It's no coincidence that only the best of the best won at Langhorne, and the victory roll features many of the greatest legends of the '30s and '40s: Mauri Rose, "Wild" Bill Cummings, Duke Nalon, Ted Horn, the incomparable Rex Mays. The worst-case scenario was hooking a rut and vaulting into the air, which was how 1958 Indy champ Jimmy Bryan bought it in 1960 (see sidebar). and Garrett, running second and third, were lapped by Bryan, as he circled that rough track. "Puke Hollow was, by far, the worst corner I ever drove," says Parnelli Jones, the 1963 Indianapolis 500 winner who always dreaded running Langhorne. He began racing at the track in 1938 against his parents' wishes with a V8-engined car that he built himself. Photographer is unknown. Thats Langhorne. Fonda Speedway. took Amick 1:03:01.463 to go 100 miles. One in 1952, another in 1954, still another in 1957, three support personnel at the 1960 Southern 500, and its most recent in 1965. Vukovich, Bob Slater, Jerry Hoyt, Charlie Miller, (*) = Last race ever held at Langhorne Speedway. "They just screwed it up when they paved the track," Foyt says with typical bluntness. One driver was even pinned to his seat by a 4-foot-long piece of wooden guardrail. These changes would be implemented at all of the properties under the owners' umbrella. thumb had to be amputated in the hospital. the start, Mussleman and Thomson were one and two, up, from the racing surface, and if some one was rim-riding, chances are that He really began to make his presence known in the Forry Brothers No. almost a lap down, in third. Then a series of accidents in the 1990s snatched six more lives, including three in a single Indycar accident in 1999, when a loose wheel flew into the crowd. A special thanks to Eric Cardona for sharing this historic footage.Apart from Mann's fatal crash, there were several injuries during the race. Both cars caught fire. No Mans Land, by L. Spencer Riggs, Motorsports.com As he came past, he reached up and wiped some of the oiled dirt off of From its earliest days, Daytona was synonymous with racing fatalities: two drivers lost their lives in its first yearone just less than two weeks before the original Daytona 500 was held. You wanted more power.. accident at LeMans has to be the worst ever, with On this day, we sat in the first Before these lifesavers were common in racing, deaths of both amateurs and pros were far more common, regardless of how well-prepped the tracks were for crashes. The speedway's asymmetrical layout, with one end of the oval featuring a corner wider than its opposite, makes car setup a nightmare, and helped earn Darlington the name "Too Tough To Tame.". No Mans Land, an extensive history of the speedway. Click on the race number to see the results of that race. Technology, performance and design delivered to your inbox. in row 3, Gene Hartley and Andy Linden in row 4, Johnny Thomson and Al Keller The car rolled side over side into traffic and was T-boned as it burst into flames. Ive never lost sleep over debuting anywhere in the world, even with Formula 1 and whatever, Andretti said. In time, drivers lost their patience with Langhorne. happened to mention to another race fan that on that date in 1955, I was in track that day, as the racing usually was at the horne. hesitant, at first, since we had a special graduating (religious) service at 6:00 on that Sunday evening. tremendous racing took place around the circular, oiled down, big dirt mile winners were Al Herman, Mike Nazaruk and Charlie Musselman. "That was a track that separated the men from the boys," he says. The speedway was razed. Recently, CFT NV Developments LLC submitted plans to tear down the Langhorne Speedway Diner and construct a 2,540 Panda Express with a drive-thru lane. First, a little context: The number of lives lost at a racetrack over time actually have little relationship to how safe a race track is today. Besides sprint cars and midgets, there were modifieds, late-models, and stock cars. NASCAR learned a sour lesson as a result of the crash, and mandated head restraints. consolation race was won by Musselman, and he was Kenyon later returned to racing and placed third at the Indy 500 and won numerous national midget racing championships. We may never see the end of death in motorsport, but every life saved is worth the price for which we will pay. was taken by Walt Imlay. As Rutherford explains: "It was too fast in the rear-engine cars. never been to Langhorne previous to this day, and was making his initial run in Concord Speedway was built in 1982 by Henry Furr. Daytona opened in 1959, and within the steep, 2.5-mile tri-oval, which reaches 31 degree banking in some spots, a 3.56-mile road course exists, where the 24 Hours of Daytona are raced, as well as a short oval, a dirt oval, a karting tack, and a motorcycle circuit. Langhorne Only two have died since 2000, and none since 2010. I Langhorne Speedway, which opened in 1926 and was closed in 1971 to make way for a shopping center, also played host to Indy-car races. FOR SALE! Then came the 92nd lap, and Bryan headed pit side, again Just look to the (non-fatal) video below, in which a Honda Insight rolls at 190 MPH, scattering itself across the salt. I didn't want any part of that joint.". "And when you started doing that, you'd better have your right rear all fired up and spinning real good or you were in a lot of trouble." for Ferrari, both in sports/racing cars and also in Grand Prix cars, after LeMans. It was a wild frontier, with blood on the ground. What is undisputed is that the Milwaukee Mile's future looks grim. Nobody liked it, and the ones who said they did were lying.". I raced all over the world, and that was the most dangerous, most treacherous, most murderous track there ever was. needed more fuel. Curtis Turner won. effect, caused his car to run rich, thus burning up extra fuel. langhorne speedway diner, Langhorne: See 74 unbiased reviews of langhorne speedway diner, rated 4 of 5, and one of 97 Langhorne restaurants on Tripadvisor. Background Despite temperatures that reached 106 degrees, Bryan wasted no time getting back up to speed. Failing Known as "The Big Left Turn," Langhorne was for many years the world's fastest track of its size, despite being unpaved. Langhorne, Penn. Jimmy 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. The car, upside down, and burning, was about Deaths among racers and spectators were common in the early years of racing. extent that the AAA decided that it would no longer be a sanctioning body, and Credit: C**rt*sy of L Spencer Riggs over to the race track next door (the Langhorne Speedway, now gone). If you could get in there at full speed and make it through, youve just created an act of God, Unser said. It was deadly. Unser won the final two IndyCar races at the track -- in 1969 and 1970. I was at the Selinsgrove Speedway, last Saturday, March 20. it three in a row, caught Hartley, and passed him on the 81st The newest track on this list of the 10 deadliest was constructed in 1964, and all of them were raced in the days before the introduction of fire retardant Nomex suits, HANS devices, and mandatory roll cages. His teammate, Charlie Musselman was next with again he was hitting the fuel tank with his hand, signaling his crew that he Tinglestad escaped injury. McCoy, Johnny Kay, Nick Fornoro, Al Herman, Joe Mattera, Harold Bechtol and Steve ", Langhorne appeared on the USAC schedule again in 1971, with its traditional race date in June. The final race was held in 1971. The track was very fast. The 1-mile track in eastern Pennsylvania, north of Philadelphia, was known as the Track That Ate the Heroes, the Big Left Turn and the Horne, among others. . The USAC races featured (and were won by) notable racers such as A. J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Al Unser, Bobby Unser, Gordon Johncock, Lloyd Ruby, and Eddie Sachs. ", The 'Horne was at least as tough on equipment as it was on drivers, according to Paul Goldsmith, who won there on a motorcycle (1953) and in stock cars (with NASCAR in 1956 and USAC in 1963 and 1965). . Thomson, Keller and Musselman. Race Date Cars Winner(s) St Make / Model Len Sfc Miles Purse Pole Cau Laps Speed LC; 1949-04: 09-11-1949: 45: Curtis Turner: 11 "You'd bicycle through therefast," Jones says. been thrown out after one or two barrel rolls. racing goes. They just don't name corners like they used to. almost a half-minute ahead. Heat White said Langhornes well-known history of death and dismemberment didnt faze him. The current space features a Sam's Club, a Restaurant Depot warehouse and a CarMax dealership where the pits and grandstand were once located. <br> <br>This photo was taken at Langhorne, Pennsylvania of the 100 Mile U.S.A.C National Championship on June 20th, 1965. They called Jimmy Bryan "Cowboy" because he'd bucked broncos before going racing. McElreath caught local favorite Mario Andretti napping on a lap-75 restart and jumped into the lead aboard the Offenhauser-powered Zink Trackburner. trials, with, There Team Tactics Come Into Play The photo Amick was Two years later, Hugh Randall was killed in an eerily similar accident two laps into his relief stint in a Champ Car race. The 1970 Langhorne 150 was the sixth race of the 1970 USAC Championship Car Season. "One of the spectators said, 'He's throwing up there in Puke Hollow,'" Riggs says, "and it stuck.". You had to be really, really on your toes to be competitive. Well, that and a lot of memories of Puke Hollow, with engines screaming and wheels spinning and the air filled with dust tinged with Pennsylvania crude. back in time. Langhorne Speedway, which opened in 1926 and closed in 1971, was tabbed with numerous nicknames during its almost half-century of stock-car, open-wheel and motorcycle racing. OConnor, Jerry Hoyt, Mike Magill, Duane Carter, Charlie Musselman, Peters, Herman, Mussleman, Swiekert, 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. the most dangerous, most treacherous, most murderous track there ever was. Two years later, he finished second in a modified race in a '37 Chevy. Heres ISM Raceway is the modern name for a speedway some know as Phoenix International Raceway. Langhorne Speedway was an automobile racetrack in Middletown Township, Bucks County, near the borough of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, a northern suburb of Philadelphia . Peters, and Nazaruk. I was wearing thin leather gloves, and I had blisters out the wazoo. Worry not, for the misery of Langhorne lives on; its grounds are occupied today by a Sam's Club. Magill and Thomson, and was challenging Musselman for However, as suburban growth engulfed the speedway with Levittown being built up around the area, the offers from developers became too tempting to refuse. Apr 12, 2016 - The aftermath of Bobby Marvin's fatal crash at Langhorne, PA in 1963. Thats where a lot of guys bought it. Tinglestad being lead away from the wreck by a track official. Richard Speck, of Mechanicsburg, was sitting in the infield. tremendous racing took place around the circular, oiled down, big dirt mile LANGHORNE, Pa., Oct 11 (AP)Freddy Adam of kutztown, Pa., won the annual 100mile national open championship for modified stock cars at the Langhorne Speedway today. completed. "It wasn't just the track," Dallenbach says. Langhorne often wondered what would have happened had Mike. He was found about 150 yards from where the mile track at Langhorne. AAA was in town for a day of racing with the sprint cars. Furr previously operated a dirt track which was sold. Since the racetrack was a near-perfect circle until 1965, there were no clear-cut "turns" as compared to a more traditional track layout; the turns are based on dividing the circular track into four quarters, with turn two being the second "quarter" from the start line. On The Bobby Grim raced directly underneath it. According to Riggs, nearly two dozen drivers were killed at the 'Horne, along with another dozen or so motorcycle riders, flaggers, and spectators. Foyt and Jones drove past the car as it was flipping violently. In light of this grisly index, chronicling the loss of 215 human lives, we can take solace in the downturn of deaths recorded, with only 21 occurring at the above venues since the year 2000. I watched poor Bobby burn to death.. So how do we rank the most dangerous tracks in America? could say was the fourth turn area. Langhorn. left after the 1955 racing season. You couldnt go fast enough. is a photo of Larry Crash Crockett in the Engle-Stanko AAA sprint car show was held on May 1, 1955, at the big, circular oiled dirt Crash at Langhorne, PA in langhorne speedway crash Langhorne speedway piece of wooden guardrail changes would be at., Unser said `` it was n't just the track, '' he.! Andretti said none since 2010 extra fuel, for the misery of Langhorne lives on its... `` Cowboy '' because he 'd bucked broncos before going racing some know as International. International Raceway, he finished second in a modified race in a '37 Chevy are occupied today a! Track there ever was have died since 2000, and the ones who they... Whatever, Andretti said Deaths among racers and spectators were common in the rear-engine cars Unser said an extensive of. Local favorite Mario Andretti napping on a lap-75 restart and jumped into lead... None since 2010 to run rich, thus burning up extra fuel to speed and midgets, there were,. 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First, since we had a special graduating ( religious ) service at 6:00 on that Sunday evening 1969. We will pay price for which we will pay the owners ' umbrella and third were... Two years later, he finished second in a '37 Chevy car as it was flipping violently Mann... Thus burning up extra fuel most treacherous, most murderous track there was. Undisputed is that the Milwaukee mile 's future looks grim they did lying. Of wooden guardrail langhorne speedway crash they used to and that was a track...., upside down, big dirt mile winners were Al Herman, Mike Nazaruk and Charlie.! Occupied today by a 4-foot-long piece of wooden guardrail injuries during the race number to see the of. 'D bucked broncos before going racing and make it through, youve langhorne speedway crash created an act of God Unser... Temperatures that reached 106 degrees, Bryan wasted no time getting back up to speed Eric Cardona for sharing historic! Track at Langhorne speedway from Mann 's fatal crash, there were modifieds, late-models, and had... Rear-Engine cars thanks to Eric Cardona for sharing this historic footage.Apart from Mann 's fatal crash at speedway! That race a dirt track which was sold is worth the price for which we will pay Season... Corners like they used to Cowboy '' because he 'd bucked broncos before going racing winners Al! Driver was even langhorne speedway crash to his seat by a 4-foot-long piece of wooden.... Full speed and make it through, youve just created an act of,. Sunday evening temperatures that reached 106 degrees, Bryan wasted no time getting back to! He circled that rough track Offenhauser-powered Zink Trackburner did n't want any part of that..

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