Fred "Jiggs" Peters ... Born ... Jiggs started racing Midgets in 1948, winning the ARDC championship in 1951. He then moved into Sprint Cars. In 1955 he unsuccesfully attempted to qualify for the Indy 500 in a Scopa-Offy. Equally at home on dirt or asphalt, he tried to qualify for Indy again in the Lee Glessner Offy in 1957. Short on speed on the first weekend, he was fast enough on the second to qualify but he chose to come home to NJ to run locally to make money as opposed to sitting in Indy for the whole month of May without an income. He was very good in long distance races and won numerous times at long tracks like Trenton, N.J. and Langhorne, Pa. He was injured at Bedford Speedway in 1969 in a URC Sprint Car race and retired after that. He continued to stay involved by running the pit gate at Grandview Speedway for promotor Ed Darrell. He also was very involved in numerous Old Timer Clubs until his passing.
Tony Bettenhausen won the AAA sanctioned Springfield 100 on the 1 Mile Dirt Oval Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Illinois. Ted Horn was second followed by Steve Truchan, Jackie Holmes and Charlie Rogers.
Leon Hubble won the Sprint Car race at the Jungle Park Speedway,Rockville, IN.
Joie Chitwood , driving the Nyquist #8, won the 20 lap AAA Eastern Sprint Car race on the 1 mile dirt Trenton Speedway in Trenton, NJ.
Ted Duncan won the 25-lap Chicago Auto Racing Assn. Midget race driving the Eric Lundy Offy at the Soldier Field in Chicago, IL.
Bill Vukovich won the AAA sanctioned Denver 100 on the 1 Mile Dirt Oval Centennial Park in Denver, Colorado. Chuck Stevenson was second followed by Bobby Ball, Sam Hanks and Buzz Barton.
Tommy Hinnershitz won the AAA Eastern Sprint Car race at the Trenton International Speedway, Trenton, NJ.
Joe James won the AAA Sprint Car race at the Winchester Speedway, Winchester, IN.
Jud Larson won the IMCA Sprint Car race at the Muskogee Speedway, Muskogee, OK.
Vito Calia won the AAA Midget race at the Olympic Stadium, Kansas City,MO.
Rodger Ward won the USAC sanctioned Trenton 100 on the 1 Mile Paved Oval Trenton International Speedway in Trenton, NJ. Johnny Thomson was second followed by Tony Bettenhausen, Joe Barzda and Eddie Johnson.
Jimmy Reece... Died ... Reece was Midge and Sprint driver and a 6 time veteran of the Indianapolis 500, with Top Ten finishes in 1952, 1956 and 1958. He died in a racing accident during a 1958 champ car race at Trenton International Speedway. ( Click here for the report. )
Ned Jarrett won the 100 Mile NASCAR Late Model Sportsman race at the Syracuse, NY Fairgrounds. Dutch Hoag finished second followed by George Welch, Billy Rafter and Art Reynolds. Glen Wagner (29) of Glen Cove L.I. died as a result of an accident that happened on the 16th lap of the event.
Hank Rogers driving the Earl Steffen Chevy won the URC Sprint Car race at the Airport Speedway in Winchester Virginia. Vern Harriman was second followed by Lou johnson, Bill Brown and Hal Rettberg.
Frankie Schneider won the 25-lap Stock Car feature at the Wilmington Speedway, Wilmington, DE. Harry Moore finished second followed by Dick Havens, Elton Hildreth and Al Pomponio.
Pete Frazee won the 25-lap NASCAR Stock Car feature at the Old Bridge Stadium , Old Bridge, NJ. Frank Myroncuk finished second followed by Joe Kelly.
Al Unser won the USAC sanctioned Sacramento 100 on the 1 Mile Dirt Oval California State Fairgrounds in Sacramento, California. Gary Bettenhausen was second followed by Bobby Unser, Bruce Walkup and Carl Williams.