Many drivers flat refused to go to Langhorne. LANGHORNE, Pa., March 20 (AP)--Larry Crockett was killed today when his racing car spun out of control at Langhorne Speedway. Peters, Hank Rogers, Hinnershitz, Bill Brown, Ernie It was deadly. Unser won the final two IndyCar races at the track -- in 1969 and 1970. Yes, the potholes were not something one would want to pass over while holding a drift, and yes, they did cause a multitude of fatal crashes on their ownincluding that of Bobby Marvin, whose close friend Mario Andretti was there to witness it. May 3, 1930 : Langhorne Speedway, Langhorne, PA : AAA Indy Car : Bill Cummings: June 16, 1940 : Langhorne Speedway, Langhorne, PA : AAA Indy Car So a few laps from the end, I scooted down in my seat and I pulled my elbows in and I closed my eyes and dove underneath him. Despite temperatures that reached 106 degrees, Bryan wasted no time getting back up to speed. the last row. Who wants to go to Langhorne? rough track played havoc with both drivers and machines. Spectator deaths have ceased at Charlotte since, but on-track incidents continued. Nazaruk set a new record for the 6 miles with area. at Langhorne, PA. George Amick took over the lead, and he was followed "In fact, the year I finished second, I used the prize money for my honeymoon.". The track was razed soon thereafter. [9] Several other noted drivers were injured in accidents, often described as spectacular, due to high speeds on the mile-long but rough dirt surface. Not like a sprint car, but the back end was hung out all the way from coming off Turn 4 through Turn 1. Thats where a lot of guys bought it. The NMRA operated Langhorne from its inception through the 1929 season, staging 100-lap events on Labor Days and occasional shorter races. I was wearing thin leather gloves, and I had blisters out the wazoo. One in 1952, another in 1954, still another in 1957, three support personnel at the 1960 Southern 500, and its most recent in 1965. On this day, we sat in the first Almost immediately after Langhorne's closure, the property was razed in order to make way for a new shopping development. the field lined up like this: Jimmy About Langhorne Speedway Opened in 1926, this circular one-mile dirt track was known as the "Big Left Turn." It hosted one of NASCAR's inaugural races in 1949. I 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 idea behind the paving was to try to get away from the fatalities and the injuries, Riggs said. Locations suitable to attempt these records are few, as they require miles of straight, absolutely flat terrain. tremendous racing took place around the circular, oiled down, big dirt mile Catering chiefly to USAC's Championship Car Division, Fried and Gerber had the track's layout reconfigured to a D shape in 1965 by building a straightaway across the back stretch and paving over the uneven dirt surface with asphalt. He made the winning run in Puke Hollow, the nickname for the pothole-filled, washboard-like area between turns 1 and 2. Twenty-seven people had died there over its 45 years of existence. Only two have died since 2000, and none since 2010. Ralph Liquori and Jim Hurtibise(#88) leap from their cars as Mel Kenyon(#21) slumps in the cockpit, badly burned and unconscious. AAA was in town for a day of racing with the sprint cars. Larry was thrown from the car, but suffered fatal chest and lung injuries. race, so it seemed, was gong to be a third straight win at Langhorne, for Jimmy No Mans Land, by L. Spencer Riggs, Motorsports.com I wasnt smart enough to be scared, he said. Langhorne Speedway was located near to Langhorne in Levitttown, adjacent to the Lincoln Highway. Yanigan. Within the 1.5-mile oval's confines, a newly-revised 2.28-mile road course, a quarter-mile short oval, and a 0.6-mile karting track are held, and the track's owners also own a drag strip and dirt short oval across the highway. See all (5) Langhorne Even with them wearing gloves, a lot of The driver who eventually became one of the worlds best was standing in the Langhorne infield April 7, 1963, when Bobby Marvin lost control of his sprint car and slammed into the outside rail. Then they paved purgatory and put up a parking lot. Had seen a couple guys not coming home from there. 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. According to the book Langhorne! With that, his run at Langhorne That might have been the hardest pass I ever did in all of racing. Did the Horne scare Unser? 109 12K views 2 years ago An unknown driver flips during the 250-mile NASCAR Grand National race at Langhorne Speedway held on September 14, 1952. When the track was reconfigured and paved over in 1965, the smooth and level asphalt racing surface essentially prevented the formation of any rough patches and effectively eliminated the "hollow". It was very rough (in its dirt-track days). On Saturday, October 14, 2006, almost 35 years to the day of the last race held at Langhorne, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission dedicated a historical marker at 1939 E. Lincoln Highway (in the same general area where the track was located) which reads: Opened in 1926, this circular one-mile dirt track was known as the "Big Left Turn". But I liked Langhorne because you could run fast there. Well, Bryans "That was the only race in my career that I was really worried about," he says. 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. So take a moment to salute Langhorne Speedway. Sweikert and Pat OConnor were on hand, along with is a photo of Larry Crash Crockett in the Engle-, And a photo, taken by Walt Imlay, of Mike, Ive Deaths among racers and spectators were common in the early years of racing. and Ratjmann were out before 60 miles had been Grim, Klar, Mattera, Matera, Bechtol, McCoy, OConnor, Crockett and Mealy. In fact, the nation's deadliest racetracks share one common trait: They've been around a while. Curing a three-month stretch beginning with the June 24 race in Charlotte, N.C., and ending with the Sept. 18 event at Langhorne (Pa.) Speedway, Flock captured 11 of 15 poles and won eight races. ", 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). Built in 1926 in the southeastern corner of Pennsylvania, "the 'Horne" was a 1-mile dirt track shaped like a perfect circle. "You'd bicycle through therefast," Jones says. <br> <br>This photo was taken at Langhorne, Pennsylvania of the 100 Mile U.S.A.C National Championship on June 20th, 1965. Keep in mind all these cars were powered by 220 cubic inch Ofenhauser engines, back then, and they ran on skinny Also killed at the track were five motorcycle riders, three spectators and one flagman. I wanted to be a race driver. Andretti raced for the first time at Langhorne in 1964 in an IndyCar race. Note: Some of this information, below, was taken FOR SALE! lead over teammate Thomson and third place running Sostilio. Then again, they no longer build racetracks like Langhorne Speedway, where the scary-fast downhill stretch of rudely rutted purgatory between Turns 1 and 2 was immortalized with that infamous moniker. Peters, and Nazaruk. "Langhorne was a special place," he says. 18 drivers, five motorcycle riders, three spectators, and one flagman have died at the track. BUNBURY GLEN IRIS LITTLE CIRCUIT 1961 - 1974, BUNBURY AUSTRALIAN MOTORCYCLE GRAND PRIX 1962, ESPERANCE BANDY CREEK PINK LAKE SPEEDWAYS, KALGOORLIE GOLDEN MILE TROTTING TRACK SPEEDWAY, PERTH BUCKLAND - ROPEWORKS - MONUMENT HILL HARLEY SCRAMBLE, PERTH BULLSBROOK RAILWAY ROAD SPEED TRIALS, PERTH DIRT TRACKERS - GIDGEGANNUP - KEWDALE, PERTH FORRESTFIELD SPEEDWAY HARTFIELD ROAD, PERTH FORRESTFIELD SPEEDWAY DAWSON AVENUE 1960s, PERTH FORRESTFIELD SPEEDWAY DAWSON AVENUE 1970, PERTH FORRESTFIELD SPEEDWAY DAWSON AVENUE 1971, PERTH FORRESTFIELD SPEEDWAY DAWSON AVENUE 1972, PERTH FORRESTFIELD SPEEDWAY DAWSON AVENUE 1973, PERTH FORRESTFIELD SPEEDWAY DAWSON AVENUE 1974, PERTH FORRESTFIELD SPEEDWAY DAWSON AVENUE 1975, PERTH FORRESTFIELD SPEEDWAY DAWSON AVENUE 1976, PERTH FORRESTFIELD SPEEDWAY DAWSON AVENUE 1977, PERTH FORRESTFIELD SPEEDWAY DAWSON AVENUE 1978, PERTH FORRESTFIELD SPEEDWAY DAWSON AVENUE 1979, PERTH FORRESTFIELD SPEEDWAY DAWSON AVENUE 1980, PERTH KALAMUNDA GO KART & SOAP BOX RACING, WONGAN HILLS - PIAWANING GRAVEL PIT - WONGAN HILLS SPEEDWAY, 1991 > 1995 BUNBURY SHRUBLAND PARK MOTOCROSS, 1996 > 2000 BUNBURY SHRUBLAND PARK MOTOCROSS, 2001 > 2005 BUNBURY SHRUBLAND PARK MOTOCROSS, 2006 > 2010 BUNBURY SHRUBLAND PARK MOTOCROSS, 2011 > 2015 BUNBURY SHRUBLAND PARK MOTOCROSS, 2016 > 2020 BUNBURY SHRUBLAND PARK MOTOCROSS, KATANNING PINWERNYING PARK SPEEDWAY 1985 > 1998, WANNEROO PINJAR PARK SENIOR SPEEDWAY 2021, PORTLAND HI PINE SPEEDWAY SOUTHERN 500 SPEEDWAY, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1970, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1971, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1972, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1973, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1974, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1975, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1976, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1977, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1978, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1979, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1980, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1981, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1982, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1983, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1984, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1985, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1986, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1987, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1988, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1989, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1990, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1991, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1992, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1993, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1994, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1995, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1996, CANBERRA TRALEE - FRASER PARK SPEEDWAY 1997, DUBBO SPEEDWAY - DUBBO SHOWGROUNDS SPEEDWAY, GOULBURN RACECOURSE SPEEDWAY SHOWGROUND SPEEDWAY, LAKEVIEW HILL CLIMB CANBERRA SPORTING CAR CLUB, NEWCASTLE BOOLAROO MOTOR CYCLE HILL CLIMB, NEWCASTLE MEMORIAL DRIVE HILL CLIMB (NSW), NEWCASTLE MOTORDROME - JERILDERIE PARK SPEEDWAY, SYDNEY CASULA MOTOR CYCLE HILL CLIMB (NSW), SYDNEY CUMBERLAND OVAL PARRAMATTA SPEEDWAY, SYDNEY LANSDOWNE MOTOR CYCLE HILL CLIMB (NSW), SYDNEY - OLYMPIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY MAROUBRA SPEEDWAY, SYDNEY ST GEORGE POLICE AND CITIZENS BOYS CLUB KART TRACK, SYDNEY TO MELBOURNE RELIABILITY MOTOR CONTEST, WALLSEND MOTOR CYCLE CLUB WALLSEND PARK SPEEDWAY (NSW), YASS MARCHMONT RACECOURSE & MOTOR RACING CIRCUIT, ACACIA RIDGE SPEEDWAY ARTHUR PARK SPEEDWAY, BRISBANE EXHIBITION SPEEDWAY - COORPAROO SHOWGROUNDS - RNA SHOWGROUNDS - (QLD), CAIRNS SHOWGROUND & PARRAMATTA PARK SPEEDWAY, MARYBOROUGH COPENHAGEN BEND McAULLIFE PARK (QLD), TOWNSVILLE BOHLE - THURINGOWA - SUN CITY SPEEDWAY, ADELAIDE VIRGINIA FAIRGROUNDS - THUNDERBIRD RACEWAY, HEATHFIELD SKYLINE MOTORDROME / STIRLING SPEEDWAY, PORT PIRIE PHOENIX PARK TROTTING VENUE (SA), SOUTH AUSTRALIAN CENTENARY INTERSTATE CAR RALLY, DROUIN CANNIBAL CREEK SPEEDWAY GARFIELD SPEEDWAY, DROUIN WATTLE PARK (GARFIELD WATTLE) SPEEDWAY, FRANKSTON CRANBOURNE ROAD RESERVE SPEEDWAY, MELBOURNE MOTORDROME - OLYMPIC PARK SPEEDWAY, MELBOURNE SPEEDWAY - BROOKLYN SPEEDWAY - NORTHERN PARK SPEEDWAY - USAC BROOKLYN SPEEDWAY - WESTERN INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY - MELBOURNE SPEEDBOWL, MELBOURNE WERRIBEE MOTORCYCLE RACES (VIC), TARRAWINGEE WANGARATTA AIRSTRIP TARRAWINGEE CIRCUIT, SAN GABRIEL VALLEY SPEEDWAY - IRWINDALE SPEEDWAY (CA), SEAFORD SPEEDWAY - MIDDLEFORD SPEEDWAY (DE), DAYTONA SPEEDWAY & INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY (FL), TWIN CITY SPEEDWAY CHAMPAIGN MOTOR SPEEDWAY (IL), AUDUBON COUNTY SPEEDWAY BULL VALLEY SPEEDWAY (IA), CORBIN SPEEDWAY CUMBERLAND FALLS HWY (KY), CONOCOCHEAGUE SPEEDWAY HAGERSTOWN SPEEDWAY (MD), WHISKEY RIDGE RACEWAY NEWAYGO COUNTY SPEEDWAY MAPLE ISLAND SPEEDWAY, MISSISSIPPI - ALABAMA STATE FAIRGROUNDS (MS), BATES COUNTY SPEEDWAY BUTLER MOTOR SPEEDWAY OLD 71 SPEEDWAY (MO), BELARO SPEEDWAY - YELLOWSTONE SPEEDWAY - MAGIC CITY SPEEDWAY (MT), LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY DRIFT COURSE (NV), NEW HAMPSHIRE INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY (NH), HIGHSTOWN SPEEDWAY - EAST WINDSOR SPEEDWAY, ROUTE 66 SPEEDWAY HOLLYWOOD BOWL SPEEDWAY (NY), SYRACUSE MILE - NY STATE FAIRGROUNDS SPEEDWAY, CINCINNATI MOTOR SPEEDWAY CONEY ISLAND SPEEDWAY, GLEN ESTE SPEEDWAY - GREATER CINCINNATI RACE BOWL (OH), DELAWARE VALLEY SPEEDWAY - STROUDSBURG SPEEDWAY (PA), PITTSBURGHS PENNSYLVANIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY (PA), CAROLINA MOTORSPORT PARK ROAD COURSE (SC), GAULTS MOTOR SPEEDWAY - BUFFALO MOTOR SPEEDWAY - UNION COUNTY SPEEDWAY (SC), TENNESSEE MOTOR SPEDWAY - COOKEVILLE SPEEDWAY, OLD DOMINION SPEEDWAY - LONGVIEW SPEEDWAY (VA), PULASKI COUNTY SPEEDWAY - NEW RIVER VALLEY SPEEDWAY - MOTOR MILE SPEEDWAY (VA), NORTHERN WISCONSIN STATE FAIRGROUNDS (WI), REDEX TRI STATE MOTOR CYCLE RELIABILITY TRIAL 1954, 1936 SOUTH AUSTRALIAN CENTENARY INTERSTATE CAR RALLY. It was another racetrack, another day at work, he said. Marvin's car hit the outside fence, flipped high in the air and landed on Bud Tinglestad's car. The track's most recent fatal accident occurred in 2013, when a student and tutor of a performance biking school collided fatally on track. A Commercial development eventually made the property too valuable to be used for motorsports, and there were complaints about noise from newly built residential neighborhoods. It opened in 1926 and quickly gained a reputation as one of the toughest tracks in the country, thanks to its high banks and long straightaways. The current space features a Sam's Club, a Restaurant Depot warehouse and a CarMax dealership where the pits and grandstand were once located. below. In time trials, Johnny Thomson turned a record breaking lap in the time "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." accident at LeMans has to be the worst ever, with effect, caused his car to run rich, thus burning up extra fuel. . been thrown out after one or two barrel rolls. a photo, again, one taken by Walt Imlay, of the start of the 1956 100-mile race Of course, slicing through those ruts required a lot of sawing at the wheel, which took a toll on the drivers. often wondered what would have happened had Mike. Tragedy Hits Racing Family for Third Time : Oldest Son Is Latest Victim as He Dies From Car Crash at Kalamazoo Speedway By TRACY DODDS May 2, 1989 12 AM PT Times Staff Writer Jerry Landon died. Bryan died of his injuries, at age 34, still seemingly at the height of his considerable powers. He remembers the restless night before. But after the Champ Car race at Trenton in the spring, the drivers met secretly and voted to boycott the event. Ironically, despite the improvement in safety, the reviews for the "improved" Langhorne were uniformly sour. 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. Race car drivers are by definition a brave bunch, but Langhorne scared some of the best and ran off some of the uncertain. $18,500.00. OConnor, Jerry Hoyt, Mike Magill, Duane Carter, Charlie, Some instant fashion, with him receiving a broken neck and a severed jugular vein. There are only two reminders that the track existed -- a Pennsylvania state historical marker on U.S. Route 1 and the nearby Langhorne Speedway Diner. Next to him, for the start was Bob Veith. Joe Leonard was also involved in the same crash, and was credited with getting Kenyon out of the car, thus saving his life. As a result, the speedway sat idle and did not host a race of any kind until 1946. in row 5, Don Freeland and Mike Magill in row 6, Eddie Russo and Jack Turner in barrel rolling along the low wooden fence. It was paved in 1965, and in the process, a straightaway of sorts was created on the tracks back side, turning the track into a D shape. 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. race, so it seemed, was gong to be a third straight win at Langhorne, for Jimmy victory something he couldnt do in 1955, when he had to ask for relief after However advances in safety technology and specifications designed by . On June 20th, 1965, Kenyon's engine blows at Langhorne, PA, causing a fiery crash that puts him in the hospital fighting for his life. Veith led the first 16 laps, with Bryan leading laps 17 through 70. View photos of the Concord Speedway construction below. That property had swallowed the concrete. was cartwheeling through the air, out of the car. Team Tactics Come Into Play from 71 to 100. The 100-mile event was slowed by two caution flags, and was won by driver Tim Flock. I was sitting in the stands in what I guess 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. Little As Riggs puts it, "I think people figured that if that joint could eat Jimmy Bryan alive, then it could get anybody. 300 yards from that hole in the fence. And, of course, the graphic memories of those who raced there -- and came out the other side. quest for three straight wins took a hit around lap 66, when his cars engine That view was basically The rate of fatalities saw a dramatic slowdown following 1973, however, and only eight people (one of whom was a trespasser) have been killed by crashes in the following 45 years, down from 64 in its first 64 years. High-profile American racing clubs like the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), American Automobile Association (AAA), and United States Auto Club (USAC) made Langhorne one of the stops on their national circuits. His teammate, Charlie Musselman was next with His death in such a shockingly unexpected wreck deeply affected everybody who'd witnessed it. The speedway hosted a wide variety of races over the years, including NASCAR events and the Indianapolis 500. 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 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. Most of the original shopping center's stores are now gone, but a Kmart and a historical marker remain. 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. 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. Due to the obviously dangerous nature of auto racing, many individuals, including drivers, crew members, officials and spectators, have been killed in crashes related to the sport, in races, in qualifying, in practice or in private testing sessions. A crowd of about 15,000 was on hand for this second sprint car show. That was the most dangerous track on Earth. Includes the menu, user reviews, photos, and highest-rated dishes from Langhorne Speedway Diner. "I hardly slept the night before. of 32.909, for an average speed of 109.392 MPH. I was at the Selinsgrove Speedway, last Saturday, March 20. back in time. The track now is a faded memory. at Langhorne. Riverside did not cease to take lives, however. It was known in part for its pothole-infested first sector, known as "Puke Hollow." Tinglestad being lead away from the wreck by a track official. 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