October 18, 1972Alex "Tags" Tagliani
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Born in Lachenaie, Quebec, Canada.
Inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame on October 17th, 2015, "Tags" is a NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and Indycar veteran, and the 2009 Indianapolis 500 "Rookie of the Year".
After 4 seasons of Formula Atlantic, Tagliani raced in the Champ Car series from 2000, when it was still known as CART, until its demise in 2007. He was signed by Forsythe Racing for the 2000 season replacing the late Greg Moore and would win the Greg Moore Pole award in Vancouver in 2001, which Tag's has said was his favorite award ever. He came close to obtaining his first victory in his third start, after taking pole position at Brazil and leading most of the race, but spun out from the lead with nine laps to go.In 2001 he was involved in the collision with Alex Zanardi at the Lausitzring that resulted in the loss of Zanardi's legs.He remained at Forsythe until the end of 2002, when he was substituted by Paul Tracy. He found a job with the Rocketsports team in 2003, and remained there for the 2004 season, in which he earned his first and only Champ Car victory at Road America.In 2005 he joined Team Australia, which was a rebranding of Derrick Walker's long-running team with the support of Australian businessman Craig Gore, and finished 7th in the championship despite lacking a race engineer. 7th would equal the best of his 3 top-10 championship finishes.
He returned to Rocketsports for the 2007 season, and finished 10th in points with a best finish of 4th in the first race of the season. He earned four pole positions during his Champ Car career.In 2008, after the Rocketsports team decided not to take part in the IndyCar Series, Tagliani made the transition to stock cars and began racing in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. He also drove for Conquest Racing in the IndyCar Series Detroit Grand Prix, replacing the injured Enrique Bernoldi. Tagliani continued in the seat for the last two races of the season.
Conquest Racing announced that Tagliani would return as a full–time driver for the 2009. However, the team ultimately concentrated on road and street course races after the Indianapolis 500 in which Taglani was named the 2009 Indianapolis 500 "Rookie of the Year". Tagliani left Conquest Racing after the 2009 Rexall Edmonton Indy race in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.It was announced on August 28, 2009, that Tagliani had signed a four–year deal with an option for a fifth year to drive for start–up FAZZT Race Team in the IZOD IndyCar Series beginning in 2010.After a successful 2010 campaign with Tagliani, FAZZT Race Team was looking forward to an even more successful 2011 season, along with the possible expansion on the grid with a second entry. However, the team was purchased by Sam Schmidt on March 1, 2011, and during the 100th anniversary of the first running of the Indianapolis 500, Tagliani qualified for the pole position at a four–lap average of 227.472 mph, besting Scott Dixon in the last run of the day.Tagliani also ran selected races in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, running four races between 2009 and 2012.
In 2014, he announced that he would drive in two races in the series for Team Penske. At Road America for the Gardner Denver 200, Tagliani won the pole position driving Penske's #22. Tagliani nearly won his first NNS victory leading the second half. However, it was questionable with 10 laps to go if Tagliani had enough fuel. A caution came out before the final lap and just as the yellow period began Tagliani ran out of gas in the extended race and stalled at the start/finish line. Tagliani switched to dry (slick) tires with most of the field on wet tires (on a drying track); he restarted in 23rd place and recovered for second place.
Tagliani made his debut in sportscars driving a Ferrari Grand-Am GT in the Rolex Sports Car Series in 2013. Later, Rocketsports Racing announced that it had signed Tagliani for the full 2014 United SportsCar Championship season to drive an Oreca FLM09.
Later in 2014 Tagliani was announced as the driver for Brad Keselowski Racing's No. 19 in the Camping World Truck Series event at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and got off to a memorable start when he put his truck on pole, but throttle problems ruined his race and he finished 16th in the Chevy Silverado 250.
On June 20, 2015, Tagliani won the "Leland Industries 300" at Sunset Speedway with dominance as he became the 1st NASCAR Canadian Tire Series driver to lap the entire field with a Margin of Victory of 1 Lap.
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Tagliani's winning burnout at the Edmonton in 2008.
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Alex Tagliani Born In Lachenaie, Quebec, Canada - October 18, 1972
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Roger Penske Drives Chaparral To Victory At Laguna Seca - October 18, 1964
October 18, 1964
(photo credit: The Henry Ford via photopin cc)
Roger Penske drives a Chevrolet-powered Chaparral 2 to victory in the 200 mile, USAC sanctioned sports car race at Laguna Seca, in California, USA.
For 1964 Penske joined Jim Hall’s Chaparral operation to drive one of the futuristic auto-transmission 2As. He usually played obedient second-string to Hall, finishing 1-2 at Watkins Glen and Meadowdale, but with Hall breaking an arm in a big accident at Mosport, Roger took the 2A to victory at Laguna Seca.
For 1964 Penske joined Jim Hall’s Chaparral operation to drive one of the futuristic auto-transmission 2As. He usually played obedient second-string to Hall, finishing 1-2 at Watkins Glen and Meadowdale, but with Hall breaking an arm in a big accident at Mosport, Roger took the 2A to victory at Laguna Seca.
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Didier Theys Born In Nivelles, Belgium -October 19, 1956
October 19, 1956
Didier Theys
(Photo; twitter.com)
Born in Nivelles, Belgium.
Theys won the Belgium Karting championship in 1977. He won several Formula Ford championships in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the U.S. Bosch Super Vee championship in 1986, and the American Racing Series championship in 1987. He was also successful in the European Formula Three Championship and Formula 2 in the 1980s. He finished third in the Monaco Formula 3 Grand Prix in 1985.
Theys competed in the CART Indy Car Series from 1987 to 1993 with 47 career starts, including the Indianapolis 500 three times. He finished in the top ten 10 times in CART events, with a career best finish of third at Miami in 1988.
Theys is a two-time overall winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona, 1998 and 2002. He won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1998. He was the Sports Racing Prototype driver champion of the Grand-American Road Racing Association in 2002 and the winner of the 24 Hours of Spa in 1987, driving a factory BMW. He was also the polesitter 1996 and a podium finisher at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1997, 1998 and 1999. The podium finish in 1999 was a third overall in the factory Audi R8R with co-drivers Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela. Theys’ first appearance at Le Mans was in 1982, while his last start in the world’s most famous endurance sports car race came 20 years later in 2002.
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John Jones Born In Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada - October 19, 1965
October 19, 1965
John Jones
In 1982 John won the fiercely competitive Mid-Canada Series, then switched to a F2000 car. In 1983 he started racing in the Canadian Formula Ford 2000 series for 2 litre cars and left his mark that year, convincingly capturing the Walter Wolf and Canadian Tire championships in both '83 and '84.
In 1985 Jones would move to the International Motor Sports Association, driving a Mustang for legendary car owner Jack Roush, partially sponsored by Ford. Jones captured the GTO class in 1985, and became the youngest champion in North America road racing history. A highlight of that season, driving with Wally Dallenbach Jr and Doc Bundy, Jones won the GTO class at the 24 Hours of Daytona, in Florida. In recognition of his season in 1985 John Jones was named to the, American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association’s “All American Team” that included, team mate Wally Dallenbach, and racing legends Al Unser, Darrell Waltrip, Bill Elliott, and Steve Kinser.
In 1986 Jones would compete in the F-3000 series in Europe in 1986, improving through the season to become one of the main contenders in the series. Jones had top finishes of 6th & 7th place and finished 21st in points in the eleven race series, as a rookie driving a Ford/Cosworth powered March for Onyx Racing.
John returned to F-3000 again in 1987 driving a Ford/Cosworth powered Lola for Lola Motorsports. He posted a season high second place finish in June at Pau in France and with his consistently high qualifying positions drew the attention from several Formula One teams. Jones finished the 1987 season 11th in points finishing in the top ten in all but three of the eleven races.
In 1988 John would move on to the CART Indy Car series in the Frank Arciero owned March 88-C. John would have eleven top 10 finishes, 4 times finishing in seventh place to take him to a season ending 11th position in the points and CART Indy Car Series "Rookie of the Year".
Jones would switch to the Protofab team in 1989 with major sponsorship coming from Labatts and he would qualify for the Indy 500, finishing 11th after a 25th place start.
In 1990 Jones returned to F-3000 driving the Mugen/Honda powered Lola for Paul Stewart Racing. John started the season with 3rd & 4th place finishes, but with mechanical failures in five of the eleven races Jones finished twelfth for the season, beating future Formula 1 World Champion Damon Hill.
John raced in the Indy cars for parts of the 1991 & 92 seasons, and raced six races in the PPG / Firestone Indy Lights in 1997. Through the early 1990’s Jones also raced in Sports cars and Prototypes through out North America and the 24 Hours of LeMans in 1995.
John now lives in Denver, Colorado. Spends a lot of time as a racing driver instructor. John's brother Hunter Jones was also an active driver in the CART Indy Lights championship.
(Photo; sprintacular.blogspot.com)
Born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
The 1988 CART Champ Car "Rookie of the Year", John started ice racing at home in Thunder Bay, along side his Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame dad Tom in the early 1980's. In 1982 John won the fiercely competitive Mid-Canada Series, then switched to a F2000 car. In 1983 he started racing in the Canadian Formula Ford 2000 series for 2 litre cars and left his mark that year, convincingly capturing the Walter Wolf and Canadian Tire championships in both '83 and '84.
In 1985 Jones would move to the International Motor Sports Association, driving a Mustang for legendary car owner Jack Roush, partially sponsored by Ford. Jones captured the GTO class in 1985, and became the youngest champion in North America road racing history. A highlight of that season, driving with Wally Dallenbach Jr and Doc Bundy, Jones won the GTO class at the 24 Hours of Daytona, in Florida. In recognition of his season in 1985 John Jones was named to the, American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association’s “All American Team” that included, team mate Wally Dallenbach, and racing legends Al Unser, Darrell Waltrip, Bill Elliott, and Steve Kinser.
In 1986 Jones would compete in the F-3000 series in Europe in 1986, improving through the season to become one of the main contenders in the series. Jones had top finishes of 6th & 7th place and finished 21st in points in the eleven race series, as a rookie driving a Ford/Cosworth powered March for Onyx Racing.
John returned to F-3000 again in 1987 driving a Ford/Cosworth powered Lola for Lola Motorsports. He posted a season high second place finish in June at Pau in France and with his consistently high qualifying positions drew the attention from several Formula One teams. Jones finished the 1987 season 11th in points finishing in the top ten in all but three of the eleven races.
In 1988 John would move on to the CART Indy Car series in the Frank Arciero owned March 88-C. John would have eleven top 10 finishes, 4 times finishing in seventh place to take him to a season ending 11th position in the points and CART Indy Car Series "Rookie of the Year".
Jones would switch to the Protofab team in 1989 with major sponsorship coming from Labatts and he would qualify for the Indy 500, finishing 11th after a 25th place start.
In 1990 Jones returned to F-3000 driving the Mugen/Honda powered Lola for Paul Stewart Racing. John started the season with 3rd & 4th place finishes, but with mechanical failures in five of the eleven races Jones finished twelfth for the season, beating future Formula 1 World Champion Damon Hill.
John raced in the Indy cars for parts of the 1991 & 92 seasons, and raced six races in the PPG / Firestone Indy Lights in 1997. Through the early 1990’s Jones also raced in Sports cars and Prototypes through out North America and the 24 Hours of LeMans in 1995.
John now lives in Denver, Colorado. Spends a lot of time as a racing driver instructor. John's brother Hunter Jones was also an active driver in the CART Indy Lights championship.
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NASCAR Pioneer Billy Myers Born - October 19, 1924
October 19, 1924 - April 12, 1958
Billy Myers
(Photo; legendsofnascar.com)
Home: Germanton, North Carolina, USA.
Myers began competing in the NASCAR Grand National Division in 1951. Billy raced on the old Daytona road course on the beach, and in the 1956 event finished second to Tom Flock. He also had a third-place finish in a NASCAR Convertible Division beach race in 1957. In his 6 year NASCAR Grand National Division career, Myers recorded 84 starts, 1 pole, 2 wins, 18 top-5s, and 34 top-10s.
On April 12, 1958 while racing in a Modified event at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Billy Myers suffered a heart attack and died. In his memory and the memory if his brother, Bobby, The Myers Brothers award was established. It is awarded annually to a person, or persons, who have made outstanding contributions to stock car racing. The recepeint is elected each year by members of the National Motorsports Press Association.
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"Canadian & Maritime Hall Of Fame Racer" Scott Fraser Born - October 20, 1970
October 20, 1970 - March 20, 2004
Scott Fraser
Scott Fraser
Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada.
Scott was an accomplished Stock car driver and car builder from Shubenacadie, NS. He is the son of Maritime racing legend Frank Fraser. His brother Frankie is also an accomplished stock car racer. Scott began racing at age 16 in the Street Stock division. He moved up to Open-Wheel Modified and the MASCAR Circuit. He went on to the Pro-Stock and ASA Circuit.
Scott was an accomplished Stock car driver and car builder from Shubenacadie, NS. He is the son of Maritime racing legend Frank Fraser. His brother Frankie is also an accomplished stock car racer. Scott began racing at age 16 in the Street Stock division. He moved up to Open-Wheel Modified and the MASCAR Circuit. He went on to the Pro-Stock and ASA Circuit.
Scott's racing record of 16 years speaks volumes of his talent. Scott was a great ambassador for Canada and Maritime Motorsports.
Scott Fraser was just 16 when he drove his first race, competing in the Street Stock division at a local track, Onslow Speedway (Truro, Nova Scotia - closed 1990). From there he moved to an Open-Wheel Modified division where he won the championship at another local track, Scotia Speedworld (Halifax, Nova Scotia). That same year he was also runner-up for Rookie of the Year on the MASCAR circuit, a Maritimes-based late model touring series.
At the age of 21, he competed in his first international field when the American Canadian Tour (ACT) visited Nova Scotia for a double-header weekend. He entered both races and scored a third and a fourth place finish among short track standouts Junior Hanley, Kevin Lepage, Brad Leighton and Robbie Crouch.
His road course racing - and late model racing - debut came at the 1992 edition of the Moosehead Grand Prix (Halifax, Nova Scotia). He had the third fastest car in the MASCAR division but was forced to the garage area when the transmission broke. The 1993 edition of the same race saw Scott start his second road course race - and finish second.
In 1994, at 23, Scott Fraser won an ACT race at Scotia Speedworld after rebounding from a blown engine in practice for the event and subsequently using a borrowed engine to run the race.
Between 1993 and 1998 he won six consecutive Riverside 250 races, the longest and most prestigious annual stock car race on the MASCAR circuit.
In 1996, Scott experienced perhaps the most successful season ever for any driver in the history of Maritime motorsports. While competing on the MASCAR circuit he scored an impressive 12 of 15 feature wins en route to his first touring series championship. Nine of those wins were consecutive.
1997 saw Scott run a limited MASCAR schedule, winning four of the six races he entered. He also chalked up win number 13 of the 18 pro stock races ever run at New Brunswick International Speedway (NBIS - Geary, New Brunswick). Two NEPSA races at Sanair, Quebec, finishing third in the first race and setting fast time for the second race.
In 1998 Scott Fraser was crowned MASCAR champion for the second time in three seasons. Among more than 40 competitors he captured six of 13 checkered flags and clinched the title.
At the end of '98 season he made the decision to partner with Rollie MacDonald, a veteran Nova Scotia racer, who admired Scott's racing talent and had the personal desire to see Scott fulfill his dream. The King Racing team was formed with Scott as the driver and Rollie as the owner and car chief. The team was a combination of Scott's former team and Rollie's former team.
In February of 1999, the two hopefuls and their crew made the long trek to The World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida. Fraser's performance "vaulted him into the national limelight" said Late Model Digest. In 10 consecutive nightly races he competed against 69 of North America's best short track stock car racers, setting fast time five of the 10 nights, winning two feature races, with four top fives and six top 10s. The Fraser/MacDonald combination finished third overall in the final point standings in their maiden adventure.
Fraser and MacDonald returned home to Nova Scotia to formulate a plan for the future, clinching the International Pro Stock Challenge (IPSC) championship featuring competition among the best teams from New England and Eastern Canada. They also ran a limited MASCAR schedule. In all, Fraser ran 12 races that year, finishing the season with a championship, four wins, nine top fives and 10 top 10s.
In July 2000, the King Freight Lines sponsored No. 00 Chevrolet arrived in Chicago for their ASA debut. They stunned onlookers by qualifying second and finishing eighth. In total, Scott competed in six ASA races that summer, recording four top-10s and qualifying on the front row twice.
Encouraged by their rookie season in ASA, Fraser and MacDonald decided to go full-time in 2001. While still searching for a sponsorship, they competed in 11 events before wrecking their only racecar at the very same track they had made their spectacular debut just one year prior, Chicago Motor Speedway. Discouraged, they headed home to Nova Scotia to regroup.
Just four weeks later over $39,000 had been raised through the Fans Of Fraser campaign and Scott Fraser began building a new ASA racecar. The funds were raised by selling lap sponsorships at $100 each. Every fan got their name on the new blue Fans of Fraser racecar that debuted at Memphis (Tennessee) in September 2001. The Fans of Fraser car raced a second time at Indianapolis Raceway Park (Indiana) later that month.
In 13 2001 ASA starts, Fraser scored four top 10 finishes. Four late model (pro stock) starts saw two top 10 finishes.
2002 was a rebuilding year for Scott's Atlantic CAT pro stock team and a late start but in just eight pro stock races he won six of the biggest shows on the Northeastern seaboard, including Oktoberfest at Thompson, Ct.
In 2003, Scott Fraser drove the Rollie MacDonald owned entry on the Maritime Canadian based Maritime Pro Stock Tour. They won two of 11 events and finished third overall in final point standings. Other than those wins, Fraser visited Victory Lane on three other occasions in 2003. He finished first in a Pro All Stars Series event and a 250-lap open event at New Brunswick International Speedway (Geary, NB). The NBIS 250 win was Scott Fraser's biggest payday, winning a whopping $24,500. His last win came September 27 in a 150-lap open event at his home track Scotia Speedworld, in a race some described as his exhibition of pure racing talent.
In October, in what would be his last stock car race, he wrecked his racecar during a fiery crash at Concord Motor Speedway in North Carolina.
Besides his great driving talent, Scott built top-quality race cars at the Scott Fraser Racing Shop schooled initially by Canadian racing legend and fellow Nova Scotian Junior Hanley, and by his father Frank, himself a successful racer.
In 1999 he was named Nova Scotia Male Athlete of the Year. He was inducted to the Maritime Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2006, the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2007, the Colchester Sport Heritage Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.
Scott lost his life at just 33 years of age in a tragic snowmobile accident March 20, 2004.
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Clifford Allison Born In Hueytown, Alabama, USA - October 20, 1964
October 20, 1964 - August 13, 1992
Clifford Allison
(Photo; foundagrave.com)
Born in Hueytown, Alabama, USA.
Son of the legendary Bobby Allison, nephew of Donnie and brother to Davey, Clifford Allison was raised in Hueytown, Alabama and was a member of stock car racing's "Alabama Gang".
Allison was seen as "crazy wild" by his relatives, and his brother stated he believed Clifford had the greater talent of the two younger Allisons. After marrying young, he worked in a coal mine in Kentucky for a period in the 1980s, but soon returned to Alabama and shortly after was divorced.
He was then briefly crew chief for his father's Busch Series race team before the team was disbanded in 1988. By that time remarried, Allison started his racing career in earnest in the early 1990s, competing in ARCA and NASCAR Busch Series. He began the 1990 season competing for rookie of the year in the Busch Series, driving for Frank Cicci, but was released after the season's seventh race for poor performances. Allison drove for Clint Folsom on a limited basis in 1991, while in 1992 he joined team owner Barry Owen, intending to run the majority of the series schedule. Allison's best finish in professional stock car racing came in an ARCA race at Texas World Speedway in April 1992, where he finished second.
During practice for the Detroit Gasket 200, a Busch Series race at Michigan International Speedway in August 1992, Allison spun in turn four, hitting the concrete wall with the driver's side. Allison died while in transit to hospital. He was the first of two Allisons to die within the space of eleven months, with brother Davey perishing in a helicopter crash at Talladega Superspeedway the following year.
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Canadian Motorsport Legend Harvey Lennox Born In Lanigan, Sask - October 21, 1929
October 21, 1929 - September 29, 2014
Harvey Lennox
Born in Lanigan, Saskatchewan.
The London motorsport legend, famous for driving his signature super modified vehicle 'Tammy 10', won 182 times in feature races at tracks in Ontario and Michigan from the 1950s through the '70s.
The London motorsport legend, famous for driving his signature super modified vehicle 'Tammy 10', won 182 times in feature races at tracks in Ontario and Michigan from the 1950s through the '70s.
Lennox won five international stock car championships and three national titles and was the top driver at numerous tracks. Early in his career Harvey was the scourge of the dirt tracks that dotted Southwestern Ontario. He was big news at ovals such as Delaware, Nilestown, Ridge Raceway, Checker Flag in Windsor, Tilbury, Warwick, Tillsonburg, Sarnia Glendale to name some of them. It seemed every town had a track. Much of the time races were held on tracks at the fairgrounds.
Along came paved asphalt tracks, corners were widened and safety features installed as conditions improved. The dirt tracks eventually closed up with operations at Delaware, Flamboro, Bridgeport, CNE Toronto, Cayuga and Oswego, N.Y. taking over. Cars improved and were made to go faster and there was Harvey among the leaders again. Harvey took on all comers and cultivated some great rivalries. Who can forget the duels between him and Jack Sharpe in Lobo 1 or with some other leadfoots like Bill Rouse, Jimmy Howard, Trip Trepanier, Ron Pearn, Ted Hogan or Don Biederman?
In 1961, he won a five-mile feature at Harewood Acres, the first time super modifieds were contested on a Canadian road course.
Lennox was inducted into the Canadian Motorsport hall of fame in 1995 and the London Sports hall of fame in 2011. He is also a member of the Flamboro Speedway's hall of fame.
On September 29, 1914, Harvey Lennox passed away at Chelsey Park Nursing Home, London, Ontario, Canada, in his 85th year.
(Photo; londonsportshalloffame.com)
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Piquet Edges Moreno For Benetton Sweep In Japan - October 21, 1990
October 21, 1990
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(photo credit: CJM-Photography via photopin cc)
Nelson Piquet edged teammate Roberto Moreno by 7.223 seconds for a Benetton sweep of the"Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix"at Suzuka Circuitland, Suzuka City, Japan.
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Nelson Piquet edged teammate Roberto Moreno by 7.223 seconds for a Benetton sweep of the"Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix"at Suzuka Circuitland, Suzuka City, Japan.
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John Graham Born In Belfast, Northern Ireland - October 22nd, 1966
October 22nd, 1966
John Graham
(Photo; multimaticmotorsports.com)
Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Graham resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 1981, he began his career in Can-Am Under 2 litre class. In 1982 he joined Gordon Lightfoot diving the Lightfoot Racing March 811 Cosworth. In 1983, he joined Aston Martin driving the "Nimrod" at the 24 hours of Daytona.
Over his career John has has driven in IMSA, WSC, Indy Lights, F2, ALMS, Grand-Am, ARCA, NASCAR & Can-Am, as well as in the Paris-Dakar Rally Raid. He has 9 starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with an LMP2 win in 2000. His podium finishes include the 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, and Petit Le Mans.
(Photo; multimaticmotorsports.com)
Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Graham resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 1981, he began his career in Can-Am Under 2 litre class. In 1982 he joined Gordon Lightfoot diving the Lightfoot Racing March 811 Cosworth. In 1983, he joined Aston Martin driving the "Nimrod" at the 24 hours of Daytona.
Over his career John has has driven in IMSA, WSC, Indy Lights, F2, ALMS, Grand-Am, ARCA, NASCAR & Can-Am, as well as in the Paris-Dakar Rally Raid. He has 9 starts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with an LMP2 win in 2000. His podium finishes include the 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, and Petit Le Mans.
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Johnny Unser Born In Long Beach, California, USA - October 22, 1958
October 22, 1958
Johnny Unser
(Photo; sunvalleymag.com)
Born in Long Beach, California, USA.
Johnny is the son of open wheel driver Jerry Unser. Jerry died in a racing accident when Johnny was seven months old. Johnny made 5 starts in CART in 1993 and 1994 with a best result of 15th. He joined the Indy Racing League in its inaugural 1996 season but had a transmission failure during the pace lap of what would've been his first Indianapolis 500 and was not credited with a race start.
In 1997 he made his first start in the Indy 500 starting in the 35th position after league and speedway owner Tony George added his and Lyn St. James' car to the field because slower cars than theirs were guaranteed starting positions because of prior races. He went on to finish 18th, his best "500" result in 5 starts. Unser drove the majority of his IRL races for Hemelgarn Racing and in his 14 career IRL starts he had a best finish of 9th in his very first series start in 1996 at Phoenix International Raceway. His last major open wheel race was the 2000 Indy 500.
On January 14, 2008 Johnny Unser was named as the race director for the 2008 Champ Car Atlantic Championship. He is currently a driver coach and adviser to the Mazda Road to Indy and racing adviser and spokesman for Cooper Tire. He also is an official for Indycar in Race Control and is owner of Unser Racing, Karting and Entertainment track in Denver, Colorado.
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"2-Time CART Champ" Alex Zanardi Born In Bologna, Italy - October 23, 1966
October 23, 1966
Alessandro Zanardi
Born in Bologna, Italy.
A 2-time CART FedEx Series Champion and former Formula One driver, Zanardi began racing karts at the age of 13. He built the kart from wheels used from a dustbin and pipes from his father's line of work. In 1988, he joined the Italian Formula 3 series with a fifth place as his highest finish. In 1989, Zanardi took two pole positions and three podiums despite suffering from his team switching to unleaded fuel which reduced the engine power in his car.
In 1991, he moved up to the Formula 3000 series with the Il Barone Rampante team, who were themselves newcomers to the series. Winning on his F3000 debut, he went on to score two more wins that season, en route to second in the championship. Zanardi had his first taste of Formula One at a test session at Paul Ricard where he drove a Footwork. By the end of that year, he had commenced his career in Formula One. Three starts for Jordan were his reward for a strong F3000 campaign.
For 1992 Zanardi had to be content with guest drives for Minardi, replacing the injured Christian Fittipaldi. In the off-season, he tested for Benetton, but contracted with Lotus for 1993.
In 1993, Zanardi compared reasonably to teammate Johnny Herbert and was important in fine-tuning the team's active suspension system, scoring his only F1 point at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Zanardi suffered an injury when an elderly motorist collided with his bicycle knocking him off and ran over Zanardi's left foot leaving several bones broken. Despite this, Zanardi raced in Germany but spun out. However, his season ended prematurely after he suffered a terrible crash during practice for the Belgian Grand Prix where he suffered a concussion.
Still injured, Zanardi missed the beginning of the 1994 season, but he returned in the Spanish Grand Prix, replacing Pedro Lamy, who had been hurt in a testing crash. However, that year's Lotus was highly unreliable, and Zanardi failed to score a single point or qualify higher than 13th. With Lotus Formula One having folded, Zanardi took time to race in Sports car racing. His first meeting was at a Porsche Supercup event at Imola. Zanardi later raced at a four-hour event at Donington Park where he and Alex Portman retired with eight minutes remaining despite leading by over a lap. The pair managed to finish 4th at a wet weather race at Silverstone.
During 1995, Zanardi went to the United States for a drive in the Champ Car series. He felt that finding a race seat would be easy with Formula One experience but no teams took any interest. However, Reynard Commercial Director Rick Gorne managed to secure Zanardi a test drive at Homestead with Chip Ganassi Racing. Zanardi officially signed a contract on 23 October 1995. The team's race engineer Mo Nunn advised Chip against signing him, as he believed Italian drivers were too prone to mistakes.
He rapidly became one of the series' most popular drivers. He took the pole for his second race, although his first win didn't come until mid-season. In total he won three races in his rookie season and five pole positions, finishing third in the championship behind team-mate Jimmy Vasser and Michael Andretti. He and Andretti were level on points but Andretti took second place by virtue of having five race wins to Zanardi's three. Zanardi was named Champ Racing "Rookie of the Year". He won the championship for Ganassi in both 1997 and 1998, bringing home twelve victories.
A win came at Laguna Seca for the final race of the 1996 season, where he conducted a highly risky overtaking move at the Corkscrew corner (known to many racing fans as "The Pass"; the maneuver was banned for future years), on race leader Bryan Herta, having fought his way through the field. After winning a race, Zanardi was fond of spinning his car around in tight circles, leaving circular donut-shaped patterns of tyre rubber on the track; this would eventually become a popular means of celebrating race wins all across America.
Zanardi's CART success caught the eye of Sir Frank Williams whom he made contact in 1997, to inform them he would be available for contract negotiations if needed. Williams visited Zanardi who signed a three-year contract in July 1998 which was publicly confirmed in September of that year. He began testing at the end of that year alongside test driver Juan Pablo Montoya. Zanardi also received offers from BAR and Honda.
In the 2000 season Zanardi was not signed for Formula One team, but was interested in a CART comeback. He tested for Mo Nunn in July at Sebring driving for 246 laps and opted to sign to the team for 2001, however he was not successful for the most part.
On September 15, 2001, in his most competitive race of the season, he suffered a violent accident on the Lausitzring in Germany. Zanardi started from the back of the grid and was gaining ground on his rivals. The crash occurred while Zanardi was leading the race in the closing laps. After a late pit stop, Zanardi was attempting to merge back onto the track when he accelerated abruptly and spun into the path of Patrick Carpentier. Carpentier was able to avoid him, but Alex Tagliani, who was just behind Carpentier at the time, could not and Zanardi's car was impacted from the side, behind the front wheel, severing the nose of the car. Zanardi lost both legs in the impact and nearly three-quarters of his blood volume, though rapid medical intervention saved his life. Further portions of his legs were amputated during three hours of surgery to clean and facilitate closing the wounds. This was the end of his open-wheel racing career.
More recently, he has attracted widespread praise for his return to competition in the aftermath of a crash. Zanardi was fitted with two prosthetic limbs and began an ambitious rehabilitation program. Dissatisfied with the limitations of legs available commercially, Zanardi designed and built his own custom legs, to allow him to compare the weight and stiffness of various feet in order to find the ones most suitable for racing. In 2002, CART honoured Zanardi by giving him the privilege of waving the checkered flag in Toronto, Canada. In 2003, Zanardi was not only back behind the wheel, he was also racing again, with the aid of hand-operated brake and accelerator controls. He completed the final thirteen laps at the race track which had nearly killed him in 2001, and did so at highly competitive speeds approaching 310 km/h (193 mph). In fact, had he been qualifying for the race that weekend, he would have been fifth. It persuaded him that a race return was something to pursue.
Zanardi competed at Monza, Italy, in his first race since the accident in a touring car modified to allow the use of his prosthetic feet, finishing the race in seventh. In 2004, Zanardi returned to racing full-time, driving for Roberto Ravaglia's BMW Team Italy-Spain in the FIA European Touring Car Championship. The season did not see him score many points, but for 2005 matters were much improved, in a series which became the World Touring Car Championship by adding two non-European races. On 24 August 2005, Zanardi won his first world series race since his accident at Lausitzring. He had taken advantage of the championship's reverse grid system, in which by finishing the weekend's first race in 8th, a driver starts the second on pole. Still, Zanardi had held off attacks from several drivers, and celebrated his win with a series of trademark "donuts". He then finished the season strongly. He took further wins at Istanbul in 2006 and Brno in 2008 and 2009. At the end of the 2009 season he announced his retirement from the WTCC
Zanardi returned to a Formula One car in late November 2006 at a testing session for BMW Sauber in Valencia, Spain. The car had been specially adapted to have hand controls fitted on the steering wheel. After the drive Zanardi told the main problem he was having was using only his right hand to steer through corners, as his left operated the throttle. Zanardi was quoted as saying, "Of course, I know that I won't get a contract with the Formula One team, however having the chance to drive an F1 racer again is just incredible."
In 2007 he achieved 4th place in the New York City Marathon in the handcycle division, after only four weeks of training.
(photo credit: maxzix74 via photopin cc)
He has since taken up handcycling in earnest, and competed at the Para-Cycling Road World Championships in 2009. He stated that he was targeting a place in the Italian team for the 2012 Summer Paralympics. In 2009 he won the Venice Marathon in the category for the disabled, riding his wheelchair in one hour, thirteen minutes, 56 seconds, and won the Rome City Marathon in 2010, in a time of one hour, fifteen minutes, 53 seconds. In 2011, at his fourth attempt, Zanardi won the New York City Marathon in his handcycling class.
On 5 September 2012, Zanardi won a gold medal in the men's road time trial H4 at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, finishing 27.14 seconds ahead of Nobert Mosandi.
(photo credit: unpodimondo via photopin cc)
Two days later, he won the individual H4 road race, ahead of Ernst van Dyk (South Africa) and Wim Decleir (Belgium), and then a silver medal for Italy in the mixed team relay H1-4 on 8 September 2012. The bike used by Zanardi was constructed by Italian racecar constructor Dallara.
In November 2012 Zanardi tested a BMW DTM touring car, completing 32 laps of the Nürburgring. He later admitted that the test had rekindled his interest in motor racing, and in January 2014 it was announced that he would return to motorsport in the 2014 Blancpain Sprint Series season, racing a BMW Z4 GT3 for Ravaglia's ROAL Motorsport outfit.Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
(photo credit: MJRoberts55 via photopin cc)
Blancpain GT Series - Roal MotorSport - Alex Zanardi.
Zanardi has been married to Daniela since 1996, and they have a son, Niccolò. His sister Cristina was a promising swimmer until her death in an automobile collision in 1979. He has co-written two books based on his life, Alex Zanardi: My Story (2004) and Alex Zanardi: My Sweetest Victory (2004). Zanardi and his story have been featured on the HBO sports series Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
The book Rapid Response: My Inside Story as a Motor Racing Life-Saver by Stephen Olvey. Foreword by Alex Zanardi and begins with a vivid description of Alex Zanardi’s crash in Germany in 2001, and from there the author reflects on his career with many tragic, funny, interesting stories. The book also provides an important history of the evolution of motorsport safety. Now available in paperback with an updated final chapter, this is the compelling story of the author’s life in motor racing, providing fascinating insight into crashes involving many famous racers and circuits.
(Alessandro Zanardi - photo taken by Morio)
Born in Bologna, Italy.
A 2-time CART FedEx Series Champion and former Formula One driver, Zanardi began racing karts at the age of 13. He built the kart from wheels used from a dustbin and pipes from his father's line of work. In 1988, he joined the Italian Formula 3 series with a fifth place as his highest finish. In 1989, Zanardi took two pole positions and three podiums despite suffering from his team switching to unleaded fuel which reduced the engine power in his car.
In 1991, he moved up to the Formula 3000 series with the Il Barone Rampante team, who were themselves newcomers to the series. Winning on his F3000 debut, he went on to score two more wins that season, en route to second in the championship. Zanardi had his first taste of Formula One at a test session at Paul Ricard where he drove a Footwork. By the end of that year, he had commenced his career in Formula One. Three starts for Jordan were his reward for a strong F3000 campaign.
For 1992 Zanardi had to be content with guest drives for Minardi, replacing the injured Christian Fittipaldi. In the off-season, he tested for Benetton, but contracted with Lotus for 1993.
In 1993, Zanardi compared reasonably to teammate Johnny Herbert and was important in fine-tuning the team's active suspension system, scoring his only F1 point at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Zanardi suffered an injury when an elderly motorist collided with his bicycle knocking him off and ran over Zanardi's left foot leaving several bones broken. Despite this, Zanardi raced in Germany but spun out. However, his season ended prematurely after he suffered a terrible crash during practice for the Belgian Grand Prix where he suffered a concussion.
Still injured, Zanardi missed the beginning of the 1994 season, but he returned in the Spanish Grand Prix, replacing Pedro Lamy, who had been hurt in a testing crash. However, that year's Lotus was highly unreliable, and Zanardi failed to score a single point or qualify higher than 13th. With Lotus Formula One having folded, Zanardi took time to race in Sports car racing. His first meeting was at a Porsche Supercup event at Imola. Zanardi later raced at a four-hour event at Donington Park where he and Alex Portman retired with eight minutes remaining despite leading by over a lap. The pair managed to finish 4th at a wet weather race at Silverstone.
During 1995, Zanardi went to the United States for a drive in the Champ Car series. He felt that finding a race seat would be easy with Formula One experience but no teams took any interest. However, Reynard Commercial Director Rick Gorne managed to secure Zanardi a test drive at Homestead with Chip Ganassi Racing. Zanardi officially signed a contract on 23 October 1995. The team's race engineer Mo Nunn advised Chip against signing him, as he believed Italian drivers were too prone to mistakes.
He rapidly became one of the series' most popular drivers. He took the pole for his second race, although his first win didn't come until mid-season. In total he won three races in his rookie season and five pole positions, finishing third in the championship behind team-mate Jimmy Vasser and Michael Andretti. He and Andretti were level on points but Andretti took second place by virtue of having five race wins to Zanardi's three. Zanardi was named Champ Racing "Rookie of the Year". He won the championship for Ganassi in both 1997 and 1998, bringing home twelve victories.
A win came at Laguna Seca for the final race of the 1996 season, where he conducted a highly risky overtaking move at the Corkscrew corner (known to many racing fans as "The Pass"; the maneuver was banned for future years), on race leader Bryan Herta, having fought his way through the field. After winning a race, Zanardi was fond of spinning his car around in tight circles, leaving circular donut-shaped patterns of tyre rubber on the track; this would eventually become a popular means of celebrating race wins all across America.
Zanardi's CART success caught the eye of Sir Frank Williams whom he made contact in 1997, to inform them he would be available for contract negotiations if needed. Williams visited Zanardi who signed a three-year contract in July 1998 which was publicly confirmed in September of that year. He began testing at the end of that year alongside test driver Juan Pablo Montoya. Zanardi also received offers from BAR and Honda.
In the 2000 season Zanardi was not signed for Formula One team, but was interested in a CART comeback. He tested for Mo Nunn in July at Sebring driving for 246 laps and opted to sign to the team for 2001, however he was not successful for the most part.
On September 15, 2001, in his most competitive race of the season, he suffered a violent accident on the Lausitzring in Germany. Zanardi started from the back of the grid and was gaining ground on his rivals. The crash occurred while Zanardi was leading the race in the closing laps. After a late pit stop, Zanardi was attempting to merge back onto the track when he accelerated abruptly and spun into the path of Patrick Carpentier. Carpentier was able to avoid him, but Alex Tagliani, who was just behind Carpentier at the time, could not and Zanardi's car was impacted from the side, behind the front wheel, severing the nose of the car. Zanardi lost both legs in the impact and nearly three-quarters of his blood volume, though rapid medical intervention saved his life. Further portions of his legs were amputated during three hours of surgery to clean and facilitate closing the wounds. This was the end of his open-wheel racing career.
More recently, he has attracted widespread praise for his return to competition in the aftermath of a crash. Zanardi was fitted with two prosthetic limbs and began an ambitious rehabilitation program. Dissatisfied with the limitations of legs available commercially, Zanardi designed and built his own custom legs, to allow him to compare the weight and stiffness of various feet in order to find the ones most suitable for racing. In 2002, CART honoured Zanardi by giving him the privilege of waving the checkered flag in Toronto, Canada. In 2003, Zanardi was not only back behind the wheel, he was also racing again, with the aid of hand-operated brake and accelerator controls. He completed the final thirteen laps at the race track which had nearly killed him in 2001, and did so at highly competitive speeds approaching 310 km/h (193 mph). In fact, had he been qualifying for the race that weekend, he would have been fifth. It persuaded him that a race return was something to pursue.
Zanardi competed at Monza, Italy, in his first race since the accident in a touring car modified to allow the use of his prosthetic feet, finishing the race in seventh. In 2004, Zanardi returned to racing full-time, driving for Roberto Ravaglia's BMW Team Italy-Spain in the FIA European Touring Car Championship. The season did not see him score many points, but for 2005 matters were much improved, in a series which became the World Touring Car Championship by adding two non-European races. On 24 August 2005, Zanardi won his first world series race since his accident at Lausitzring. He had taken advantage of the championship's reverse grid system, in which by finishing the weekend's first race in 8th, a driver starts the second on pole. Still, Zanardi had held off attacks from several drivers, and celebrated his win with a series of trademark "donuts". He then finished the season strongly. He took further wins at Istanbul in 2006 and Brno in 2008 and 2009. At the end of the 2009 season he announced his retirement from the WTCC
Zanardi returned to a Formula One car in late November 2006 at a testing session for BMW Sauber in Valencia, Spain. The car had been specially adapted to have hand controls fitted on the steering wheel. After the drive Zanardi told the main problem he was having was using only his right hand to steer through corners, as his left operated the throttle. Zanardi was quoted as saying, "Of course, I know that I won't get a contract with the Formula One team, however having the chance to drive an F1 racer again is just incredible."
In 2007 he achieved 4th place in the New York City Marathon in the handcycle division, after only four weeks of training.
(photo credit: maxzix74 via photopin cc)
He has since taken up handcycling in earnest, and competed at the Para-Cycling Road World Championships in 2009. He stated that he was targeting a place in the Italian team for the 2012 Summer Paralympics. In 2009 he won the Venice Marathon in the category for the disabled, riding his wheelchair in one hour, thirteen minutes, 56 seconds, and won the Rome City Marathon in 2010, in a time of one hour, fifteen minutes, 53 seconds. In 2011, at his fourth attempt, Zanardi won the New York City Marathon in his handcycling class.
On 5 September 2012, Zanardi won a gold medal in the men's road time trial H4 at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, finishing 27.14 seconds ahead of Nobert Mosandi.
(photo credit: unpodimondo via photopin cc)
Two days later, he won the individual H4 road race, ahead of Ernst van Dyk (South Africa) and Wim Decleir (Belgium), and then a silver medal for Italy in the mixed team relay H1-4 on 8 September 2012. The bike used by Zanardi was constructed by Italian racecar constructor Dallara.
In November 2012 Zanardi tested a BMW DTM touring car, completing 32 laps of the Nürburgring. He later admitted that the test had rekindled his interest in motor racing, and in January 2014 it was announced that he would return to motorsport in the 2014 Blancpain Sprint Series season, racing a BMW Z4 GT3 for Ravaglia's ROAL Motorsport outfit.Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
(photo credit: MJRoberts55 via photopin cc)
Blancpain GT Series - Roal MotorSport - Alex Zanardi.
Zanardi has been married to Daniela since 1996, and they have a son, Niccolò. His sister Cristina was a promising swimmer until her death in an automobile collision in 1979. He has co-written two books based on his life, Alex Zanardi: My Story (2004) and Alex Zanardi: My Sweetest Victory (2004). Zanardi and his story have been featured on the HBO sports series Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The book Rapid Response: My Inside Story as a Motor Racing Life-Saver by Stephen Olvey. Foreword by Alex Zanardi and begins with a vivid description of Alex Zanardi’s crash in Germany in 2001, and from there the author reflects on his career with many tragic, funny, interesting stories. The book also provides an important history of the evolution of motorsport safety. Now available in paperback with an updated final chapter, this is the compelling story of the author’s life in motor racing, providing fascinating insight into crashes involving many famous racers and circuits.
↧
Al Unser III Born In Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA - October 23, 1982
October 23, 1982
Alfred Richard Unser
(Photo; twitter.com)
Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.
Al Unser III is the son of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser, Jr., grandson of Al Unser, Sr. During his young childhood years, he was often nicknamed "Mini Al" by the media and fans, all with the anticipation that he would undoubtedly follow in his family's footsteps to race. His grandfather became known as "Big Al," his father for a time became known as "Little Al," and Al III thus became known as "Mini Al." When starting his professional career, he has since abandoned any sort of nickname, and has insisted on being referred to as Just Al or by his full name, Al Richard Unser. His first TV appearance was the 1992 Indy 500 when his father won. Unser III was seen greeting his father in victory circle on live TV.
Unser began driving go karts at age 10, but stopped racing until after earning his driver's license at 16. After attending driving schools, Unser competed in the Skip Barber Western Racing Series in 2002, winning six races and earning "Rookie of the Year" honors. A year later, he posted four top-10 finishes in the Barber Dodge Series.
In 2004, Unser made his Toyota Atlantic Championship debut, running in four of the 12 series events. His best finish came in his final start of the season when he was eighth at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. He also ran in eight of twelve races in the Infiniti Pro Series, a feeder series to the Indy Racing League, and finished third five times.
Unser started the 2005 season in the Infiniti Pro Series, posting three top-10 finishes in the first four races. He then returned to the Toyota Atlantic series and finished the season 7th in championship, after running ten of twelve events and posting a best finish of 4th.
In 2006 he drove in 2 Champ Car Atlantic series events with a best finish of 19th, prior to funding issues seeing him losing his drive.
Unser was signed to drive the Playa Del Racing #12 car in the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 2007 Indy Pro Series. He continued in the series also appearing in several other oval races. He was announced as Playa Del Racing's full-time driver in the #12 car for the 2008 season.
Controlling interest in Playa Del Racing was sold in May, 2008 to former Las Vegas restaurateur Eric Zimmerman, who renamed it American Dream Motorsports. After finishing in 11th position at Indianapolis, Unser was reportedly released by the new owner and replaced by Tony Turco, who brought sponsorship to the program. American Dream Motorsports posted an entry for the Milwaukee 100 on May 31, but the car never took to the track.
Unser's sponsor, Ethos for Earth, shifted its support to Indy Lights at the series level, where it continues to feature Al Unser III and Al Unser, Jr. in marketing and promotions.
Al Unser III is the son of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser, Jr., grandson of Al Unser, Sr. During his young childhood years, he was often nicknamed "Mini Al" by the media and fans, all with the anticipation that he would undoubtedly follow in his family's footsteps to race. His grandfather became known as "Big Al," his father for a time became known as "Little Al," and Al III thus became known as "Mini Al." When starting his professional career, he has since abandoned any sort of nickname, and has insisted on being referred to as Just Al or by his full name, Al Richard Unser. His first TV appearance was the 1992 Indy 500 when his father won. Unser III was seen greeting his father in victory circle on live TV.
Unser began driving go karts at age 10, but stopped racing until after earning his driver's license at 16. After attending driving schools, Unser competed in the Skip Barber Western Racing Series in 2002, winning six races and earning "Rookie of the Year" honors. A year later, he posted four top-10 finishes in the Barber Dodge Series.
In 2004, Unser made his Toyota Atlantic Championship debut, running in four of the 12 series events. His best finish came in his final start of the season when he was eighth at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. He also ran in eight of twelve races in the Infiniti Pro Series, a feeder series to the Indy Racing League, and finished third five times.
Unser started the 2005 season in the Infiniti Pro Series, posting three top-10 finishes in the first four races. He then returned to the Toyota Atlantic series and finished the season 7th in championship, after running ten of twelve events and posting a best finish of 4th.
In 2006 he drove in 2 Champ Car Atlantic series events with a best finish of 19th, prior to funding issues seeing him losing his drive.
Unser was signed to drive the Playa Del Racing #12 car in the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 2007 Indy Pro Series. He continued in the series also appearing in several other oval races. He was announced as Playa Del Racing's full-time driver in the #12 car for the 2008 season.
Controlling interest in Playa Del Racing was sold in May, 2008 to former Las Vegas restaurateur Eric Zimmerman, who renamed it American Dream Motorsports. After finishing in 11th position at Indianapolis, Unser was reportedly released by the new owner and replaced by Tony Turco, who brought sponsorship to the program. American Dream Motorsports posted an entry for the Milwaukee 100 on May 31, but the car never took to the track.
Unser's sponsor, Ethos for Earth, shifted its support to Indy Lights at the series level, where it continues to feature Al Unser III and Al Unser, Jr. in marketing and promotions.
↧
↧
Jo Siffert Dies In Fiery Crash At Brands Hatch - October 24, 1971
July 7, 1936 - October 24, 1971
Jo Siffert
Jo Siffert
(Photo; "Siffert, Joseph 1968".)
Born in Fribourg, Switzerland.
Affectionately known as "Seppi" to his family and close friends. Siffert initially made his name in racing on two wheels, powering his way to the Swiss 350 cc motorcycle championship in 1959, before switching to four wheels with a Formula Junior Stanguellini. Siffert graduated to Formula One as a privateer in 1962, with a four-cylinder Lotus-Climax. He later moved to Swiss team Scuderia Filipinetti, and in 1964 joined Rob Walker's private British Rob Walker Racing Team. Early successes included victories in the non-Championship 1964 and 1965 Mediterranean Grands Prix, both times beating Jim Clark by a very narrow margin.
In 1968, Siffert drove into the F1 history books by winning the 1968 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch in Rob Walker Racing Team's Lotus 49B, beating Chris Amon's Ferrari into second place after a race-long battle. This is regarded as the last GP victory by a genuine privateer.
While Siffert's status in F1 grew slowly, his fame came as a leading driver for the factory Porsche effort in its quest for the World Sportscar Championship. In 1968, Siffert and Hans Herrmann won the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring in a Porsche 907, marking the first major outright wins for the company, apart from a few earlier victories on twisty tracks.
Later on, Siffert's driving displays in the Porsche 917 were legendary, earning him several major wins in Europe. In addition, Siffert was chosen by Porsche to help launch its CanAm development program, driving a Porsche 917PA spyder in 1969 and finishing fourth in the championship despite few entries.
In 1970 he teamed up with Brian Redman to drive a Porsche 908/3 to victory at the Targa Florio.
(Photo; "1971-05-29 Joseph Siffert, Porsche 908-3 (Gegengerade)" by Lothar Spurzem)
That same year, Porsche bankrolled Siffert's seat in a works March Engineering F1 since the German company did not wish to lose one of their prize drivers to rival Ferrari. His association with March in F1 was disastrous, so he was delighted to join rival Porsche racer Pedro Rodriguez at BRM the following season.
Siffert won the 1971 Austrian Grand Prix, and was later killed in the non-championship World Championship Victory Race at Brands Hatch, Kent, England, the scene of his first victory in 1968. The suspension of his BRM had been damaged in a lap one incident with Ronnie Peterson, and broke later. The BRM crashed and immediately caught fire. Siffert could not free himself from the burning car.
His funeral in Switzerland was attended by 50,000 people and a Gulf-Porsche 917 of Team John Wyer led the hearse and procession through the streets of Fribourg. A very comprehensive story about Siffert's life and death was published in 2005 by Roger Benoit in the Swiss newspaper Der Blick. Benoit was a period Formula 1 sports reporter and knew Siffert well. He was also present at Siffert's tragic last Brands Hatch race in 1971. The night before the race, Benoit took pictures of Siffert, his wife Simone and his mother Maria as well as a friend Jean Tinguely at an evening victory celebration Link. He then also took the very last picture of Siffert alive as he sat waiting in his BRM in the pole position on the starting line five minutes before the start of the fateful race.
In 2005, a very informative 90-minute documentary about his life was made by director Men Lareida: Jo Siffert – live fast, die young.
In the final round of the 2007–08 A1GP season, at Brands Hatch, the A1 Team Switzerland car carried the message: Jo 'Seppi' Siffert, 40th Anniversary, Brands Hatch. This commemorated his 1968 British Grand Prix victory at Brands Hatch.
Born in Fribourg, Switzerland.
Affectionately known as "Seppi" to his family and close friends. Siffert initially made his name in racing on two wheels, powering his way to the Swiss 350 cc motorcycle championship in 1959, before switching to four wheels with a Formula Junior Stanguellini. Siffert graduated to Formula One as a privateer in 1962, with a four-cylinder Lotus-Climax. He later moved to Swiss team Scuderia Filipinetti, and in 1964 joined Rob Walker's private British Rob Walker Racing Team. Early successes included victories in the non-Championship 1964 and 1965 Mediterranean Grands Prix, both times beating Jim Clark by a very narrow margin.
In 1968, Siffert drove into the F1 history books by winning the 1968 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch in Rob Walker Racing Team's Lotus 49B, beating Chris Amon's Ferrari into second place after a race-long battle. This is regarded as the last GP victory by a genuine privateer.
While Siffert's status in F1 grew slowly, his fame came as a leading driver for the factory Porsche effort in its quest for the World Sportscar Championship. In 1968, Siffert and Hans Herrmann won the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring in a Porsche 907, marking the first major outright wins for the company, apart from a few earlier victories on twisty tracks.
Later on, Siffert's driving displays in the Porsche 917 were legendary, earning him several major wins in Europe. In addition, Siffert was chosen by Porsche to help launch its CanAm development program, driving a Porsche 917PA spyder in 1969 and finishing fourth in the championship despite few entries.
In 1970 he teamed up with Brian Redman to drive a Porsche 908/3 to victory at the Targa Florio.
(Photo; "1971-05-29 Joseph Siffert, Porsche 908-3 (Gegengerade)" by Lothar Spurzem)
.jpg/1024px-1971-05-29_Joseph_Siffert%2C_Porsche_908-3_(Gegengerade).jpg)
That same year, Porsche bankrolled Siffert's seat in a works March Engineering F1 since the German company did not wish to lose one of their prize drivers to rival Ferrari. His association with March in F1 was disastrous, so he was delighted to join rival Porsche racer Pedro Rodriguez at BRM the following season.
Siffert won the 1971 Austrian Grand Prix, and was later killed in the non-championship World Championship Victory Race at Brands Hatch, Kent, England, the scene of his first victory in 1968. The suspension of his BRM had been damaged in a lap one incident with Ronnie Peterson, and broke later. The BRM crashed and immediately caught fire. Siffert could not free himself from the burning car.
His funeral in Switzerland was attended by 50,000 people and a Gulf-Porsche 917 of Team John Wyer led the hearse and procession through the streets of Fribourg. A very comprehensive story about Siffert's life and death was published in 2005 by Roger Benoit in the Swiss newspaper Der Blick. Benoit was a period Formula 1 sports reporter and knew Siffert well. He was also present at Siffert's tragic last Brands Hatch race in 1971. The night before the race, Benoit took pictures of Siffert, his wife Simone and his mother Maria as well as a friend Jean Tinguely at an evening victory celebration Link. He then also took the very last picture of Siffert alive as he sat waiting in his BRM in the pole position on the starting line five minutes before the start of the fateful race.
In 2005, a very informative 90-minute documentary about his life was made by director Men Lareida: Jo Siffert – live fast, die young.
In the final round of the 2007–08 A1GP season, at Brands Hatch, the A1 Team Switzerland car carried the message: Jo 'Seppi' Siffert, 40th Anniversary, Brands Hatch. This commemorated his 1968 British Grand Prix victory at Brands Hatch.
↧
10 Die In Hendrick Motorsports Plane Crash - October 24, 2004
October 24, 2004
A Beechcraft Super King Air aircraft, registered and owned by Hendrick Motorsports, crashed into mountainous terrain in Stuart, Virginia, during a missed approach to Blue Ridge Airport. All ten people on board were killed.
("Careflight Beechcraft 200 Super King Air DRW Butler" by Eugene Butler jetphotos.net)
A Beechcraft Super King Air aircraft, registered and owned by Hendrick Motorsports, crashed into mountainous terrain in Stuart, Virginia, during a missed approach to Blue Ridge Airport. All ten people on board were killed.
("Careflight Beechcraft 200 Super King Air DRW Butler" by Eugene Butler jetphotos.net)
(A Beechcraft Super King Air 200, similar to the one involved in the crash)
The King Air took off from Concord, North Carolina, at 12 pm EST, carrying eight passengers and two flight crew. Among them were several key Hendrick Motorsports staff, including team president John Hendrick and his twin daughters, Kimberly and Jennifer Hendrick; former NASCAR Busch Series driver and owner Ricky Hendrick, son of Rick Hendrick; general manager Jeff Turner and chief engine builder Randy Dorton.
The other people on board were; DuPont executive Joe Jackson and pilots Richard Tracy, Elizabeth Morrison and Scott Lathram, a pilot for driver Tony Stewart.
The plane was en route to the Subway 500 Nextel Cup Series race at Martinsville, Virginia, when it was reported missing at 3:00 pm. Eventually 9-1-1 was called, and fire trucks and police cars patrolled the Virginia area during the race itself. Around midway through the race, searchers patrolling the nearby Bull Mountain's peak found airplane wreckage on the summit. When removing the wreckage from the summit they found the bodies of the Hendrick group at 11:05 pm. Everyone on board had been killed. A search by firefighters also discovered a scar on the mountain of moved dirt; the discovery proved that the airplane crashed on the side of the mountain and the explosion blew the wreckage and group upward.
NASCAR received word of the plane crash halfway through the race at Martinsville. Hendrick Motorsports won the race as a team victory but after the race was over, NASCAR immediately summoned all the Hendrick Motorsports drivers, including the race winner Jimmie Johnson, to the Oval Office and all victory lane ceremonies were cancelled.
The week following the crash, officials at the Atlanta Motor Speedway held a moment of silence before both the Busch and Nextel Cup races and lowered the flags to half staff. All the Hendrick Motorsports cars carried tributes on the hoods for those who were lost the week before. Jimmie Johnson, who won the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 race and the rest of his teammates and crew wore their caps backwards in victory lane as a tribute to Ricky Hendrick, who had a habit of doing the same. At the Hendrick museum in Concord, North Carolina, 300 people showed up for a candlelight vigil in honor of the ten victims.
(Photo; "Nascarphx14" by Brian Cantoni - Flickr.com - image description page)
Brian Vickers' hood design pays tribute to the people killed in the plane crash.
See our; Ricky Hendrick Tribute Page
The King Air took off from Concord, North Carolina, at 12 pm EST, carrying eight passengers and two flight crew. Among them were several key Hendrick Motorsports staff, including team president John Hendrick and his twin daughters, Kimberly and Jennifer Hendrick; former NASCAR Busch Series driver and owner Ricky Hendrick, son of Rick Hendrick; general manager Jeff Turner and chief engine builder Randy Dorton.
The other people on board were; DuPont executive Joe Jackson and pilots Richard Tracy, Elizabeth Morrison and Scott Lathram, a pilot for driver Tony Stewart.
The plane was en route to the Subway 500 Nextel Cup Series race at Martinsville, Virginia, when it was reported missing at 3:00 pm. Eventually 9-1-1 was called, and fire trucks and police cars patrolled the Virginia area during the race itself. Around midway through the race, searchers patrolling the nearby Bull Mountain's peak found airplane wreckage on the summit. When removing the wreckage from the summit they found the bodies of the Hendrick group at 11:05 pm. Everyone on board had been killed. A search by firefighters also discovered a scar on the mountain of moved dirt; the discovery proved that the airplane crashed on the side of the mountain and the explosion blew the wreckage and group upward.
NASCAR received word of the plane crash halfway through the race at Martinsville. Hendrick Motorsports won the race as a team victory but after the race was over, NASCAR immediately summoned all the Hendrick Motorsports drivers, including the race winner Jimmie Johnson, to the Oval Office and all victory lane ceremonies were cancelled.
The week following the crash, officials at the Atlanta Motor Speedway held a moment of silence before both the Busch and Nextel Cup races and lowered the flags to half staff. All the Hendrick Motorsports cars carried tributes on the hoods for those who were lost the week before. Jimmie Johnson, who won the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 race and the rest of his teammates and crew wore their caps backwards in victory lane as a tribute to Ricky Hendrick, who had a habit of doing the same. At the Hendrick museum in Concord, North Carolina, 300 people showed up for a candlelight vigil in honor of the ten victims.
(Photo; "Nascarphx14" by Brian Cantoni - Flickr.com - image description page)
Brian Vickers' hood design pays tribute to the people killed in the plane crash.
See our; Ricky Hendrick Tribute Page
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Brian Vickers Born in Thomasville, North Carolina - October 24, 1983
October 24, 1983
Brian Vickers
(photo credit: jerbec via photopin cc)
Born in Thomasville, North Carolina, USA.
He most recently drove the No. 55 Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and was the 2003 NASCAR Busch Series champion. Vickers' career has been marred by a series of health issues since 2010 that have included blood clots and heart problems.
On December 15, 2014, it was announced that Vickers would miss part of the 2015 season due to health issues. Vickers said that his body had been rejecting an artificial patch which had been inserted in 2010 to fix a hole in his heart. He had corrective surgery in December to repair the hole that was a success, and said that he would need time for rest and rehabilitation. Vickers implied in January that he only would miss a few races. With his racing future uncertain, Vickers joined NASCAR on NBC as a analyst and worked selected Sprint Cup races on the network during the season.
Vickers is a fan of golf and attends several golf-events that NASCAR drivers often host in offseasons. He also loves traveling, hang-gliding and diving underwater. Currently he lives in Daytona Beach, Florida where he spends time with his family and pursues most of his hobbies.
(photo credit: jerbec via photopin cc)
Born in Thomasville, North Carolina, USA.
He most recently drove the No. 55 Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and was the 2003 NASCAR Busch Series champion. Vickers' career has been marred by a series of health issues since 2010 that have included blood clots and heart problems.
On December 15, 2014, it was announced that Vickers would miss part of the 2015 season due to health issues. Vickers said that his body had been rejecting an artificial patch which had been inserted in 2010 to fix a hole in his heart. He had corrective surgery in December to repair the hole that was a success, and said that he would need time for rest and rehabilitation. Vickers implied in January that he only would miss a few races. With his racing future uncertain, Vickers joined NASCAR on NBC as a analyst and worked selected Sprint Cup races on the network during the season.
Vickers is a fan of golf and attends several golf-events that NASCAR drivers often host in offseasons. He also loves traveling, hang-gliding and diving underwater. Currently he lives in Daytona Beach, Florida where he spends time with his family and pursues most of his hobbies.
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Lou Figaro Dies Of Crash Injuries Received During "Wilkes 160" - October 25, 1954
October 12, 1920 - October 25, 1954
Louis Figaro
(Photo; legendsofnascar.com)
Home: South Gate, California, USA.
Figaro competed in 16 NASCAR Cup Series races from 1951 to 1954, picking up one victory in the 1951 event at Carrell Speedway in Gardena, California. During the early years of late model stock car racing on the west coast, no name was more well known than that of Lou Figaro.
Figaro started his racing career in the early 1930’s and drove everything he could get his hands on. He liked stock cars, and by the end of WWII had decided to direct most of his energy to that type of racing. He was always a Hudson man and when the Hudson Hornet came out in 1951, Lou was there driving one of Jimmy Dane’s cars. He ran the Mexican Road Race with a Hudson and nearly lost his life in that effort. Lou raced with AAA, NASCAR, IMCA and WAR and won many races. He was especially fast on the high bands of Oakland, and the ½ mile dirt at Carrell Speedway.
He won the 1953 WAR Championship for Late Models and in 1954 had decided to concentrate on running NASCAR Grand National events in the south. He was killed in an accident during the 1954 Wilkes 160 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on October 24, 1954, when his vehicle smashed through the guardrail and overturned with three laps left. He died in the hospital the following day.
In 2002, Figaro was inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame. His granddaughter, Tracy Figaro-Davis, accepted.
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In Memory Of Dick Trickle
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(Photo; vintagesleds.com)
Born in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, USA.
Trickle raced for decades around the short tracks of Wisconsin, winning many championships along the way. Trickle competed in the ASA, ARTGO, ARCA, All Pro, IMCA, NASCAR, and USAC.
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(Photo; vintagesleds.com)
Born in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, USA.
Trickle raced for decades around the short tracks of Wisconsin, winning many championships along the way. Trickle competed in the ASA, ARTGO, ARCA, All Pro, IMCA, NASCAR, and USAC.
Eight-year-old Dick Trickle was playing tag with his cousin Verlon on the rafters in a house under construction when he fell two floors to the basement and broke his hip. He was transferred from a local hospital to the University of Wisconsin Hospital with slow recovery. His recovery was so slow that the doctors gave up and sent him home, presuming that he would be an invalid for the rest of his life. Trickle later began to walk, although he walked with a slight limp for the rest of his life. He spent three years in a cast from his waist to his foot. While he was recovering as a nine-year-old, a friend took him to his first races at Crown Speedway in his hometown of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin. "When I got there I was flabbergasted," Trickle said. "I thought it was the neatest thing. Free shows were nothing compared to it. That race never left my mind until I was 16. I knew I was going to drive a race car when I was 16."
Trickle was one of five children. His mother, Lauretta, struggled to provide food and clothing. His father, Leo, was a blacksmith who worked on farm equipment near their rural Wisconsin home before having a nervous breakdown and spending the last 50 years of his life in a mental hospital. Trickle's family lived on welfare, so there was no money available for racing. Trickle spent his summers working for area farmers, starting as a 13-year-old. He also spent a lot of time at the Rudolph Blacksmith shop that his father was a partner in. While his father was ill, his uncle Leonard ran the shop. "I worked part time at the shop to earn a nickel or dime," Trickle said. "At that age, it was mostly sweeping the shop, but I started to play with the welder and soon I could make an arc and then weld. I started junking machinery. I save some things getting a head start for when I would go racing at 16. I didn't have any money, but I had this pile of stuff to build a race car with. It was a hope chest. When I turned 16, I let the farmer I was working for keep most the money I earned until fall. That fall I collected my money and went down Main Street wheeling and dealing. I finally bought a 1950 Ford in good condition for $100. It was going to be my street car, but the urge to race got too strong and I cut up and made a stock car out of it. I did run the car a little bit before I cut it up and I ended up drag racing a classmate, Melvin Hunsinger, who had a 1949 Ford. He beat me. It seems kind of dumb when I already knew there was a car that could beat me. Eventually, I bought Hunsinger's 1949 Ford for $32.50 and put the motor in my car".
Trickle started out as the slowest car in a 100-car field at a Stratford, Wisconsin short track race. He raced that car at the end of the 1958 season and throughout the 1959 season, after which time he built a 1956 Ford into race car using all of his knowledge that he had acquired. In his first time out with the new car, he finished second in the feature event at Griffith Park at Wisconsin Rapids. His competitors checked the rules and found out that Trickle was too young to race, even though he had already raced there for two years. He had to race at other tracks for a year until he was old enough to race at his hometown track. He raced for several years before deciding to race full-time. After working at several jobs after high school, he had worked for two years for a local telephone company. He had been uncomfortable climbing telephone poles as he was uncomfortable with heights. He transferred to a different part of the company. Two or three years later he discussed racing full-time with his wife Darlene who he married in 1961. Trickle felt that racing could be profitable, and they decided to make the change.
Trickle raced at over 100 events each year for over 15 years. He was racing at Tomah-Sparta Speedway when Francis Kelly noticed that Trickle was always in contention for winning the races, but he lost a lot of them because he had junky motors. One day Kelly approached Trickle and asked him what it would cost for Trickle to win. Trickle told him a new motor; Kelly asked Trickle to compile a list of parts that he needed. When Kelly asked who would assemble the motor, Trickle responded that he could but he was a junkyard mechanic. Trickle suggested that Alan Kulwicki's father Jerry Kulwicki, who was building motors for Norm Nelson's USAC stock cars, should build the engine.
A big turning point in Trickle's career happened at the National Short Track Championship race at Rockford Speedway in 1966. Trickle said, "The cars in that area were fancier and looked like they were ahead of us. The didn't treat us bad, but they sort of giggled at us kids with the rat cars. After two days, they look differently at those rat cars. I won and pocketed $1,645. Before, I questioned spending the money to travel that far. But if you could win, that was a different story." Trickle started the 1967 season by winning at State Park Speedway and ended the season with 25 feature victories including wins at Wisconsin Dells Speedway (now Dells Raceway Park) and Golden Sands Speedway (near Wisconsin Rapids).
Road America - #42 Dick Trickle 1968 Ford
(photo credit: Mike Traverse via photopin cc)
Trickle raced in United States Automobile Club (USAC) stock cars in 1968, and he won the series' rookie of the year award.
Trickle started his 1972 season by winning at Golden Sands Speedway near Wisconsin Rapids. Wisconsin's short track racing season starts in April. By May 13, he had twelve wins in thirteen events. He got this fifteenth win in twenty starts on May 27. Trickle became the winningest short track driver that year when he won his 67th race.
Trickle won numerous special events outside of Wisconsin in 1973, including a 200-lap feature at Rolla, Missouri in April, following by winning a 50-lap feature the following day at I-70 Speedway near Odessa, Missouri. In May he won a 50-lapper at Springfield, Missouri and two more features at I-70 Speedway. Trickle used his purple 1970 Ford Mustang to win at the Minnesota Fair and at Rockford Speedway in September. He had a total of 57 wins in 1973.
Sanctioning bodies put in a weight-per-cubic-inch rule, and Trickle's career had problems in 1974 and 1975. "Fords almost broke me. I couldn't get any pieces for racing at my level. It took two years of hard labor and depleting my funds to realize I couldn't do this anymore. I told myself either I had to change my program or get out of racing." Therefore, Trickle decided to use a General Motors car and engine. He bought a car for $13,000 on his word that he would pay for it by September. He won 35 or 40 races that year and paid for the car by July.
In 1982, Trickle won track championship at State Park Speedway in Wausau where he started out the season by winning the first two features and seven total. He also won the track championship at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway after winning three events in August. That season he won his first Miller 200 special event at the Milwaukee Mile. Trickle started racing out of state a lot more in 1983. Of all of Trickle's victories, his best memory was winning the 1983 World Crown 300 in Georgia. "It took three weeks of preparation and a lot of determination," he said. "It was the biggest payday of my career up to that point ($50,000)." He beat Jim Sauter by two car-lengths at the season opener, and won three straight races in May. After winning on June 1, LaCrosse business raised a $700 bounty for anyone who could beat him. Trickle skipped the following week, and returned the week after to lose to Steve Burgess. He did not win as much at State Park, but he did win the track championship. Trickle won ASA races at Coeburn, Virginia and Cayuga, Ontario in 1984, as well as the Red, White, and Blue state championship series at WIR and the Slinger Nationals at Slinger.
In 1989 Trickle made his full schedule debut driving the #84 Miller High Life Buick for Stavola Brothers Racing.
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(photo credit: Mike Traverse via photopin cc)
He was Rookie of the Year in NASCAR's Winston Cup (now the Sprint Cup) at age 48 (and a grandfather), becoming the oldest driver in Winston Cup history to do so. After being given the Rookie of the Year trophy at the NASCAR Awards banquet, he quipped "I guess I’d just like to thank everyone who gave a young guy like me a chance".
His best career Winston Cup finish was third (5 times). He started 303 races, with 15 Top 5 and 36 Top 10 finishes. Dick also raced in the Busch Series, where he won two races. He had 158 career starts, with 24 Top 5 and 42 Top 10 finishes.
In more than an estimated 2,200 races, Trickle logged one million laps and is believed to have won over 1,200 feature races. He was billed as the winningest short track driver in history. Trickle's career highlights include racing to 67 wins in 1972, winning seven ARTGO Championships in nine years between 1979 to 1987, winning back to back ASA AC-Delco Challenge championships in 1984 and 1985, the 1968 USAC Stock Car rookie of the year, and winning the 1989 NASCAR Rookie of the Year award in what was then called the Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup). Trickle was nicknamed the "White Knight" as referenced by his sponsored Super America paint scheme, when he raced in Wisconsin. An interesting read I found was in the book entitled The Golden Age of Wisconsin Auto Racing.
Trickle died May 16, 2013, from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The incident occurred at 12:02 p.m. at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Boger City, North Carolina. The Lincoln County Communications Center received a call, apparently from the victim, saying that "there's going to be a dead body. Suicide." When the 911 operator asked who was about to commit suicide, Trickle responded: "I'm the one." Police attempted to call his phone back but there was no response. Trickle was found dead beside his pickup truck. His granddaughter, who died in a car accident, was buried in the same cemetery. Trickle's family later released a statement which in part said: "He had been suffering for some time with severe chronic pain, had seen many doctors, none of which could find the source of his pain. His family as well as all those who knew him find his death very hard to accept, and though we will hurt from losing him for some time, he’s no longer suffering and we take comfort knowing he’s with his very special angel."
The message also said: “Dick’s passion in life was his racing. He touched many lives throughout his career, provided memories for many that will last a lifetime. Many thought when he retired he would continue as a car owner, but he was a driver at heart; he wanted to be behind the wheel and be in control of his destiny. We believe he felt himself no longer able to be behind that wheel of life or be the man he only knew how to be because of the pain and suffering.”
He left a wife, Darlene, and three children, Vicky, Chad and Tod. His nephew, Chris Trickle, was a race car driver before dying in a drive-by shooting. “We were building a team for Chris,” Dick's brother Chuck Trickle said. “When he got shot, I ended up selling the team to my sponsor. And they put Kurt Busch in the car. That’s how he got his start.”
NASCAR chairman Brian France released a statement saying "Dick was a legend in the short-track racing community, particularly in his home state of Wisconsin, and he was a true fan favorite. Personalities like Dick Trickle helped shape our sport. He will be missed."
A moment of silence was observed for Trickle during the start of the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 17.
A tribute was held for Trickle at the July 2013 Slinger Nationals,
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(photo credit: royal_broil via photopin cc)
with his family telling stories about his career.
Trickle's Wisconsin friends and competitors, including Tom Reffner and Marv Marzofka, began organizing a Dick Trickle Memorial fund to build a memorial statue at Rudolph Community Park. The group is collecting money including securing the title sponsorship of a TUNDRA Super Late Model race at Golden Sands Speedway.
Wisconsin International Raceway - Dick Trickle Memorial poster
(photo credit: royal_broil via photopin cc)
Always smiling, always playing and always at full speed, he was a lot more than a race car driver with one of the most recognizable names in sports. Known for his chain-smoking, coffee-swigging and an infectious smile, Trickle never won a Sprint Cup Series race. But he left a legacy of funny tales, impressionable memories and sadly, some puzzling questions.Trickle drilled a hole in his full-face helmet so he could smoke during a caution period of a race. While others had bottles of water and Gatorade to help them during a quick break, Trickle rarely drove without a cigarette lighter on board. When asked how many times he’d smoke during a race, he once said, “How many cautions were there?”
When he wasn’t racing, he seemed to find the best party. If not, he created his own. “Him and I liked to drink beer and have fun,” Chuck Trickle said. “He was out there getting rowdy and drinking and having fun. If you were there, you were having fun.”
Jim Sauter, who carved his own short-track career in the Midwest, worked with Trickle and Dave Marcis to set up the cars from the International Race of Champions. All three were from Wisconsin and they flew into Daytona Beach the night before a test. They met at their traditional place, the local Waffle House. “That was our thing,” Sauter said. “I remember when we ordered he called the waitress back and asked if he could get a couple extra scoops of grease on his. We all laughed so hard. “Those are the kind of memories I have of Dick Trickle.”
Even in death, thinking about Dick Trickle brings smiles to the faces of friends and fans. There were too many funny stories, too many laughs and so much life to remember.
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Sammy Swindell Born In Germantown, Tennessee - October 26, 1955
October 26, 1955
Sammy Swindell
(photo credit: Ted Van Pelt via photopin cc)
Born in Germantown, Tennessee, USA.
One of the most recognized names in American motorsports, Sammy Swindell grew up watching his father behind the wheel at many of their local Memphis, Tennessee dirt tracks. In 1971, at the age of fifteen, Sammy took to the dirt at Riverside Speedway in West Memphis, Arkansas. In his rookie season, the oldest of two racing Swindell brothers won eleven feature events.
Now retired, he is a three-time champion and four-time runner-up in the World of Outlaws series; he has also competed in NASCAR and Champ Car competition.
He won his first two titles in 1981 and 1982 driving the famous Nance Speed Equipment #1. He won his third title in 1997 driving his own Channel Lock sponsored #1 team car. Sammy has hundreds of A-main victories to his credit. He also competed in the CART series in 1985 and 1986 and failed to qualify for the 1987 Indianapolis 500 in a March-Pontiac.
Swindell made his debut in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in the 1985 Atlanta Journal 500; in 1991, he planned to move full-time to the Winston Cup Series, competing for Rookie of the Year for Moroso Racing, but he was fired by the team following several spins during Speedweeks and crashing again in qualifying for the second race of the year at Richmond International Raceway. Following his release returned to sprint car racing.
Swindell ran a limited schedule in the NASCAR Busch Series in 1993. The team closed mid-season, and he returned to sprint cars once more. Swindell also competed in a full season of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 1995, driving for Akins-Sutton Motorsports, where he finished 12th in points, scoring five top-ten finishes in the series' inaugural season.
In his career he has over 300 World of Outlaws feature wins. 2007 was his 35th consecutive year as a race car driver, racing beside his 18-year-old son Kevin. He's a five-time winner of the prestigious Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, the only driver to win it more than three times, until his son Kevin won his fourth straight race in 2013. During the 2008 season he raced in northern California winning a main event in the California Civil War Series in Placerville and also at the famed Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California. Swindell is considered one of the best driver/setup men in the business. He is know for experimenting with innovative technology.
Inherently, Swindell is a shy and private person. Over the years he has earned the reputation of being "all business" at the race track, and much of that reputation can be attributed to a very focused approach to his chosen profession. The best description of Sammy may have come from legendary sprint car owner, LaVerne Nance, the man with whom Sammy won two "World of Outlaws" championships. "When he's at the track or working on the car, it's a living to him and he takes it real seriously. A lot of people don't understand that. He has worked hard all of his life to be successful in racing."
Away from his job, Sammy can relax and chat away for hours on a variety of different subjects. That's a side that most people will never get to see. It's the side where he and Kevin, work on Kevin’s cars or he and close friends just sit and chat away about racing. His brother Jeff, is still an active and successful sprint car driver.
On August 25, 2014, Swindell announced he was retiring from racing, though he intends to race in the Chili Bowl Nationals.
Achievements;
1981, 1982, 1997 World of Outlaws Champion.
1983 Knoxville Nationals Winner.
1989, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2009 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals Winner.
1992, 1999, 2012 Eldora Kings Royal Winner.
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Clik here to view.![Sammy Swindell 2014 Big Game Treestands 1:24 Nascar Diecast]()
Collect your Sammy Swindell 2014 Big Game Treestands 1:24 Nascar Diecast collectible car today!
(photo credit: Ted Van Pelt via photopin cc)
Born in Germantown, Tennessee, USA.
One of the most recognized names in American motorsports, Sammy Swindell grew up watching his father behind the wheel at many of their local Memphis, Tennessee dirt tracks. In 1971, at the age of fifteen, Sammy took to the dirt at Riverside Speedway in West Memphis, Arkansas. In his rookie season, the oldest of two racing Swindell brothers won eleven feature events.
Now retired, he is a three-time champion and four-time runner-up in the World of Outlaws series; he has also competed in NASCAR and Champ Car competition.
He won his first two titles in 1981 and 1982 driving the famous Nance Speed Equipment #1. He won his third title in 1997 driving his own Channel Lock sponsored #1 team car. Sammy has hundreds of A-main victories to his credit. He also competed in the CART series in 1985 and 1986 and failed to qualify for the 1987 Indianapolis 500 in a March-Pontiac.
Swindell made his debut in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in the 1985 Atlanta Journal 500; in 1991, he planned to move full-time to the Winston Cup Series, competing for Rookie of the Year for Moroso Racing, but he was fired by the team following several spins during Speedweeks and crashing again in qualifying for the second race of the year at Richmond International Raceway. Following his release returned to sprint car racing.
Swindell ran a limited schedule in the NASCAR Busch Series in 1993. The team closed mid-season, and he returned to sprint cars once more. Swindell also competed in a full season of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 1995, driving for Akins-Sutton Motorsports, where he finished 12th in points, scoring five top-ten finishes in the series' inaugural season.
In his career he has over 300 World of Outlaws feature wins. 2007 was his 35th consecutive year as a race car driver, racing beside his 18-year-old son Kevin. He's a five-time winner of the prestigious Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, the only driver to win it more than three times, until his son Kevin won his fourth straight race in 2013. During the 2008 season he raced in northern California winning a main event in the California Civil War Series in Placerville and also at the famed Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California. Swindell is considered one of the best driver/setup men in the business. He is know for experimenting with innovative technology.
Inherently, Swindell is a shy and private person. Over the years he has earned the reputation of being "all business" at the race track, and much of that reputation can be attributed to a very focused approach to his chosen profession. The best description of Sammy may have come from legendary sprint car owner, LaVerne Nance, the man with whom Sammy won two "World of Outlaws" championships. "When he's at the track or working on the car, it's a living to him and he takes it real seriously. A lot of people don't understand that. He has worked hard all of his life to be successful in racing."
Away from his job, Sammy can relax and chat away for hours on a variety of different subjects. That's a side that most people will never get to see. It's the side where he and Kevin, work on Kevin’s cars or he and close friends just sit and chat away about racing. His brother Jeff, is still an active and successful sprint car driver.
On August 25, 2014, Swindell announced he was retiring from racing, though he intends to race in the Chili Bowl Nationals.
Achievements;
1981, 1982, 1997 World of Outlaws Champion.
1983 Knoxville Nationals Winner.
1989, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2009 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals Winner.
1992, 1999, 2012 Eldora Kings Royal Winner.
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Collect your Sammy Swindell 2014 Big Game Treestands 1:24 Nascar Diecast collectible car today!
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Dick Trickle Born In Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin - October 27, 1941
October 27, 1941 - May 16, 2013
Dick Trickle
(Photo; nndb.com)
Born in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.
He raced for decades around the short tracks of Wisconsin, winning many championships along the way. Trickle competed in the ASA, ARTGO, ARCA, All Pro, IMCA, NASCAR, and USAC.
In more than an estimated 2,200 races, Trickle logged one million laps and is believed to have won over 1,200 feature races. He was billed as the winningest short track driver in history. Trickle's career highlights include racing to 67 wins in 1972, winning seven ARTGO Championships in nine years between 1979 to 1987, winning back to back ASA AC-Delco Challenge championships in 1984 and 1985, the 1968 USAC Stock Car rookie of the year, and winning the 1989 NASCAR Rookie of the Year award in what was then called the Winston Cup.
Trickle was nicknamed the "White Knight"
(Photo: search.jsonline.com)
as referenced by his sponsored Super America paint scheme, when he raced in Wisconsin.
Sadly, Trickle died May 16, 2013, from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. For more check out our In memory of Dick Trickle.
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