There in high school Bob met his future wife, Dorie.[2]. He said, I still cant relax. He said this was just one race. Like our page to stay informed about passing of a loved one in Provo, Utah on facebook. which Sweikert was building of tall cedar stakes when he was killed at Salem, Now his dream was not just to win Indy, but to be the best in the world. 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.) 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. Track technicians had not inspected the car. 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. The track has 33 degrees of banking in the corners. Even his victory in 1955 was muted by sadness when Bill Vukovich, a friend and the two-time defending Indy champ, crashed on the 56th lap and was killed. Last Name "Williams" Your email address will not be published. "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. 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 [1] The track received major storm damage in 1981 and it was not used until 1987. 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. Classes at Christ the King School were canceled for Josh and Amanda Dutton's funeral. He was one of the good guys. 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. The boys 33-year-old father arrived at the pool shortly 1,476 check-ins. She is one of 29 spectators since 1990 to be killed by cars or their flying parts at U.S. auto racing events. "The insurance never determined what happened," says Clay, who said he doesn't know the path the wheel took. Learn how your comment data is processed. The race was red flagged and would never restart. win at Indy, Vuky, who was leading when he crashed, would have been tough to Richard Frank Vogler (July 26, 1950 July 21, 1990) was an American champion sprint car and midget car driver. 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. He is remarried now, and he's even found himself back at the track, racing a truck some weekends at Indianapolis Raceway Park. AUTO RACING: Salem Speedway has new owner DANIEL SUDDEATH daniel.suddeath@newsandtribune.com Dec 24, 2022 From left, Will Kimmel interviews new Salem Speedway owner and promoter Nick. That car now resides in the Museum at the Indianapolis racetrack. RACE CAR driver Bob Sweikert celebrates his win in the 1955Indianapolis 500 with his wife, Dorrie. The tire struck Lindsey Mayden, 7 years old. 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. "Salem Speedway, Hoosier Lottery form partnership", "Salem Speedway on ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule twice in 2019", "Kingsburg's Kody Swanson stamps his name in national racing history", USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Championship race venues, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Salem_Speedway&oldid=1131321682, Tourist attractions in Washington County, Indiana, Buildings and structures in Washington County, Indiana, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 3 January 2023, at 16:45. Pit fencing, however, is rarely mandated. Morris Settles pronounced the boys dead. 4.3. At 5 p.m. their mother, Mrs. Marie Tomlinson, 32, began 20,621 people follow this. Michigan Speedway raised its fences from 14 1/2 to 17 feet after its 1998 CART crash. [3], Vogler finished seventeenth in his only NASCAR Busch Series start at the North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham in 1988.[4]. Martin took the pole for today's 12:10 p.m. race, qualifying his Ford at 158.264 mph. ''Rich saw his father die,'' said Marvel. 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. That wasnt what qualified him as an early victim of the SI jinx. 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. Drive. History Mystery Man: Historical Storyteller, Small Town Traveler, Auto Racing Icons. He walked over to his father`s car, looked in and then walked away. Find the History Mystery Man onFacebookandYouTube. Donald Davidson, historian for the Indianapolis 500, said Sweikert is highly regarded among those familiar with the sports heritage. beat that day. "It kind of catapulted into the sky," Cindy Dutton remembers. 19,772 people like this. I had a deep spiritual belief that got me through that. A year later, on June 17, 1956, Sweikert, just turned 30, was killed when his sprint car shot over the edge of the high-banked, half-mile track at Salem, Ind. [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. Richard Kavanagh, pastor of St. He won the midget car track championships at the Indianapolis Speedrome in 1984 and 1985. ), 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. Fifty years later, her memories of those days paint a picture of the entire experience. Marjorie Ann Bitter. 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. LONG POND, Pa. -- Darrell Waltrip will be satisfied with a short day on the track today. 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. About See All. had intended to finish the job the day after the fatal Salem race. He was scheduled to make his NASCAR Winston Cup (now NASCAR Cup Series) series debut at Pocono Raceway the day after his fatal crash. [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. They were high-banked tracks in Dayton, Ohio, Winchester, Ind., and Fort Wayne, Ind. Racing but was replaced posthumously by Ted Musgrave. 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. ''They were both at the track practicing. in a second tragedy yesterday when two small brothers were drowned in the swimming Washington Post columnist Shirley Povich wrote, The madness known as speed-car racing now has claimed one more well-known corpse, and there has to be a new revulsion toward the whole senseless business of motorized Roman Holidays for the dues-paying spectators.. 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. Of course, it saved a lot of lives.. Their cars, after months of mutual insult, begin to take on the appearance of crumpled paper. The wheel, witnesses would say later, bounced through the unrepaired hole in the fence, then struck Baker above his right eye. The bodies were taken to the Conkle West 16th The 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. Sheriff Robert A. ONeal ordered the pool be drained. 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. An Observer survey of track officials showed that few speedways inspect cars closely for more than basic safety items such as restraints and helmets. He was leading the race at the time, when his car crashed with just over a lap to go. Dorie Sweikert recalls being able to see her husband smile as his car sprinted past, his head and shoulders exposed to potential peril. A racecar moves around the track at Salem Speedway. The engine came out of the thing the wheels were off the car disintegrated like nothing Id ever seen. Was that what went wrong? In late 1952 his first wife, Marion, started divorce proceedings. Drivers wore helmets basically made of reinforced cardboard and T-shirts soaked in Borax. This was his 170th win. That was your job. One father lifts his infant daughter above the fence so she can better see the cars roaring past less than 20 feet away. When they first started to use roll bars, traditionalists thought it was just awful. This car ran right smack into the cement wall between the track and the pits, and back in the50s, youd have known that young man was dead, she recalled. 2803 Obituaries. backstretch wall to his death. 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. 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. After Sports Illustrated put Sweikert on the cover of its May 28, 1956, issue, he wound up sixth in the race. A good Sunday was when every driver cheated death and went home alive.. High powered sprint cars accelerate down the straights at speeds reaching nearly 140 miles per hour. Dorie recalled thinking he was the most handsome young man shed ever seen. No other cars were involved. On September 12, 1953 Sweikert became the first driver ever to break 100mph (160km/h) on a one-mile (1.6km) oval track, at the Eastern Speed Dome, Syracuse, New York. The tire struck Lindsey Mayden, 7 years old as his car crashed with just over lap. 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