the county is being . Salem Speedway is a .555 miles (0.893km) long paved oval racetrack in Washington Township, Washington County, near Salem, Indiana, United States, approximately 100 miles (160km) south of Indianapolis. He died a week later. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Racing is returning to Salem, Indiana. How do you deal with seeing your child's face every time your wife walks through the door? 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. Salem Speedway will be under new ownership for the 2023 racing season. Dr. Dan. 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. Create new account. 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. 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. Sweikert and his wife, Dolores, were the parents of four children Country Club golf course behind the Sweikert home. It was a very scary thing the sound was so frightening, said Dorie Sweikert, now 79 and living in Redding. Salem Speedway Formerly Known As: Salem Super Speedway, Greater Salem Super Speedway, Hi-Bank Speedway.555 mi./0.893 km. The track has 33 degrees of banking in the corners. Josh, 9, and Amanda, 7, sat in the grandstand with their mother, their grandparents and 5-year-old brother, Justin. Their shoes where on the pools rim. Stadium, Arena & Sports Venue in Salem, Indiana. But Dorie didnt believe it would happen to Sweikert. Such is what Jeff Mayden believed before his daughter was killed. At the time, Vogler was scheduled to run the full Winston Cup Series in the near-future for U.S. On February 12, 1949 Sweikert won the first BCRA Indoor Midget Race Track championship, in Oakland, on the new 1/12 mile oval track. His Bowes Seal Fast 14 Kurtis-Kraft flew end over end out of Trenton, broke in half on . USAC, however, did not see Vogler waive Fittipaldi by, and, as a result, they penalized Fittipaldi two laps. Community See All. Ironically, it was Reece who was standing in the turn one infield on July 17, 1956 and filmed Sweikert's accident. One father lifts his infant daughter above the fence so she can better see the cars roaring past less than 20 feet away. On September 17, 1922 Roscoe Sarles, a respected racer with six AAA feature wins and four starts at Indy, broke a steering knuckle on his Durant, tangled with Pete 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. For over 65 years Salem Speedway has enjoyed the recognition of being one of the most unique and renowned racetracks in America. ''Rich saw his father die,'' said Marvel. With the deaths have come questions -- about track fencing, about uninspected cars, about supervision in restricted areas. 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: firemen drained it before leaving the scene. [1], Bob Sweikert grew up in pre-war Los Angeles. As the field favorite going for his third consecutive win at Indy, Vuky, who was leading when he crashed, would have been tough to 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. The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. View local obituaries in utah. The season opener is set for April 16. A naturally gifted mechanic, he frequently won street races throughout the East Bay. An Observer survey of track officials showed that few speedways inspect cars closely for more than basic safety items such as restraints and helmets. She figures it was a combination of factors, but mostly this: It was Bobs time to die, and he died.. Star, as published on Aug. 12, 1956, Mother Finds Pair in Pac-12 media rights: Our (final) predictions for the revenue, media partners, expansion decisions and more, Alameda County supervisors allow eviction moratorium to remain until end of April, Antioch: Homicide suspect arrested in Brentwood home, Tech, restaurant, logistics layoffs trigger more than 300 Bay Area job cuts, Denver gang member gave 14-year-old permission to open fire on woman with AR-15 after fender-bender, DA alleges, In 4 years, Lori Lightfoot went from breakout political star to divisive mayor of a Chicago beset by pandemic and crime, Florida lawmakers to consider expansion of so-called dont say gay law, Drone crashes at Disneyland after hovering over visitors heads See video, Rapper Travis Scott wanted for assaulting Manhattan club sound engineer, destroying $12K in equipment, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. There in high school Bob met his future wife, Dorie.[2]. Michaels Catholic Church, arrived and gave last rites. 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. Log In. In a 1998 incident, an out-of-control race car climbed over a fence at a Phoenix speedway and came to rest just 15 feet from fan seating. [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. "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. Track technicians had not inspected the car. In 2018, Kody Swanson broke the all-time USAC Silvercrown record with his 24th series win at Salem. It is too late, he thinks. The tire hit a concrete barrier in front of the grandstand. 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. I had a deep spiritual belief that got me through that. 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. Too late for his daughter, and for his marriage, which lasted almost five years before bowing to the weight of Lindsey's memory. Before this season, he had 122 victories in sprints, midgets and dirt cars. Dorie Sweikert never had attended an auto race until she met her future husband. The other thing that was really noteworthy about him is most drivers then were hands-on, technically, but he more than most. Was that what went wrong? Some neglect even those, conducting superficial prerace walk-throughs or no checks at all. Vogler was the National Alliance of Midget Auto Racing (NAMAR) midget champion in 1973. If hed come along a half-century later, Bob Sweikert might have been that lucky young driver. "It was," he said, "nobody's fault.". They interrupted a broadcast with a special bulletin, and I was absolutely devastated, Levinson recalled. That wasnt what qualified him as an early victim of the SI jinx. * Most laps led. But I'm doing therapy every day.". That was Bobs favorite of the half-mile tracks, Dorie Sweikert said. "It kind of catapulted into the sky," Cindy Dutton remembers. Vogler, now dead at the age of 39, was declared the winner posthumously because of USAC National Sprint Car Series rules on a red flag reverting to the previous completed lap. Fifty years later, her memories of those days paint a picture of the entire experience. Eight years later, 81 Speedway's owner seems to disagree. Josh, shoved into the bleachers by the impact, suffered massive head injuries. The tragedy brought complaints from neighbors about the open He is thankful only that Lindsey had her back to the track when the tire bounced toward her. "I ask myself every night if something could have been different," Mayden says. To get to Indy, Sweikert had to challenge what were known collectively as The Hills tracks that comprised the Midwest sprint car circuit. When Vogler got word of Fittipaldi's penalty, he went up to USAC to testify for him, calling the penalty "unjust." After winning the55 Indy title, Sweikert began plotting his next move. 2894 Gallahad Drive, around the corner from the Sweikert house, ran to her aid. Other officials do little, shrugging instead at the danger of mixing fans who crave nearness and cars that, by design, fragment upon impact. 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. "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. Classes at Christ the King School were canceled for Josh and Amanda Dutton's funeral. I never talked about how brave I was. Sweikert was pronounced dead upon arrival at Washington County Hospital. Racing but was replaced posthumously by Ted Musgrave. Street Funeral Home. The following paragraphs have been transcribed from the Indianapolis In the 1950s, talent won races, but luck decided who lived and died on the track. backstretch wall to his death. The car hit the guardrail and destroyed a section of protective fencing near the grandstand. We want all of our events to be big shows. Weeks later, Sweikert's fatal sprint car crash occurred on June 17, 1956, at Salem Speedway. 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. 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. beat that day. hunting for them, to call them to supper. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The wheel came off in Turn 2, snapped from its axle in a two-car collision. 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. Find the History Mystery Man onFacebookandYouTube. He died the day after his sister, on his 10th birthday. SALEM - Salem Speedway is set to host the 33rd Halloween 200 from Oct. 22-24. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Try 7 Days Free to get access to 836 million+ pages, 1949_07_25 -2 Drivers Killed at Salem Speedway- Louisville Courier-Journal pg 1 (1 of 2), Search the Largest Online Newspaper Archive. Midget car accident at the Indianapolis Speedrome on May 1, 1981 Los Angeles 200 from Oct. 22-24 of winner. And living in Redding diocese and a family friend, tried to console the mournful electrician for the of! Off his head and he suffered severe head injuries that proved to be big shows were! Kindred Hospital Central in Indianapolis satisfy them on and off the track 33. Killed by cars or their flying parts at U.S. auto racing events s.... Broke in half on room and everyone turns and looks that was really noteworthy about him is most drivers were... All out speed in mind the tire hit a concrete barrier in of! Moved up to midget cars, and Amanda Dutton 's funeral renowned racetracks America... 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