Dr. Dan. 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. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Racing is returning to Salem, Indiana. a ride on their tricycles late in the afternoon. In addition to his five midget titles, Vogler won the national sprint car championship in 1980. Sweikert was thrown from the car and was pronounced dead of head injuries upon arrival at Washington County Hospital. He continued to tinker with the mechanics, then entered the 25-lap event, anyway. Send comments to [emailprotected]. Josh, shoved into the bleachers by the impact, suffered massive head injuries. [4], USAR ran seven races at the track between 2002 and 2008; winners include Brian Ross, Joel Kauffman, Mikey Kile, Jeff Agnew, Gary St. Bohanon, a Southern Indiana native, has raced on the famous High Banks of Salem Speedway and looks forward to shaping the tracks future. Handsome, charismatic, courageous, smart, successful, and on top of the world, Sweikerts life ended in tragedy when his yellow No. This event be an action packed weekend full of racing and fun. IRS delays tax deadline for Bay Area, but California hasnt followed: What should you do? In January 1953, Sweikert married his high school sweetheart, divorcee Dorie with her two children, with whom he had recently become reacquainted. "I always thought she was probably in more danger driving to the racetrack than being in the infield," he says. 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. 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. Some tracks, after tragedies, raise fence heights or beef up security and car inspections. Situated in the scenic hills of southern Indiana, The Salem Speedway roars to life . The same year, Sweikert moved up to midget cars, and won his first training race with the Bay Cities Racing Association. There in high school Bob met his future wife, Dorie.[2]. ), 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. He was one of the good guys. That wasnt what qualified him as an early victim of the SI jinx. 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. On the first lap of the first race held at Salem, on June 22, 1947, Clay Corbitt locked wheels with Jack Schultz, went over the banking and was killed. rescue squad rushed to the pool. ''I knew him well but we never talked about his father`s death. James Tomlinson, 5 years old, and Anthony Tomlinson, 3, lost After winning the55 Indy title, Sweikert began plotting his next move. I had a son who was killed in a crash as well.''. RACE CAR driver Bob Sweikert celebrates his win in the 1955Indianapolis 500 with his wife, Dorrie. [1] The track closed in May 1995 when he declared bankruptcy. About See All. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Coming out of the 4th turn, the two cars started down the straightaway in front of the grandstand. Insurers wait as much as three years between track visits, leaving opportunity for repairs and maintenance to lag. He was scheduled to make his NASCAR Winston Cup (now NASCAR Cup Series) series debut at Pocono Raceway the day after his fatal crash. You go to Salem, and you go home a widow. On September 26, 1953 Sweikert won the Hoosier Hundred, at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, a race which is chronicled by many as "the greatest race ever" run. When I hit 30, I figured Id better quit.. He walked over to his father`s car, looked in and then walked away. 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. 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. at the bottom of the water. [1] In 1987 he won the inaugural Chili Bowl Midget Nationals race. As a sad, ironic twist, Sweikerts tragedy helped fuel Why did Lindsey want to sit in the infield that night instead of Turn 1 or 2, where she and mother always sat? [1], Bob Sweikert grew up in pre-war Los Angeles. "I'm happy to be in the front of the field, even if it's not on the pole.". Weeks later, Sweikert's fatal sprint car crash occurred on June 17, 1956, at Salem Speedway. [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. 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: Bohanon, a Southern Indiana. 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. "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. North American Racing Insurance settled with Baker's widow, Cynthia, for $1 million. That year the family moved briefly to San Francisco, then across the bay to the rural town of Hayward, California. 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. Floyd said plans were being made to fly Vogler to Humana Hospital in Louisville, Ky., before he was pronounced dead. He was leading the race at the time, when his car crashed with just over a lap to go. He is remarried now, and he's even found himself back at the track, racing a truck some weekends at Indianapolis Raceway Park. another. In May 1952, Sweikert ran his first "Indy 500" race. Drivers, nursing accumulated grudges, satisfy them on and off the track. Orem, Utah. Vogler was declared the winner when officials decided not to complete the the 30-lap event. pool and its lure for children. Like our page to stay informed about passing of a loved one in Provo, Utah on facebook. 1949_07_25 -2 Drivers Killed at Salem Speedway- Louisville Courier-Journal pg 1 (1 of 2) "The spindle just locked up and came off," he remembers. 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. Mrs. Sweikerts last order before leaving Indianapolis, the neighbors said, was that the fence be completed at once. There were exciting, happy, even playful moments, she said. He'd heard the track was going to build a fenced playground in the infield in Lindsey's honor, but those plans went unrealized. 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. Salem Speedway will be under new ownership for the 2023 racing season. 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! Nobody covers Columbus, Indiana and the surrounding areas like The Republic. firemen drained it before leaving the scene. Richard Kavanagh, pastor of St. Some neglect even those, conducting superficial prerace walk-throughs or no checks at all. And for each spectator killed, there are tales of others spared when cars or wheels flew over fences and through pits, striking no one. When they first started to use roll bars, traditionalists thought it was just awful. Greg Sacks had his fill of those in the last race, the Pepsi 400 at Daytona, Fla., where accidents ruined the weekend for both drivers. Times you just didnt want to look., Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Alameda County DAs new policy will reduce prison sentences through widespread elimination of sentencing enhancements. The likeable, rising superstar, who had just appeared on the front cover of Sports Illustrated, did not survive the crash. 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. 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