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Los Angeles, CA. - Retired USAC Midget
driver/car owner Don Weaver telephoned me during February 2006 with
a request. Weaver, the founder/organizer of the annual Legends of
Ascot at Perris Auto Speedway (PAS) was preparing a program for the
October 21, 2006 fourth annual Legends of Ascot luncheon/induction
ceremonies from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm in a huge, 18,000 sq. ft. tent
near the PAS grandstand. All 700 tickets to the Legends of Ascot
affair were sold weeks before the event. The Legends of Ascot event
has raffles, awards, auctions, display of vintage open-wheel racing
cars, food and bench racing during the afternoon. It is followed
that evening by a USAC/CRA Sprint Car point race on the outstanding,
clay half-mile PAS track. This year a guest will be 1963
Indianapolis 500 winner Parnelli Jones. Special guest honoree will
be four-time Indy 500 winner Al Unser, Sr. Both Indy champions and
retired CRA champion Jimmy Oskie will drive exhibition laps that
evening in three of the 50+ vintage racing cars on display October
21 at The PAS.
Ascot Park, a renowned half-mile clay track in
Gardena, California, operated 34 years from 1957 through 1990. The
current Legends of Ascot affair celebrates the people who were
involved in some capacity at the historic Ascot track. The 19 past
inductees into the Legends of Ascot Hall of Fame were: 2003 - (5) -
J. C. Agajanian, Sr, Allen Heath, Parnelli Jones, Ray Scheetz and
Harry Schooler; 2004- (9) - Bruce Bromme, Sr. and Jr, Rusty
Espinoza, Ed Hudson, Johnny Moorhouse, Ron Shaver, Dean Thompson,
Ron "Sleepy" Tripp and Billy Wilkerson; 2005 - (5) - Ted
Halibrand, Bob Hogle, Danny McKnight, Hal Minyard and Alex Morales.
This year the eight honorees will be Jack Brunner, Ed Donovan, Walt
James, Jack and Wilda Kindoll, Lealand McSpadden, Jimmy Oskie, and
Wally Pankratz. Glenn Howard will receive a lifetime achievement
award for his 50+ years of devotion to auto racing in many
capacities.
Weaver wanted me to compile an accurate list of
midget and/or sprint car drivers who raced at Ascot Park and also in
the Indianapolis 500. They could have raced at Ascot either in their
formative years before they raced in the Indy 500 of after they
raced in the Indy 500. I accepted Don's challenge because it was the
winter season and I had time to dig into this project with gusto. I
checked my old Floyd Clymer Indianapolis 500 Yearbooks, USAC annual
yearbooks, old issues of National Speed Sport News and my Ascot race
programs from 1962-1990. My initial research listed 67 midget or
sprint car drivers who raced at Ascot and in the Indy 500. More
research brought my list to 77 drivers. Subsequent review of my race
programs and early compilation of midget and sprint car results
surprised even me and brought my final list of drivers who raced at
both tracks to 90.
Alphabetically, here are the 90 drivers who raced
midgets or sprint cars at Ascot and who also raced in the
Indianapolis 500. I have added more data on the 78th through 90th
drivers on my list because they are the drivers I uncovered during
my more extensive discovery phase. Their racing experience at Ascot
surprised other racing historians and yours truly.
A - George Amick (ran # 15 Harold Guidi Offy midget in
12/28/58 Ascot 100-lap race seven weeks before he was killed on the
final lap of a USAC Champ Car race at the new 2.5-mile Daytona
International Speedway); John Andretti; Mario Andretti; Frank Armi -
ran four USAC midget races at Ascot 4/61 (#20 Ward Offy), 4/62 (#
99jr Eddie Meyer Offy), plus 4/63 and 8/64 (# 35 A. J. Walker Offy);
Chuck Arnold (raced a # 97 Vel's Ford sprint car 11/6 and 11/13/65);
Charles "Sonny" Ates-one 500 start in 1969 and ran USAC
sprint car at Ascot.
B - Gary Bettenhausen; Tony Bettenhausen (ran in the first ever
Ascot USAC Midget race on 12/28/58 in the # 5 Jack London Bowes Seal
Fast Offy and again 11/24/60, and in the # 15 Glen Dennee Offy on
2/7/60. Tony lost his life during Indy 500 practice in May 1961);
Tom Bigelow; Art Bisch, Sr; Billy Boat; Johnny Boyd (ran # 4 Jack
London Offy in 3/59 and # 5 Jack London Offy in 1960); Don Branson
(lost his life at Ascot in late 1966 USAC sprint car race).
C - Larry Cannon; Duane "Pancho" Carter; Jimmy Caruthers;
Bill Cheesbourg (ran # 38 Waddell Offy USAC midget 2/15/59); Steve
Chassey; Gary Congdon; Ray Crawford (ran his own # 49 Offy 2/7/60
and 11/24/60).
D - Jimmy Davies - set one-lap track record in his own # 1 Offy
midget on 12/28/58 and drove his own # 1 Offy 4/15/61 and in the
USAC Turkey Night Grand Prix (TNGP) on 11/28/63; Don Davis; Larry
Dickson.
E - Don Edmunds - (1957 Indy 500 rookie of the year in his only 500)
ran # 95 Clawson Offy at Ascot 2/15/59; Billy Engelhart (1971 &
1973 TNGP winner).
F - A. J. Foyt, Jr; Stan Fox. (NOTE: Al "Cotton"
Farmer raced one time with USAC at Ascot on 11-10-62 in # 22 Bromme
Offy, but he never raced in an Indy 500.)
G - Elmer George (ran # 2 Jack London Offy midget 10/21/61 and
11/23/61 and #
34 Doug Caruthers Offy 7/28/62, plus his # 21 HOW Chevy USAC
sprinter in 11/62 and 11/63); Bobby Grim (ran # 33 Coxie Bowman Offy
midget 10/20/63 and # 98
in 1966 TNGP); Mike Groff (ran red # 5 Groff midget in 1990).
H - Norm Hall (ran his own # 14 Offy midget 4/14/62 and in 1963 as
well); Bob Harkey (flipped # 10 Walt Flynn Offy sprinter 11/2/63 and
ran # 20 Harlan Dismuke Chevy 11/9/63); Jack Hewitt; Bill Homeier -
(ran three midget races--in Marv Edwards Offy 2/15/59, # 10 Ernie
Alvarado Offy 2/7/60 and # 95 Tim Sullivan Offy 12/7/60); Chuck
Hulse; Jim Hurtubise.
J - Norman "Bubby" Jones (ran one Indy 500 in 1977); P. J.
Jones (ran # 11 CRA sprint car in 1988 and his own # 21 USAC midget
in 1989-90 and ran two Indy 500s-2004 and 2006); Parnelli Jones.
(NOTE: Bruce Jacobi raced midgets and sprints at Ascot but never
made the Indy 500).
K - Mel Kenyon; Sheldon Kinser; Steve Kinser; Arnie Knepper (ran own
# 31 midget in TNGP); Lee Kunzman.
L - Jud Larson; Greg Leffler; Joe Leonard (ran # 72 Adolph Bonini
Offy on 2/7/60).
M - Jim Malloy (ran Harry Conklin Offy in 1962 and in 1966 TNGP);
Bobby
Marshman (ran # 5 Jack London Bowes Seal Fast Offy midget 7/28/62
and 11/62 and # 5 Jack Colvin KEY Chevy USAC sprinter); Bob
Mathouser - (ran # 7 Bill Sikes Chevy sprint car 11/3/62 and # 58
Jim Kierce Chevy 11/2/63); Jim McElreath (ran # 20 Ward Offy 3/11/62
and own # 23 USAC sprinter in 1960s); Roger McCluskey; Rick Mears
(CRA sprint); Roger Mears (CRA sprint); Mike Mosley. (NOTE: Bobby
Marvin (raced # 52 Clem Tebow Chevy sprinter at Ascot on 11/3 and
11/10/62 but he never raced in the Indy 500. He had a ride for the
1963 500 but was killed 4/7/63 in the John Werglund Chevy during the
second 50-lap feature of a USAC Sprint Car twin-50s at the
Langhorne, PA one-mile dirt track. He started 7th and finished 4th
in the first 50 and was in the top five of the second 50 when his
fiery flip took place on lap 41, ending the event after 40 laps.
Bobby expired two days later. He had raced Wally Meskowski's USAC
champ dirt car in 1962, including events at Sacramento and Phoenix.)
N - Cal Niday - (ran three USAC midget races--in # 92 Babe Stapp
Offy 2/7/60,
# 97 Dick Betts Offy 4/2/60 and # 95 Tim Sullivan Offy 11/24/60).
O - Bobby Olivero; Jan Opperman (ran in the 1974 and 1976 Indy
500s).
P - Johnny Parsons (Jr); Johnnie Parsons (Sr) - ran # 45 Fred
Gerhardt Offy midget 2/15/59; Bill Puterbaugh.
R - Roger Rager (ran # 4J sprint car in mid-1970s in Ascot Pacific
Coast Open and in 1980 Indy 500 in a 1966 Wildcat chassis with a
school bus Chevy engine); Larry Rice; Chuck Rodee (ran # 87 Ed
Loniewski Offy midget 10/20/63); Lloyd Ruby (ran # 15 Glen Dennee
Offy midget 4/2/60); Johnny Rutherford; Troy Ruttman (ran # 6
Famighetti Chevy in USAC sprint car race 11/3/62). (NOTE:
Keith "Porky" Rachwitz raced midgets and sprint cars at
Ascot but never qualifie for the Indy 500).
S - Joe Saldana (ran 1971 TNGP); Billy Scott; Sam Sessions; A. J.
Shepherd (ran Van Berckelaer Offy midget in TNGP 11/24/60); Dick
Simon (ran a CRA sprint car race in mid-1970s); George Snider; Len
Sutton (ran # 55 Hal Robb Offy 2/7/60). (NOTE: Colby Scroggin raced
CRA sprints and USAC midgets at Ascot but did not qualify for the
1963 Indy 500 in his only attempt. Ron Shuman and Sammy
Swindell raced sprints and midgets at Ascot but they never raced in
the Indy 500).
T Clark "Shorty" Templeman - (ran midgets # 4 Jack
London Offy 2/15/59, # 1 Jack Whelan Bardahl Offy 2/7/60, and # 99jr
Eddie Meyer Offy 10/21/60 and 11/24/60); Bud Tingelstad; Johnnie
Tolan.
U - Al Unser, Jr; Al Unser, Sr; Bobby Unser.
V - Rich Vogler; Billy Vukovich II. (NOTE: Bill Vukovich III
never raced at Ascot.)
W - Bruce Walkup; Rodger Ward (ran # 51 A. J. Murphy Offy 11/24/60);
Wayne
Weiler (ran # 32 Blakely Oil Offy 2/15/59 and # 54 Marv Edwards Offy
2/7/60);
Greg Weld; Bob Wente (ran # 36 Hamm Offy 11/24/60 and # 23 Shadday
Offy midget
10/20/63 and # 8 Clem Tebow Chevy in 11/2 and 11/ 9/63 USAC sprint
car races);
Johnny White (ran # 8x midget 10/20/63 and # 1 Fike Plumbing Chevy
sprinter 11/2/63); Carl Williams (ran his own # 21 sprint car in
fall 1966 USAC races); Dempsey Wilson.
The 90 driver names listed above comprise 11
different Indianapolis 500 winners and 26 total Indy 500 victories
by drivers who also raced at legendary Ascot Park. They developed
some of their early racing skills on the Ascot clay oval and also
perfected their racing expertise on paved tracks en route to the
fabled "Brickyard"-the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor
Speedway, the historic pinnacle of auto racing for more than 90
years.
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