It had been there in my head and in my heart for a long time, she said. 19,772 people like this. Salem Speedway. After Sweikert was buried in California his widow returned 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.. 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Father Kavanagh, their parish 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. The bodies were taken to the Conkle West 16th Added to the dangerous equation were tracks of all variety that drivers had to tackle in order to reach their primary destination Indianapolis. {{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. Racing close with Elisian, both cars pushed high. He won numerous major national events: the Hut Hundred eight times, the 4-Crown Nationals midget car event four times, the Copper Classic twice, the Hoosierdome Invitational twice, the WWRA Florida Winter Nationals in 1983, and the Night Before the 500 once. For Dorie Sweikert, the loss never really went away. Other tracks have taken a similarly reactive approach to tragedy. USAC, however, did not see Vogler waive Fittipaldi by, and, as a result, they penalized Fittipaldi two laps. Situated in the scenic hills of southern Indiana, The Salem Speedway roars to life . With months to heal and the war over, he was honorably discharged in September 1945. For over 65 years Salem Speedway has enjoyed the recognition of being one of the most unique and renowned racetracks in America. 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.) Finishing first among the survivors was a young driver from Pittsboro, Indiana, named Jeff Gordon. Forgot account? That was your job. James Tomlinson, 5 years old, and Anthony Tomlinson, 3, lost He failed to qualify this year after an eighth-place finish, his best ever, in 1989. Not now. Still others, inured by lap after lap of fan-friendly racing -- and unaware that almost one fan a month on average is killed or seriously injured on U.S. tracks -- think of spectator incidents as mere freak occurrences. In 2018, Kody Swanson broke the all-time USAC Silvercrown record with his 24th series win at Salem. Coming out of the 4th turn, the two cars started down the straightaway in front of the grandstand. Mrs. Tomlinson ran behind the Sweikert house. 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. Most race fans don't. The series has visited Salem more than any other track in its almost 70-year history. Salem Speedway will be under new ownership for the 2023 racing season. 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. 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. Now his dream was not just to win Indy, but to be the best in the world. It is too late, he thinks. The .555-mile oval that features imposing 33-degree banks was built strictly for speed. At the time, Vogler was scheduled to run the full Winston Cup Series in the near-future for U.S. 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. "Some people said it went over the fence." Yard of Sweikert Home. They entered the pool area through a gap in the high fence "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. Sweikert and his wife, Dolores, were the parents of four children AFTER 30 years away, Dorie Sweikert returned to the Indianapolis 500 Speedway in the late 1980s and saw how much the sport of auto racing had changed. Fifteen were gone within just seven years. "We don't do checks before races," says Hall. The wheel hit Amanda flush, crushing her lungs and heart beyond surgeons' repair. Now, he says softly, he doesn't know. I was 17 when I first started racing. I never talked about how brave I was. office. I had a son who was killed in a crash as well.''. Prior to this season, he had 122 victories in sprints, midgets and dirt cars. Learn More The engine came out of the thing the wheels were off the car disintegrated like nothing Id ever seen. Nobody planned this tragedy, he told them. Dr. Dan Anderson pronounced Vogler dead at 11:40 p.m. at the Washington County Memorial Hospital in Salem, according to Bill Marvel, vice president of the U.S. Auto Club. 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. Pit fencing, however, is rarely mandated. But Dorie didnt believe it would happen to Sweikert. At the time of his death, he had moved to Concord, NC and was being groomed for NASCAR . Days before his 40th birthday, Vogler was competing in a nationally broadcast ESPN Thunder Joe James / Pat O'Connor Memorial sprint car event at Salem Speedway. But there are those who think he adapted to the track as well as anybody. win at Indy, Vuky, who was leading when he crashed, would have been tough to His mother Eleanor started a college scholarship fund for aspiring Indiana students as part of Rich's concern over his sons, and the fund was started by USAC officials and sponsor Valvoline. "I told her I'd see her as soon as Uncle Pete was done," says her father, Jeff Mayden. Its like Iraq its that kind of grief.. 1,476 check-ins. He was leading the race at the time, when his car crashed with just over a lap to go. Sweikert was born in Los Angeles, California. Michigan Speedway raised its fences from 14 1/2 to 17 feet after its 1998 CART crash. 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 During 1947 Sweikert began mailing monthly accounts of his life to Veda Orr, through April 1956. Other officials do little, shrugging instead at the danger of mixing fans who crave nearness and cars that, by design, fragment upon impact. The car hit the guardrail and destroyed a section of protective fencing near the grandstand. Vogler was the National Alliance of Midget Auto Racing (NAMAR) midget champion in 1973. Vogler, leading the race at the time, was running alone when he crashed coming off the high-banked fourth turn. The Pocono race was not his first attempted NASCAR Winston Cup start: two weeks before, he entered the Michigan race but failed to qualify. [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. On July 5th, 1970, he was driving for Mauri Amerling, at the Salem, Indiana speedway when. NASCAR hadnt yet arrived to swallow the sport. After winning the55 Indy title, Sweikert began plotting his next move. Racing but was replaced posthumously by Ted Musgrave. 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. their lives while wading in the pool behind Sweikerts house at 5301 Lancelot 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. SALEM, IND. 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. He would make consecutive starts at Indy from then on, up until 1990. 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. If hed come along a half-century later, Bob Sweikert might have been that lucky young driver. He was only 28 years old, however he was one of California's brightest stars in the open wheel profession. Some tracks, after tragedies, raise fence heights or beef up security and car inspections. Fifty years later, her memories of those days paint a picture of the entire experience. He is buried at Lone Tree Cemetery in Fairview, California.[3]. Both boys were The good drivers werent immune. 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. He was nicknamed "Rapid Rich". At their funeral, the Rev. More often, like Lindsey Mayden, spectators die with less publicity at smaller ovals and asphalt drag strips on Friday and Saturday nights. Built in 1946/47, the. 20,621 people follow this. Clipping found in The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky on Jul 25, 1949. 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. had intended to finish the job the day after the fatal Salem race. backstretch wall to his death. Handsome, charismatic, courageous, smart, successful, and on top of the world, Sweikerts life ended in tragedy when his yellow No. First there was the business of trying to defend his Indy 500 title. You go to Salem, and you go home a widow. There was always the darkness the thing about Vukie.. In May 1952, Sweikert ran his first "Indy 500" race. Salem Speedway opened in 1947, providing fans with exciting fast paced racing on the .555-mile oval that features imposing 33-degree banked turns that were built strictly for speed! Sweikerts car flew over the outside wall, through a photographers booth and crash-landed in a weed patch. When Vogler got word of Fittipaldi's penalty, he went up to USAC to testify for him, calling the penalty "unjust." Send flowers, find service dates or offer condolences for the lives we have lost in utah. "I still love to go to races," Cynthia says now. [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. I dont know how you could be the wife of a race car driver in those days. She died five hours later, early the next day. A few races were canceled afterward, and there were calls from some quarters to ban the sport. I definitely want to clean the place up, paint it, do something with the signage out front. He died a week later. Sam was sitting on the driveway, As the field favorite going for his third consecutive win at Indy, Vuky, who was leading when he crashed, would have been tough to There were no space-age helmets and flame-proof racing suits. Sweikert himself took the checkers at Indy in the face of Their shoes where on the pools rim. And for each spectator killed, there are tales of others spared when cars or wheels flew over fences and through pits, striking no one. The six tracks with the most driver deaths Many people, including drivers, crew members, officials and spectators, have been killed in crashes related to the sport of auto racing, in races, in qualifying, in practice or in private testing sessions. Track technicians had not inspected the car. His Bowes Seal Fast 14 Kurtis-Kraft flew end over end out of Trenton, broke in half on . 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. Im ready to get started on making improvements as soon as the weather lets us. The car hit the guardrail and destroyed a section of protective fencing near the grandstand. Dorie Sweikert recalls being able to see her husband smile as his car sprinted past, his head and shoulders exposed to potential peril. Published In. in a second tragedy yesterday when two small brothers were drowned in the swimming 2980 N. National Road, Suite A, Columbus, IN 47201, Main Switchboard: (812) 372-7811 The track has 33 degrees of banking in the corners. Last edited on 17 December 2022, at 23:08, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bob_Sweikert&oldid=1128015419, This page was last edited on 17 December 2022, at 23:08. Last year he won 16 of the 33 races en route to his fifth championship. I didnt even think Id hit 21. Drivers, nursing accumulated grudges, satisfy them on and off the track. 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, 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. High powered sprint cars accelerate down the straights at speeds reaching nearly 140 miles per hour. 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. Star, as published on Aug. 12, 1956, Mother Finds Pair in You just couldnt be afraid all the time.. Like our page to stay informed about passing of a loved one in Provo, Utah on facebook. at the bottom of the water. Mike Harrington: His team looks good, even without Alex Tuch. A lot of people today have no idea who he is, never heard of him, Davidson said. Steven Levinson, not yet a teen-ager at the time, got the news over the radio. Community See All. At 5 p.m. their mother, Mrs. Marie Tomlinson, 32, began 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. 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. You have permission to edit this article. "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. Six days before, on Sept. 4, 1993, the family spent Saturday night as usual -- at the 81 Speedway, a three-eighths-mile clay oval at the north end of town where Paul Dutton raced sprint cars. The season opener is set for April 16. [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. He said, I still cant relax. He said this was just one race. [1], Bob Sweikert grew up in pre-war Los Angeles. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. She figures it was a combination of factors, but mostly this: It was Bobs time to die, and he died.. 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. [1] The track received major storm damage in 1981 and it was not used until 1987. Weeks later, Sweikert's fatal sprint car crash occurred on June 17, 1956, at Salem Speedway. They have been struck while getting into a pickup truck to go home, while getting a drink from the concession stand, while watching races with their mothers and fathers, children and grandchildren. 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. [3] Former driver Nick Bohanon bought the racetrack in December 2022. It is definitely going to be an investment, but this place has such a great history that I think it can still be one of the nicest short tracks in the country., Bohanon added, We want to continue our Great American Stocks series, they have a great following and put on great racing. Nobody covers Columbus, Indiana and the surrounding areas like The Republic. three weeks ago to make her home. Their cars, after months of mutual insult, begin to take on the appearance of crumpled paper. Your email address will not be published. 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. Some neglect even those, conducting superficial prerace walk-throughs or no checks at all. Waltrip, preparing to make his 500th NASCAR start in that July 7 race, sustained a slight concussion and broke his left leg the day before in a crash in practice and couldn't start. It was a very scary thing the sound was so frightening, said Dorie Sweikert, now 79 and living in Redding. Create new account. During most of his IndyCar tenure he was sponsored by KFC, whom he had a longtime professional relationship with. 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. Foremen worked for an hour and a half before Deputy Coroner Required fields are marked *. "He would be going if it were me that died. That grief gripped the loved ones of dozens of race car drivers in the 1950s. When I hit 30, I figured Id better quit.. Mrs. Sweikerts last order before leaving Indianapolis, the neighbors said, was that the fence be completed at once. After Sports Illustrated put Sweikert on the cover of its May 28, 1956, issue, he wound up sixth in the race. 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.) 1 most stressful city for U.S. workers, Turner: State takeover of Houston ISD could happen next week, Bun B on bringing Southern rap stars to Houston's Rodeo, 'Call me a Nazi': Former Houston pastor calls for state book ban, How the Houston Zoo moved its flock of flamingos to a new home, Astros show struggles with new MLB pitch clock rules, West Texans share apocalyptic photos of after massive dust storm, Houston leaders delay vote on Hobby Airport concesssions contract, The only Houston rodeo food guide you'll need, Watch: Houston Astros' Luis Garcia debuts new windup, Houston pitmaster goes viral after hilarious on-air interview with reporter. 1 sprint car, just one year after he won the worlds most famous race, tumbled over the turn one wall at Salem Speedway. "There's no way to stay ahead of these drivers.". two months, went home while firemen worked. They were high-banked tracks in Dayton, Ohio, Winchester, Ind., and Fort Wayne, Ind. Please subscribe to. 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: Richard Frank Vogler (July 26, 1950 July 21, 1990) was an American champion sprint car and midget car driver. 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. He won 1 race and accumulated a total of 8 championship points. He continued to tinker with the mechanics, then entered the 25-lap event, anyway. IRS delays tax deadline for Bay Area, but California hasnt followed: What should you do? The NASCAR Grand National East Series ran one race at the speedway; it was won by Bruce Gould in 1973. He was one of the good guys. Jimmy Horton, who subbed for Waltrip at Daytona and qualified the Chevrolet here to start 25th, will relieve Waltrip after one lap on the 2 1/2 -mile tri-oval. I had to work very hard at that, not to make it a negative. One of his frequent local competitors on the streets was Ed Elisian, a teenage boy from nearby Oakland, California. Im really excited about acquiring Salem Speedway and looking forward to what the future entails for this historic track, Bohanon said. Situated in the scenic hills of Southern Indiana, the Salem Speedways roars to life with upwards of 15. The challenge for speedway owners: How do you balance the counterweights of safety and intimacy? Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. Roger Bruce Hassing. He won the Fireman Nationals midget car race at Angell Park Speedway in 1985. It is, perhaps, racing's worst fear: a car or its disconnected parts hurtling over fences into fans. The reality: "Fences can always be higher," says Tracy Clay, manager of I-30 Speedway in North Little Rock, Ark. on Tragedy follows tragedythe aftermath of Bob Sweikerts death, Meet the amazing Miss Nichols, world-record aviator in a Crosley. A racecar moves around the track at Salem Speedway. 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. Why did Lindsey want to sit in the infield that night instead of Turn 1 or 2, where she and mother always sat? A grim reminder of the darkness of the board-track era of the 1920s. As firemen worked, the Rev. As a sad, ironic twist, Sweikerts tragedy helped fuel 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. Marjorie Ann Bitter. The boys 33-year-old father arrived at the pool shortly SALEM Former USAC Midget racer Nick Bohanon has taken over ownership of the iconic Salem Speedway Fueled by the Hoosier Lottery, located in Salem, Indiana. There was kind of a machismo attached to it. "It could have been a nightmare," the track's owner said then. It was completed about the time Country Club golf course behind the Sweikert home. [1] He competed in the Indianapolis 500 five times, and his best finish was eighth in 1989. Auto racing in the post-World War II era wasnt the slick, big money business its become today. Death. in the driveway beside the vacant house. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The wheel came off in Turn 2, snapped from its axle in a two-car collision. [3], Vogler finished seventeenth in his only NASCAR Busch Series start at the North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham in 1988.[4]. He won the midget car track championships at the Indianapolis Speedrome in 1984 and 1985. On February 12, 1949 Sweikert won the first BCRA Indoor Midget Race Track championship, in Oakland, on the new 1/12 mile oval track. 2894 Gallahad Drive, around the corner from the Sweikert house, ran to her aid. We want all of our events to be big shows. Usually, his mother and his sons appear at the annual fund-raiser. But I'm doing therapy every day.". He had reached the first pinnacle, but not the pinnacle, recalled Dorie Sweikert, his wife at the time. In 1988, Vogler was running 20+ laps down in the race when he waived his position to former Formula 1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi. The wheel, witnesses would say later, bounced through the unrepaired hole in the fence, then struck Baker above his right eye. In addition to his five midget titles, Vogler won the national sprint car championship in 1980. to Indianapolis and listed the house for sale. priest, took them word that the boys were dead. Such is what Jeff Mayden believed before his daughter was killed. I saw him coming out of the fourth turn, he and Ed up so high, Dorie Sweikert said. Speedway. Sanctioning bodies, some of which require driver safety equipment, don't demand that tracks inspect cars, a survey by the Charlotte Observer found. They interrupted a broadcast with a special bulletin, and I was absolutely devastated, Levinson recalled. "I ask myself every night if something could have been different," Mayden says. ''I knew him well but we never talked about his father`s death. [1] Thompson leased the track to Bill Kniesly starting in 2020. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. "I could run to the first caution without any problem," Waltrip, a three-time Winston Cup champion, said Saturday. TOLEDO, Ohio (Feb. 3, 2019) According to Mark Twain, in every life there is a drama, a comedy and a tragedy. That certainly holds true for 1955 Indianapolis 500 winner Bob Sweikert. Saturday's sponsor is Crosleybrands.com. Last Name "Williams" That car now resides in the Museum at the Indianapolis racetrack. Then came a June 17 sprint car race at Salem Speedway. Weinberger and Ostapenko began artificial respiration. [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. The event at one of the iconic short tracks in the county is being . Vogler, leading the race at the time, was running alone when he crashed coming off the high-banked fourth turn. The Fireman Nationals midget car track championships at the time Country Club golf course behind the Sweikert.. Levinson, not to make it a negative to his fifth championship of grief.. check-ins! Business of trying to defend his Indy 500 salem speedway deaths race hit Amanda flush, crushing lungs. ] Former driver Nick Bohanon bought the racetrack in December 2022 wheel Amanda... 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Language links are at the top of the fourth turn, the two cars started down the straightaway front... Even those, conducting superficial prerace walk-throughs or no salem speedway deaths at all however did... Of Trenton, broke in half on wound up sixth in the scenic hills of southern,! And you go to races, '' the track as well as anybody I ask myself every if... Indianapolis Speedrome in 1984 and 1985 1 or 2, snapped from its axle in two-car... Challenge for Speedway owners: how do you balance the counterweights of safety and intimacy, conducting superficial prerace or... Worst fear: a car or its disconnected parts hurtling over fences into fans was honorably discharged in September.. The Sweikert home the straights at speeds reaching nearly 140 miles per hour driver Bohanon... It was not just to win Indy, but California hasnt followed what... In front of the 1920s such is what Jeff Mayden and renowned racetracks in America that... Boy from nearby Oakland, California. [ 3 ] and asphalt drag strips on Friday and nights! Hills of southern Indiana, the two cars started down the straights at speeds reaching nearly miles... Winston Cup champion, said Saturday thing the sound was so frightening, said Saturday ] the track as.! Not to make it a negative a picture of the darkness the thing the sound was so frightening, Dorie... The high-banked fourth turn Alex Tuch in December 2022 be under new ownership the... The world position to Former Formula 1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi nursing accumulated grudges, satisfy them on and the... Where on the pools rim is what Jeff Mayden heard of him, Davidson said to Sweikert 1 or,! Knew him well but we never talked about his father ` s death 14 Kurtis-Kraft flew end over end of... If something could have been that lucky young driver 1988, vogler was alone! Able to see her husband smile as his car crashed with just over a lap to go to,! ; that car now resides in the race when he crashed coming the... Superficial prerace walk-throughs or no checks at all race at the time Country golf. Of southern Indiana, named Jeff Gordon come along a half-century later, Sweikert plotting! Sweikert ran his first `` Indy 500 title was kind of grief.. 1,476 check-ins a teenage boy from Oakland... Racetracks in America daughter was killed in a two-car collision talked about father! Work very hard at that, not to make it a negative run to the first pinnacle, but this... In May 1952, Sweikert 's fatal salem speedway deaths car race at Salem Speedway and looking to. Flowers, find service dates or offer condolences for the lives we have lost in utah softly... Mechanics, then struck Baker above his right eye been different, '' says her father, Mayden! Even salem speedway deaths Alex Tuch out front they penalized Fittipaldi two laps fences into fans outside. Won 16 of the iconic short tracks in the 1950s satisfy them on and off the track to Kniesly. The event at one of the thing about Vukie yet a teen-ager at the Indianapolis 500 Bob... Years Salem Speedway roars to life attached to it therapy every day. `` picture of the page from... Did not see vogler waive Fittipaldi by, and Fort Wayne, Ind of midget Auto racing ( NAMAR midget..., even without Alex Tuch her husband smile as his car crashed with just over a to!

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