Alvin Junior "A. J." Shepherd ... Born ... CRA , IMCA and USAC Midget and Sprint car driver . He drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1960-1961 seasons with 7 starts, including the 1961 Indianapolis 500. He finished in the top ten 4 times, with his best finish in 4th position, in 1961 at Springfield. He finished 26 in his only race at Indy.
Pete DePaolo , 1925 Indy 500 winner, drove his front drive Miller to victory in the 200 mile AAA Championship race on the 1.25 mile board Altoona Speedway in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It was DePaolo's 7th career Champ Car win and he averaged 116.5 mph.
Jackie Stewart ... Born ... Former Scottish racing driver. He competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Championships. He also competed in Can-Am. He is well-known in the United States as a commentator of racing television broadcasts, and as a pitchman for Ford, where his Scottish accent made him a distinctive presence. 1966 saw him almost win the Indianapolis 500 on his first attempt, in John Meecom's Lola T90-Ford, only to be denied by a broken scavenge pump while leading by over a lap with eight laps to go.
Tony Bettenhausen won the 100 Mile Rex Mays Classic AAA Indy Car race on the 1 mile dirt oval at the Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, WI. Paul Russo was second followed by Jimmy Davies , Lee Wallard and Henry Banks .
Pancho Carter ... Born ... The son of Indycar racer Duane Carter. He was born while his parents were on the way to a race at the Milwaukee Mile. His father's nickname was "Pappy". Pappy referred to his wife's pregnancy as "little paunch," so they nicknamed the child Pancho. Carter is the half-brother of Johnny Parsons. He ran Midgets, Sprints and Indy Cars. He drove his first Indianapolis 500 in 1974. He finished seventh, and was awarded the Rookie of the Year. He finished third in the 1982 Indianapolis 500 behind the now-famous duel between Gordon Johncock and Rick Mears. In 1985, Carter drove the brand new Buick V6 engine to the pole position of the 1985 Indianapolis 500. From 1985-1995 Pancho ran 14 NASCAR Winston Cup races for multiple owners including Elmo Langley. Pancho's best finish in NASCAR was a seventeenth place finish at the Michigan International Speedway. In 1995, Pancho also raced two Craftsman Truck Series races.
Mike Nazaruk won the AAA Eastern Sprint Car race over Tommy Hinnershitz at the Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, PA
Jimmy Knight won the 100 lap USAC Midget race at the Cloverleaf Speedway, Valley View, OH.
Russ Hoek won the opening Modified Stock Car race and Bob Smith won the Limited Sportsman race at the East Windsor Speedway, Hightstown, NJ. ( Click here for the race report. )
Jimmy Davies... Died ... AAA / USAC driver from the 1940's - 1960's. He was the second man to win three USAC National Midget Championships. When Davies won the 100 mile AAA Championship race at Del Mar, California on November 6, 1949 - aged 20 years, 2 months, 29 days, he became the youngest driver to win a race in a major U.S. open wheel series, a record not broken until Marco Andretti won the IRL race at Sonoma, California in 2006. Davies raced AAA on a false birth certificate showing him older, (as did Troy Ruttman and Jim Rathmann), and was racing illegally. He ran the Indy 500 5 times with a best finish of 3rd in 1955. He died on June 11, 1966 aged 36 from injuries suffered in a midget crash at Santa Fe Speedway in Chicago. He was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1984
Jud Larson... Died ... He was a hard-drinking, hard-driving racer, a colorful character from the days when few drivers survived to retire, and roll cages were for sissies. Larson drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1956-1959 and 1964-1965 seasons with 53 starts, including the 1958 and 1959 Indianapolis 500 races. He finished in the top ten 38 times, with 7 victories. He had a 27-year career, competing in hundreds of races. He spent his early years racing in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Iowa on the half mile dirt bullrings that spawned many fierce competitions in the post war years. In 1964 he broke into the USAC sprint ranks, proving he was a serious competitor . In his first year in the ranks, he won six out of 19 sprint races and finished a strong second in the rugged sprint division point standings. In 1965 he won four of the first six sprint races and led the points standings for more than half the season, but mechanical ailments hit during the last half of the season and he slid to ninth in the final standings. In the '66 season, Jud was once again leading the sprint division until the night of June 11 at Reading Speedway in Reading, Pennsylvania. During that race Jud Larson and Red Riegel were running side by side going into the first turn. There was contact between the two cars and both started flipping. Jud Larson's sprinter ended up upside down on the guard rail with Red Reigel's, which was also upside down a little further down the track. The crash killed both drivers. Jud Larson was a very popular personality, who was always surrounded by autograph hunters win or lose.
Red Riegel... Died ... URC and USAC driver from Leesport PA. Died in a USAC Sprint car race at the Reading Fairgrounds Speedway in the same crash which also claimed the life of Jud Larson.
Bobby Unser won the 30 lap USAC Sprint Car race at the Reading Fairgrounds Speedway, Reading, PA. Don Branson was second followed by Roger McCluskey, Mario Andretti and Bobby Black.
A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney drove their Ford Mk. 4 to victory in the Sports Car World Championship for Makes "24 Hours of LeMans". Foyt and Gurney backed off so much that they won the fuel conservation index and crossed the line easy winners, Foyt becoming the first Indianapolis 500 winner to also win LeMans.
Bobby Unser and Greg Weld each won in the Twin 30's USAC Sprint Car races at the Terre Haute Action Track , Terre Haute,IN
Sammy Sessions won the USAC Sprint Car race at the Berlin Raceway, Grand Rapids,MI. Darl Harrison was second followed by Larry Dickson, Don Nordhorn and Sonny Ates.
David Pearson drove the Wood Brothers Mercury to victory in the NASCAR Grand National 'Motor State 400' on the 2 mile Michigan International Speedway. Pearson, who started 3rd, led 154 of the 200 laps, taking the lead to stay on lap 158. Pearson crossed the line 16 seconds ahead of Bobby Allison's Richard Howard Chevrolet with Richard Petty 3rd in his Dodge. It was Pearson's 3rd win of the season. Bobby Isaac won the pole, but his troubles continued as broken suspension parked his Nord Krauskopf Dodge after 147 laps. 1970 Daytona 500 winner Pete Hamilton returned to GN racing in a Jim Ruggles Plymouth, but qualified a disappointing 26th and went out with a blown engine on lap 155.
Charlie Masters won the USAC Sprint car race over Larry Dickson, Gary Bettenhausen, Chuck Allen and Sammy Sessions at the Terre Haute Action Track , Terre Haute,IN
Billy Cassella won the USAC Sprint car race over Tom Bigelow, Chuck Gurney, Marvin Carman and Larry Dickson at the Illiana Motor Speedway, Schererville,IN.
Tom Bigelow won the 40 lap USAC Sprint Car race at the Winchester Speedway, Winchester,IN. Billy Cassella finished second followed by Sheldon Kinser, James McElreath, Dana Carter and Joe Saldana.
Sleepy Tripp won the USAC Midget race at the Springfield Speedway, Springfield,IL.
Lou Blaney won the Sprint car race over Paul Kekich, Ed Murphy, Ted Wise and Ralph Quarterson at the Mercer Raceway Park, Mercer, PA.
Tom Spriggle won the Super Sprint car race over Barry Camp, Kramer Williamson, Lynn Paxton and John Benyou at the Selinsgrove Speedway, Selinsgrove,PA.
Brady Bacon won the NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing Series Jesse Hockett Classic USAC Sprint Car race and Ryan Watt won the NASCAR 358 Modified race at the Grandview Speedway Bechtelsvilla, Pa. ( Click here for the race report. )
Buddy Kofoid won the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget feature at the Gas City I-69 Speedway, Gas City , IN. Click to watch the feature highlights video.
Ian Madsen won the FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 Sprint Car Series race at the Attica Raceway Park, Attica, OH, Cory Eliason was second followed by Skylar Gee, Cole Macedo and Tyler Courtney. Click to watch the feature highlights video.
Carson Macedo won the 25-lap World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series race at the Knoxville Raceway, Knoxville, IA. Logan Schuchart was second followed by Kerry Madsen, Donny Schatz and Giovanni Scelzi. Click to watch the feature highlights video.
ONE DAY
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