Cliff Griffith... Born ... AAA and USAC driver from the 1950's & 60's. He drove in four Indy races, '51, '52, '56 and '61 with his best result, a 9th place finish in 1952.
____________________
1924
Chuck Parsons... Born ... Sports car driver . Ran one USAC race at Riverside in 1967.
____________________
1955
Herb Thomas won a hard fought 100-mile NASCAR Grand National race on the 1/2 mile dirt Palm Beach Speedway in West Palm Beach, Florida. Thomas and Buck Baker swapped the lead 11 times before Thomas took the lead for good. Local Modified star Jack Choquette made a late charge in his first GN start, passing Baker with two laps to go and finishing only 3 lengths behind Thomas at the line. Thomas and Choquette were driving Hudson Hornets while 3rd place Baker was in an Olds 88.
A.J. Foyt won the pole position for the 1971 Daytona 500 with a speed of 182.744 in his Glen Wood Mercury.
( Click here for the race report. )
Jerry Blundy won the second event of the Winternational Sprint Car series at the Florida State Fairgrounds, Tampa, FL.
( Click here for the race report. )
____________________
1986
Willard "Bill" Cantrell... Died ... Nicknamed the "Silver Fox" because of his gray hair and the sly tricks he used to win races, Cantrell came to Southern California from Missouri before World War II. He started racing in jalopies in 1936, and raced midgets with the United Midget Association in 1939. In 1940 and '41 he drove more than fifty different midgets looking for a car that would make him a winner. In 1942 he found that car and scored 15 wins and a 2nd in the UMA points. From 1945 thru 1964, Billy won more than 120 main events with the United Racing Assn., AAA, and USAC. Included in this total is the 1962 "Turkey Night Grand Prix". He won the URA Red Circuit Title in 1947 and was that association's overall champion in 1951 and '52. He also collected 18 sprint car wins with the California Racing Association in this period. After retiring from driving, he served for a time as the west coast supervisor for USAC and as starter for the USRC midget club.
Bobby Davis Jr won the All Star Preliminary feature for the 10th Annual Sprint Car Nationals race at the East Bay Speedway, Gibsonton, FL.( Click here for the race report. )
____________________
1987
Ira Hall... Died ... AAA driver that raced in the 1920's , 30's and 40's.
Doug Wolfgang won the All Star Preliminary feature for the 11th Annual Sprint Car Nationals race at the Florida National Speedway, Tampa, FL. ( Click here for the race report. )
____________________
1994
Chuck Gurney won the USAC Midget race at the Phoenix International Raceway, Phoenix, AZ.
Kenny Irwin Jr. won the USAC Silver Crown race at the Phoenix International Raceway, Phoenix, AZ.
Davey Hamilton won the USAC Supermodified race at the Phoenix International Raceway, Phoenix, AZ.
____________________
1999
Mike Dunn sets an NHRA Top Fuel 1/4 mile ET record of 4.503 seconds at Pomona, California.
____________________
2000
Tony Stewart won the USAC Midget race at the Phoenix International Raceway, Phoenix, AZ.
Jason Leffler won the USAC Silver Crown race at the Phoenix International Raceway, Phoenix, AZ.
ONE DAY
To report wrong information, click here to send E-Mail to webmaster@wheelsofspeed.com 
Back to the Wheels of Speed home page