LANGHORNE, Pa., March 20 (AP)--Larry Crockett was killed today when his racing car spun out of control at Langhorne Speedway. $18,500.00. almost 100 fatalities, after his Mercedes went into the crowd, opposite the pit row 7, Ed Elisian and Jim McWithey He was I guess a gymnest and would flip many times down in front of the fans. Joe Leonard was also involved in the same crash, and was credited with getting Kenyon out of the car, thus saving his life. In 1941, Hankinson sold the track to stuntman Earl "Lucky" Teter after a falling out with the AAA. by Hartley, with Bryan, Next to him, for the start was Bob Veith. Courtesy of Jim Wilmore The Langhorne victory. three in a row came to an end. According to Riggs, nearly two dozen drivers were killed at the 'Horne, along with another dozen or so motorcycle riders, flaggers, and spectators. In 1961 and 1962, Supermodifieds raced with the Modifieds and Sportsman cars. FIRE IS A RACE CAR DRIVERS WORST ENEMY! Langhorne hosted the fourth-ever Cup race in that series first season -- on Sept. 11, 1949. A special thanks to Eric Cardona for sharing this historic footage.Apart from Mann's fatal crash, there were several injuries during the race. Land Speed Racer Memorial registers 20 fatalities as part of record attempts at El Mirage, though the timeline of lives lost at El Mirage does not align those at Bonneville, with the most recent listed fatal accident occurring in 1995, and most between 1940 and 1970. pace. Mike Magill was coming, and he went past They built that racetrack upside down, White said. Reports I had read said he lost part of a thumb, along with a glove, and It was paved in 1965, and in the process, a straightaway of sorts was created on the tracks back side, turning the track into a D shape. NR2003 name NR2003 year NR2003 sky Date of .ptf Date of race.lp Author Real name Length (mi) Ban king Location State Country Region Racing started Racing ended The circuit's ownership realized how dangerous the track could be, but before the layout of Riverside was amended in 1969, it claimed the lives of NASCAR champ Joe Weatherly, sports car legend Ken Miles (despite a theory claiming the contrary), and two others. The race was in 1951 and surprisingly everybody involved in this wild . A not what Amick won! AJ Foyt, who won four consecutive Championship Car races at Langhorne to go along with his four Indy 500s, was one of the few drivers who relished the opportunity to pound through Puke Hollow. In time trials, Johnny Thomson turned a record breaking lap in the time "I drove a car for the Wood Brothers one time, and I was leading the race, but it was so rough through Puke Hollow that the gas tank shook right out of the car.". "You were still drifting the car. usually drew quite a few cars from the mid-west. only 40 laps. Bryan charged on, and was On All cars were flagged in and the race . Sick of the circuit's lack of safety, ailing facilities, and unpleasant driving, the racing world gradually turned its back on the Pennsylvania raceway, and when Champ Car drivers organized a boycott of the race in 1971, Langhorne's fate was sealed; a final autumn modified stock car race was Langhorne's valedictory. There are only two reminders that the track existed -- a Pennsylvania state historical marker on U.S. Route 1 and the nearby Langhorne Speedway Diner. first two rows of the feature consisted of Musselman Autoweek participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. According to Riggs, nearly two dozen drivers were killed at the 'Horne, along with another dozen or so. Ive The Langhorne Speedway was a one-mile oval racetrack located in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. In the third heat, strange as it seems, all three of the Sam Traylor cars were entered Narrow, fast, bumpy, and often blind, Riverside first opened in 1957, and proved itself hazardous from day one, with a driver sustaining a fatal brain injury at its inaugural race. Langhorne continued to host an annual stop on the Grand National schedule from 1950 to 1957. Unclaimed. Jimmy it three in a row, caught Hartley, and passed him on the 81st racing goes. AAA was in town for a day of racing with the sprint cars. to the speedway, for opening day May 1, 1955. You were hanging on the edge by a thread. a Champ car, ended up as the fastest qualifier with a time of 32,871. OConnor, Ken Gottschalk and Elmer George. Upon coming to rest Eubanks' disabled car blocked the track leading to multiple drivers spinning into the pits and injuring 3 mechanics. Nascar playlists:Flips: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFF76A762B38C7ED0Races: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3062F1B06490D50F500s: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL841E0FC1B50AF368 Please Subscribe! If you suddenly ran up on cars, it was hard to dodge them. The idea behind the paving was to try to get away from the fatalities and the injuries, Riggs said. WFXR News is working to gather information regarding the incident but the roadway is now open to traffic. Nobody liked it, and the ones who said they did were lying.". Due to the obviously dangerous nature of auto racing, many individuals, including drivers, crew members, officials and spectators, have been killed in crashes related to the sport, in races, in qualifying, in practice or in private testing sessions. race, a small piece of solder was found in the fuels return line, which, in And some of those who did never came home. Had seen a couple guys not coming home from there. When Mario Andretti made his debut at Langhorne in 1964 in a big, old Offy-powered Champ Car with no power steering, he recalls, "We put electric ape on my steering wheel so I could grip it better. his 11th lap, Engle wrote down the letters E-Z on his blackboard, Reading in the book about Langhorne, by L. Spencer Riggs, its said that The payoff was a record setting, whopping [2] His first win happened at Seekonk Speedway in 1946 and he won seven times in 1947. Because the track was round, you couldnt see very far ahead of you. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items! Thomson, Keller and Musselman. Heres the field lined up like this: Jimmy I Who wants to go to Langhorne? race, so it seemed, was gong to be a third straight win at Langhorne, for Jimmy No Mans Land, an extensive history of the speedway. On June 20th, 1965, Kenyon's engine blows at Langhorne, PA, causing a fiery crash that puts him in the hospital fighting for his life. either stayed home due to some illness that he had that day, or if he had Clarence told me that he took a crew up there and poured concrete footers and then put in a concrete table across the track about 10 feet in, said L. Spencer Riggs, author of Langhorne! Many drivers flat refused to go to Langhorne. and Ratjmann were out before 60 miles had been http://www.motorsport.com/stats/champ/ldrivers.asp and my own memories of the happened to mention to another race fan that on that date in 1955, I was in He survived and raced again (though not at Langhorne) after the giant splinter was inched out of his abdomen in a hospital. Stock car drivers were killed in 2001 and 2002; the latter was T-boned at almost 170 MPH due to poor marshaling by the race's governing body. The burning remains of the Niquist Offy in which Mike Nazaruk received fatal injuries. retired from competition during the LeMans race, right Dropping out of the event were Linden, Johnny Boyd (pictured below) was badly burned when his cars fuel tank was knocked off, and cars broke up and got upside down in Puke Hollow. AAA also had a sprint car race scheduled for out in the mid-west, at Salem. Charlotte has since extended the fencing to 24 and 12 feet respectively. Title Langhorne Sprint Car Crash Source Bruce R. Craig Photograph Collection Years 1963 Date 1963-04-07 City Langhorne State Pennsylvania Country United States People Marvin, Bobby Venue Langhorne Speedway Identifier 2004-100CRAI-b67_53.0_0002 Original Format black-and-white negatives Rights Copyright has been assigned to The Revs Institute. Langhorne hosted what turned out to be the track's final Champ Car race in 1970. ", The car landed on Bryan several times before coming to rest right-side up. most every occasion when I went to Langhorne, I sat in the stands in what you Then they covered it back up with dirt. Langhorne Speedway, which opened in 1926 and was closed in 1971 to make way for a shopping center, also played host to Indy-car races. The next year, Andretti was standing in Puke Hollow during the sprint car race when Bobby Marvin clobbered the guardrail, flipped end over end, and burned to death in front of him. Langhorne Speedway hosted its final race in October 1971, six months after drivers voted to boycott the track because it was so treacherous. They talk about Darlington, but I think Langhorne was probably as tough as any track because of no banking and alland you had to really drive it. Andretti won IndyCar races at Langhorne in 1966 and 1967, leading both races from wire to wire. The track was razed soon thereafter. His teammate, Charlie Musselman was next with from 71 to 100. As much power as we had, youd run that thing full blast all the way around. trials, with, There But he missed the challenge of racing at Langhorne. first two rows of the feature consisted of. The number of individuals -- drivers, officials and spectators killed at Langhorne officially totals 27. Some of the era's top drivers won those Langhorne races: Curtis Turner (again), Lee Petty, Dick Rathmann, Fonty Flock, Tim Flock, Herb Thomas, Buck Baker, Paul Goldsmith, and Fireball Roberts. In almost 109 years of racing at Indianapolis, a total of 72 people have died as a result of crashes or other accidents that occurred at the circuit. Langhorne - March 20 and May 1, 1955 and June 24, 1956 While I was at the Selinsgrove Speedway, last Saturday, March 20th, I happened to mention to another race fan that on that date in 1955, I was in attendance at the Langhorne track to watch the sprint car races. Palm Beach Speedway in West Palm Beach, Florida, was a half-mile, dirt track that saw its first NASCAR event when it opened the 1952 NASCAR season on January 20, 1952. me to attend the service. It was a wild frontier, with blood on the ground. You wanted more power.. During the prewar years, the lap record was already a few ticks above 100 mph -- an astonishing speed considering it was a dirt track with no straightaway. Among the drivers who perished at Langhorne were Jimmy Bryan (1960), one of the most talented drivers to ever sit in an Indy car, and Larry Mann (1952), the first driver to die of injuries suffered in a race in what is now the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The 100-mile event was slowed by two caution flags, and was won by driver Tim Flock. Many drivers flat refused to go to Langhorne. The 1970 Langhorne 150 was the sixth race of the 1970 USAC Championship Car Season. gaining on Amick. Well, that and a lot of memories of Puke Hollow, with engines screaming and wheels spinning and the air filled with dust tinged with Pennsylvania crude. Langhorne Speedway: 20: 1930-05-03: track 'b' AAA National Champ: 1-Bill Cummings, 2-Deacon Litz, 3-Fred Winnai, 4-Bill Albertson, 5-Frank Brisko, 6- Zeke Meyer: 100 laps; 15 starters/11 finishers: Langhorne Speedway: 21: 1930-07-04: track 'b' 1-Fred Frame: Langhorne Speedway: 22: 1931-00-00: track 'b' 1-Al Aspen: Langhorne Speedway: 23: what my brother and I saw, on that day, from where we sat. With 10 deaths in its short 32 years of operation, it may be for the best that Riverside is gone. extent that the AAA decided that it would no longer be a sanctioning body, and According to the book Langhorne! Besides sprint cars and midgets, there were modifieds, late-models, and stock cars. All the drivers would get together and take a vote, recalled IndyCar driver Bobby Unser, who raced 12 times at the track, winning twice. Freddie Winnai of Philadelphia qualified in 42.40 seconds, a new world record for a one-mile (1.6km) track, and went on to win the 50-lap main event. 74 reviews $$ - $$$ American Diner Vegetarian Friendly. This time the UPDATE 6:55 p.m.: Crews have cleared the scene of an earlier crash in the 2000 block of Langhorne Road in Lynchburg. Despite temperatures that reached 106 degrees, Bryan wasted no time getting back up to speed. Also killed at the track were five motorcycle riders, three spectators and one flagman. It was very rough (in its dirt-track days). Driver Don Thomas suffered leg injuries when his car careened into the infield. As there is a tie on this list, tracks with equal casualty counts will be ordered by their years of operation (shorter histories push them up the list). Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. High-profile American racing clubs like the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), American Automobile Association (AAA), and United States Auto Club (USAC) made Langhorne one of the stops on their national circuits. Yanigan. Courtesy of Jim Wilmore A momentous trophy for Pete after his Langhorne victory. They only want to race in the softer spots. Langhorne That might have been the hardest pass I ever did in all of racing. Did the Horne scare Unser? The dust was worst in Puke Hollow, where the track broke up into a badly potholed washboard with slats the size of small waves. The first Indy 500 was held in 1911 and won by Ray Harroun, who opted to save weight and leave his mechanic behind. An Aldi store sits roughly where Turn 3 was located on the later paved version of the course. Grim, Klar, Mattera, Matera, Bechtol, McCoy, OConnor, Crockett and Mealy. Another Both cars caught fire. You wanted to be on the list of guys who had done it., Allen said the track had many ruts and you could get hooked in there and get upside down or fly out of the track. After the Indy car race was cancelled, two final modified races were run in 1971. The "new" Langhorne Speedway debuted on June 20, 1965, with Jim McElreath winning a 100-lap USAC National Championship race that was marred by several accidents, including two fiery crashes. [2] effect, caused his car to run rich, thus burning up extra fuel. Ironically, despite the improvement in safety, the reviews for the "improved" Langhorne were uniformly sour. The His average speed was 95.212 MPH. Jack McGrath and Pierre Levegh, whos The track became famous for it's many ruts and uneven terrain. The rest of View photos of the Concord Speedway construction below. On line up for the 25 lap 25 mile feature was: Pat I raced all over the world, and that was the most dangerous, most treacherous, most murderous track there ever was. The landscape of the once-famous racetrack was dramatically altered after that last race over 50 years ago. Amazon.com: OnlyClassics 65 USAC Jim HURTUBISE Kenyon AUTO Racing Crash Langhorne Speedway Photo INDY 500: Photographs Note the burning fuel on steel guard rail in background. It hosted a NASCAR inaugural race in 1949. Notable drivers Doc Mackenzie, Joie Chitwood, Rex Mays, Lee Petty, Dutch Hoag, A.J. that day, for Briggs Cunningham, in a D-Jaguar, and he had been signed to drive
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