Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
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http://journalexpress.net/local/x1837424978/Fair-Board-approves-memorial-to-drivers-lost

How many people have died at the track? I know of Danny Young, Steve King, Chad McDaniel, Wilson (I forget his first name I think it was Mark). Wasn't there a gentelman who passed away in a wreck on nostalgia night? I'm only 27 so maybe some of the older posters on here know of others from years passed.

Good to see that there will be a memorial to remember these guys that gave it all to entertain us.

Add Jay Opperman, Dick Stoneking, Darrell Dawley, Roger Larson & Gary Scott.

Danny Kruger from the Kansas City Area, in the mid 1960's During the Nationals?

http://www.midwestracingarchives.com/2011_08_01_archive.html

Burt Sonner

Courtney Roger Schuur from Minnesota

-Austin Rankin

sometime around the mid 60's Brad Teeter lost his life in the first turn and then I think Les Turner died in either the late 50's or early 60's... Also there was a driver from Minn. that was killed in a crash during an Outlaw show.. that was in the first turn also.. Sorry but I don't remember his name..

Doug Topper. I think he went over the first turn fence.

http://www.ibracn.com/tribute/

Les Turner #71 died July 1, 1961. There was a wreck in front of him coming out of 4 and his options were to either dive into the pits or try to spin out. (As the story was told to me by my Uncle Les) He chose to spin out, caught a tire and hit hit head on the roll cage. If anyone knows any stories about my Grandpa Les, I'd sure like to hear them.

Quick search at www.motorsportmemorial.org gives these results:

OK, here we go. I will go back to 1979. Roger Larson and Darryl Dawley were both killed in the same race. Knoxville was non wing, then. Two weeks later There was a wing show and Dick Stoneking died. He didn't have a wing. It was in the B main. The nationals that year was very eerie. We had seats on the back straight on Sat. but had grandstand seats for qualifying. All they had for protection was a chicken wire fence, They were temporary bleacher seats. Right behind the bleachers was a quanset hut, kind of an aircraft hanger made of corrugated metal. Right in the middle was a big patch where Dub May had flown through it the year before. All we could think of was finding a seat on the top row where we could dive off if we needed to. When the cars started hot laps we knew that if a car flipped there was no way to get out of there in time. Very scary. To my knowledge nobody got killed in 1980 but I coud be wrong. In 1981 at the start of the A at the nationals, Jack hewitt got sideways on the second row and took out Terry Doss. Shane Carson was behind Doss and both got hooked together. Shane was hanging on the very top of the catch fence. Another foot and he would have been in the croud, When the cars came together, a shock came off one of the cars and hit a lady all the way down in turn one up in the stands. She was from Lincoln and her name was Ellen or Helen Bruritt or something like that. She died later from that injury. It happened right in front of me. They got together at the chalk line. We had seats on the first few rows right  next to the pit entrance. The shock travelled the length of the front straight. In May, 1982, Gary Scott was decapitated in a crash on the front straight. As his head bounced down the track they called it a night. The next week they had wings. Side bar, the WoO didn't sanction the show in 81. Car count was less than 100. By that time, a lot of people admitted, removing the banking like they had, the tackiness of the track, and size made it just too fast for non wing racing on a regular basis. There were other very serious crashes. Nationals in 80 or 81 a driver from alaska destroyed both arms in a crash. I do remember coming to a CRA show there on the annual midwest tour about 88 and the only weekly driver to race non wing was Danny Young. He was 16. I really can't name other deaths until his. Everyone knows about Steve King and Chad McDaniel in the midget. I know this isn't complete and doesn't include people like Jeff Shepard who almost died. I know this is a little long but I tried to give as much information as I remember.

My grandpa, aunt and uncle were only a couple rows behind that lady that got hit by the shock. I've heard that story a few times and it's scary to think it could have been one of my relatives. Thank you for all of your info in your post, it was a very interesting read

when the green flag drops, the bullshit stops!

Hopefully it will include fans and pit crew that were lost at Knoxville also. I remember the shock in the stands but I was pretty young and it was one of my first times at Knoxville. Thanks ih8work for the date on that.

I always heard that a flagman either got killed or injured back then also. Was it in the Larson/Dawley crash?

Gary Johnson was the flagman injured (paralyzed from the waist down) the night that Dick Stoneking crashed into the flagstand and was fatally injured... which was incredibly only 2 weeks after the Larson/Dawley crash.  It sounds like Johnson was very lucky to survive that deal.  He used to come to the races, not sure if he still does.  This past Monday was the 35th anniversary of the Larson/Dawley fatality... coming up on that same anniversary for Stoneking.  RIP to all three.. hope nobody experiences something as crazy as that again. 

Lots of informative posts in this thread about some incidents I was only vaguely familiar with. Very classy move on Knoxville's part.