His teammate, Charlie Musselman was next with Autoweek.com takes a look at the history of Langhorne Speedway, a track that opened in 1926 and closed in '71, and in between was notorious for death and destruction. pioneered by Dorothy Levitt only a few years before. Langhorne Speedway was an automobile racetrack in Middletown Township, Bucks County, near the borough of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, a northern suburb of Philadelphia. No credible source reports any deaths since. Deaths among racers and spectators were common in the early years of racing. On lap 43, Veith Just Palm Beach Speedway in West Palm Beach, Florida, was a half-mile, dirt track that saw its first NASCAR event when it opened the 1952 NASCAR season on January 20, 1952. ventured out to Indianapolis, The facility features a 1/2-mile tri-oval as well as a 1/4-mile oval. ", "Paving the track spoiled its identity," Dallenbach adds. effect, caused his car to run rich, thus burning up extra fuel. The car, upside down, and burning, was about Once he caught him, they battled it out for about 15 laps, at a torrid According to a count by Autoweek, Langhorne Speedway took the lives of 27 people in its short 45 years of operation. My earliest Langhorne program is from May 1939 when Duke Nalon won the feature " Orange City Hotel Speedstakes" from Tommy Hinnershitz. Foster had been preparing to make his second NASCAR Grand National start. But he missed the challenge of racing at Langhorne. car had gone through the fence, minus his helmet and most of his clothing. View NASCAR Cup Series driver stats at this track. "During qualifying, he told me that there was a pole with a yellow light, and I should back off there no matter what," Andretti says. Then in 1951, Irv Fried and Al Gerber became promoters. A lot of guys who ran it got killed. Amick led the rest, Freeland and George. Crockett never made that next lap, having Jack Turner was the last car Marvin's car hit the outside fence, flipped high in the air and landed on Bud Tinglestad's car. In September 1949, Langhorne hosted the fourth race of NASCAR's first year of . The first Indy 500 was held in 1911 and won by Ray Harroun, who opted to save weight and leave his mechanic behind. Our car experts choose every product we feature. Spectator deaths have ceased at Charlotte since, but on-track incidents continued. With 10 deaths in its short 32 years of operation, it may be for the best that Riverside is gone. The following year, another driver was killed. Furr previously operated a dirt track which was sold. up, from the racing surface, and if some one was rim-riding, chances are that The American Motorcycle Association sanctioned bike races at the 'Horne for more than a decade, and Carroll Shelby even won a sports car race there, holding off a 4.4-liter Ferrari in his bizarre-looking Cadillac-powered mongrel. The Langhorne Speedway was a one-mile oval racetrack located in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. But I liked Langhorne because you could run fast there. In September 1949, Langhorne hosted the fourth race of NASCAR's first year of sanctioning unmodified cars, then called Strictly Stock; Curtis Turner won that race. The Dutch Hoag was the most successful driver, winning five times. Even today, 40-odd years since the track was razed to make way for a shopping center, the men who raced there still speak about the place with respect and awe. # 31, the car that he drove at Langhorne on March 20, 1955. NASCAR Car Generations; NASCAR All-Star Race Averages; Driver Ratings Info; DriverAverages.com; NASCAR Averages Database; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7osqPCRB5KF4ppEuhX-w7w "You'd bicycle through therefast," Jones says. [2] The track was paved. ", The car landed on Bryan several times before coming to rest right-side up. There dont think that there was a worse year than 1955 as far as deaths in auto The final race held at Langhorne occurred on October 17, 1971, with Roger Treichler claiming the win at the national open for modified stock cars.[4]. Another popular misconception is that, when the rear wheels bounced in the air, drivers inadvertently overrevved their engines, causing them to blow up, aka puke. NASCAR learned a sour lesson as a result of the crash, and mandated head restraints. show. Hemmings Motor News' 2007 remembrance of Langhorne bore a similar and equally disturbing title - "Death's Corner." "The formula for driving assumed you would ignore the chasm-like ruts, incredible speed, and storm of dirt being hurled by the cars that you lapped," wrote Hemmings' Jim Donnelly. the September 11, 1949 (200 Miles at Langhorne Speedway) to the September 15, 1957 (300 Miles at Langhorne Speedway) Search DriverAverages. In almost 109 years of racing at Indianapolis, a total of 72 people have died as a result of crashes or other accidents that occurred at the circuit. Curtis Turner won. never been to Langhorne previous to this day, and was making his initial run in feature race would be over a distance of 30 laps 30 miles. Tinglestad being lead away from the wreck by a track official. So when he heard that Roger Ward wanted no part of the Champ Car race there in 1960, Bryan agreed to a one-off ride in the vacant car, the A.J. NASCAR Hall of Famer Cotton Owens, in a 2008 interview, remembered finishing races at Langhorne with battered hands. Heat [2][3] That same month, the U.S. government banned all forms of auto racing due to America's involvement in World War II. Courtesy of Jim Wilmore The Langhorne victory. OConnor, Jerry Hoyt, Mike Magill, Duane Carter, Charlie, Some In 1941, Hankinson sold the track to stuntman Earl "Lucky" Teter after a falling out with the AAA. Land Speed Racer Memorial registers 20 fatalities as part of record attempts at El Mirage, though the timeline of lives lost at El Mirage does not align those at Bonneville, with the most recent listed fatal accident occurring in 1995, and most between 1940 and 1970. The half-mile Meyer Speedway in Houston, which hosted a 1971 Cup Series race in which Bobby Allison and Richard Petty started on the front row in front of 9,000 spectators, went down in the late . I wasnt smart enough to be scared, he said. Bobby Unser qualified on the pole at a record speed of 129.483 mph in an Eagle owned by Ralph Wilke, whose father had owned the car driven by Jimmy Bryan the day he died. only 40 laps. After the race, Clarence said they took bulldozers and steam shovels and dug down 25 or 30 feet and didnt find any concrete. These changes would be implemented at all of the properties under the owners' umbrella. I The landscape of the once-famous racetrack was dramatically altered after that last race over 50 years ago. Thats TOTAL pay off, folks, Guaranteed starting positions were awarded to the winners (or highest finishers not already qualified) at special Langhorne Qualifier races held at weekly racetracks throughout the Northeast and Southeast. A conservation effort has sprung up in support of the Mile, but petition signatures can do little about the unsteady fiscal situation in which the track finds itself, due to investments in facility upgrades (safety included) during the 1990s and 2000s. the lead if he could make up that lap before Bryan got back onto the track, but However, His average speed was 95.212 MPH. a Champ car, ended up as the fastest qualifier with a time of 32,871. No Mans Land, by L. Spencer Riggs, Motorsports.com completed 97 laps. Langhorne Speedway is no more; its paddock closed for good in 1971, after 45 years. Darlington was first known as "Harold's Folly," after its sponsor Harold Brasington, who tried to recreate the Indianapolis 500 in a field where peanuts and cotton were once grown. Upon his discharge in 1957, Tilley began racing the Flathead Coupes at the three-eights-mile dirt Silver Spring Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and in the early 1960s he moved up into the Supermodified "Bugs" that were all the rage. The speedway hosted a wide variety of races over the years, including NASCAR events and the Indianapolis 500. Another The first fatality in NASCAR's top series also took place during this race when Larry Mann crashed through the guardrail and flipped three times. Indy car ace Paul Russo, whose brother was killed at the track, told Riggs that Langhorne "gave me butterflies the size of B-29s." Among the drivers who perished at Langhorne were Jimmy Bryan (1960), one of the most talented drivers to ever sit in an Indy car, and Larry Mann (1952), the first driver to die of injuries suffered in a race in what is now the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. On the 70th home, I decided that Id go with him, and just hope wed get back in time for Sweikert and Pat OConnor were on hand, along with He was five laps behind race winner Gwyn Staley. Langhorne Speedway was located near to Langhorne in Levitttown, adjacent to the Lincoln Highway. It was my first race in a Champ Car, and it was on dirt, and it was at the toughest place you could go -- one of those tracks where you had to brave it. In the third heat, strange as it seems, all three of the Sam Traylor cars were entered a relief driver on his 55th lap, and Rodger Ward took over for him. Jerry Hoyt, Duane Carter, Larry Crockett, Bob You were hanging on the edge by a thread. Share. One in 1952, another in 1954, still another in 1957, three support personnel at the 1960 Southern 500, and its most recent in 1965. It was all over for Nazaruk, in an almost Nobody liked it, and the ones who said they did were lying.". AAA sprint car show was held on May 1, 1955, at the big, circular oiled dirt Most of the original shopping center's stores are now gone, but a Kmart and a historical marker remain. Yanigan. Little And it was very unforgiving. So take a moment to salute Langhorne Speedway. The next June, they ran a Champ Car race. Reading in the book about Langhorne, by L. Spencer Riggs, its said that "The whole place had deteriorated over the years -- the infield, the pits, everything.". ", Although 25,900 fans had shown up for the Champ Car race in 1970, the 'Horne was increasingly unpopular with drivers. The 1-mile track. NR2003 name NR2003 year NR2003 sky Date of .ptf Date of race.lp Author Real name Length (mi) Ban king Location State Country Region Racing started Racing ended Langhorne hosted what turned out to be the track's final Champ Car race in 1970. attendance at the Langhorne track to watch the sprint car races. It was on that date that Larret (Larry) "Crash" Crockett was fatally injured. Nobody raised their hand. Bryan, intent on making While in the Nyquist # 29, also from March 20, 1955. That was the most dangerous track on Earth. In the first national open, in 1951, a large wreck blocked the track and burned driver Wally Campbell, that year's NASCAR National Modified champion. was a consolation race and Crockett won that, with OConnor and Jiggs Peters following him. that Crockett was driving over his head, and as Crockett went past the pits on It hosted a NASCAR inaugural race in 1949. Notable drivers Doc Mackenzie, Joie Chitwood, Rex Mays, Lee Petty, Dutch Hoag, A.J. The idea behind the paving was to try to get away from the fatalities and the injuries, Riggs said. Kenyon later returned to racing and placed third at the Indy 500 and won numerous national midget racing championships. Of course, slicing through those ruts required a lot of sawing at the wheel, which took a toll on the drivers. it three in a row, caught Hartley, and passed him on the 81st Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures. the most dangerous, most treacherous, most murderous track there ever was. Vukovich, Bob Slater, Jerry Hoyt, Charlie Miller, "Langhorne was the kind of place where, the bigger your huevos, the faster you went. Calling the Brickyard "the Graveyard" would be in poor taste, considering what has been reiterated so many times throughout this count: Unless it's Langhorne, the track is almost never at fault for the lives lost on its premises. Those ruts would send you up in the air, and the speed was so high., After several deaths and countless wrecks in that part of the track in the late 1950s, officials called in Indianapolis Motor Speedway superintendent Clarence Cagle, who was known far and wide for being able to solve surface and design problems at speedways. got the lead and pulled away slowly. AJ Foyt, who won four consecutive Championship Car races at Langhorne to go along with his four Indy 500s, was one of the few drivers who relished the opportunity to pound through Puke Hollow. been thrown out after one or two barrel rolls. As sad as it is to say, the Milwaukee Mile may go the way of the nine known to have lost their lives in incidents at the track between 1930 and 1982. Today. That 1964 race -- which Foyt won, with Andretti ninth -- was the last one on the original dirt surface. Clarence told me that he took a crew up there and poured concrete footers and then put in a concrete table across the track about 10 feet in, said L. Spencer Riggs, author of Langhorne! I Note the burning fuel on steel guard rail in background. Autoweek participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. Fonda Speedway. "In fact, the year I finished second, I used the prize money for my honeymoon.". I Billy Garrett, who had The one-mile circular track had minimal banking, making it a challenge at high speeds. In the 1970 race, he passed his brother, Al, with nine laps to go to take the lead for good. That view was basically What he hated, though, was the dust, which made it hard to see and got into everything, even after being thoroughly covered with a spray of Pennsylvania oil. Heres I cant imagine another track being that dangerous. victory something he couldnt do in 1955, when he had to ask for relief after The Lady In Black, as some old-timers call Darlington, will never lighten up, and drivers will continue to earn their "Darlington Stripe" of paint lost to the walls for years to come. However advances in safety technology and specifications designed by . To begin with, the fatality of a driver, spectator, or race support staff must have occurred due to a crash, without regard to preexisting medical problems, such as poor cardiac health. Two years later, Hugh Randall was killed in an eerily similar accident two laps into his relief stint in a Champ Car race. having the last row. The dust was worst in Puke Hollow, where the track broke up into a badly potholed washboard with slats the size of small waves. Langhorne "Langhorne was a special place," he says. Riverside International Raceway is the sole dedicated road course to make this register. tires, too, as can be seen in the photos. Bryan charged on, and was At A We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items! The mid-'50s through the early '60s are often considered the golden years of American open-wheel racing, when homegrown Indianapolis roadsters and championship dirt cars reached their apotheosis. tremendous racing took place around the circular, oiled down, big dirt mile The Milwaukee Mile is the oldest circuit on this list and the second oldest speedway in the world. And I made it! You had to be really, really on your toes to be competitive. Drivers said Puke Hollow was softer and forever changing during a race, in part because underground springs made the ground beneath the racing surface swampy. again he was hitting the fuel tank with his hand, signaling his crew that he When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Then came the 92nd lap, and Bryan headed pit side, again I was sitting in the stands in what I guess The. Worry not, for the misery of Langhorne lives on; its grounds are occupied today by a Sam's Club. "It wasn't just the track," Dallenbach says. It's been gone for years now but this video shows you just how intense these guys were. He really began to make his presence known in the Forry Brothers No. langhorne speedway diner - CLOSED Unclaimed Review Save Share 74 reviews $$ - $$$ American Diner Vegetarian Friendly 2029 E Lincoln Hwy, Langhorne, PA 19047-0000 +1 215-949-3533 Website See all (5) Enhance this page - Upload photos! Track finances are in question, and some are concerned that the recent sale of one of the track's grandstands is the first step toward dismantling the whole thing. Sick of the circuit's lack of safety, ailing facilities, and unpleasant driving, the racing world gradually turned its back on the Pennsylvania raceway, and when Champ Car drivers organized a boycott of the race in 1971, Langhorne's fate was sealed; a final autumn modified stock car race was Langhorne's valedictory. Event Overview Alternatively Known As: CAM2 Race of Champions First Event Run: 1951 Event Still Contested: Car Style: Tour-Type Modifieds Location: Oswego Speedway Quick Stats Most Wins: Matt Hirschman (8) Most Top-Fives: Matt Hirschman (12) Number of Races: 71 Number of Drivers: 965 Project Status: AGAIGG; Results are complete for approximately half of the Race of Champions. his 11th lap, Engle wrote down the letters E-Z on his blackboard, A young Mario Andretti raced there. The circuit's ownership realized how dangerous the track could be, but before the layout of Riverside was amended in 1969, it claimed the lives of NASCAR champ Joe Weatherly, sports car legend Ken Miles (despite a theory claiming the contrary), and two others. That might have been the hardest pass I ever did in all of racing. Did the Horne scare Unser? Even with them wearing gloves, a lot of Bob Veith asked for took Amick 1:03:01.463 to go 100 miles. Langhorne Speedway Langhorne, PA. Glossary Tweet. Courtesy of Rick Parry A ticket for the benefit race they ran for Pete after the amputation. car had stopped. trials, with clockings of 33.06 and 33.45. Countless more were maimed in crashes that entailed high-altitude barrel rolls and hellacious fires. View photos of the Concord Speedway construction below. ISM Raceway is the modern name for a speedway some know as Phoenix International Raceway. left after the 1955 racing season. Worry not, for the misery of Langhorne lives on; its grounds are occupied. Langhorne, Penn. 2029 E Lincoln Hwy, Langhorne, PA 19047-0000 +1 215-949-3533 Website. The Because the track was round, you couldnt see very far ahead of you. a time of 3:22.33 and an average speed of 106.930 MPH. Ironically, despite the improvement in safety, the reviews for the "improved" Langhorne were uniformly sour. Nelson Applegate suffered an apparent skull fracture when he reportedly bounced his car over the guardrail. Charlotte has since extended the fencing to 24 and 12 feet respectively. Nobody liked it, and the ones who said they did were lying. The 2023 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing Is Luxury Muscle, GM Plans 4-Door, Crossover Vette EVs, Sources Say, 7 US Entries Confirmed for 24 Hour of Le Mans, Autoweek Racing on TV: February 27-March 5, Pennsylvania speedway had history of death, dismemberment, Irwindale Speedway avoids shutdown again, will have a 2018 season, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will be just Laguna Seca again, Why Indy Lights Champ Did Not Get an IndyCar Ride, How Kyle Busch Got His NASCAR Swagger Back, Outlawing F1 Tire Blankets Could Help Save Planet, Kyle Busch Wins at Fontana, Passes Richard Petty, Brabham Continues Trans Am Series Dominance, Matos Starts Trans Am TA2 Season on Right Foot, McLaren Falls Short of Own Expectations at Bahrain, Who's Hot, Who's Not at F1 Preseason Bahrain Test, Killing field: The myth, the legend of Langhorne Speedway. "That was the only race in my career that I was really worried about," he says. As a result, no physical remnants of the track itself remain. He was followed by Magill, Hoyt, Carter, Rogers, Langhorne - March 20 and May 1, 1955 and June 24, 1956 While I was at the Selinsgrove Speedway, last Saturday, March 20th, I happened to mention to another race fan that on that date in 1955, I was in attendance at the Langhorne track to watch the sprint car races. Nicknamed Crash for his early drives, he settled down and became a very smooth driver. A Wild Dirt Track Crash From 1951. Ive usually drew quite a few cars from the mid-west. In 1939 the Langhorne Speedway was part of an organisation called "Hankinson Speedways" - Hankinson ran events under AAA sanction at a long list of tracks both in the North-Eastern USA as well as in the Carolinas. He was I guess a gymnest and would flip many times down in front of the fans. The Mile is safer than ever before, but the racing is gone, and the track may soon be too.
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