The Short Chute

PAGE 2 - Newsletter #69 - Winter 2000

Hometown Heroes Cont.

and lived in nearby North Vernon, Indiana was honored. Several hundred people attended, many from Indianapolis. Scrapbooks, photos and other memorabilia from the Roaring Roadsters, Midgets, Sprint Cars and Jalopies that competed in Central Indiana area were beautiful. Memorabilia displays and racing videos were enjoyed by all. Several old race cars were displayed including the Jim Hurtubise Mallard roadster. In attendance from the O'Connor family (who all still live in the area) were his brother-in-law Harry Rine and Pat's sister, Patsy. It marked the first time the family had ever been successful in convincing Patsy to attend a racing function since her brother's death. The diminutive lady had a wonderful time. Pat has two sons. His eldest Rob Perkins and Rob's half-brother Jeff O'Connor were both in attendance. Each had several pieces of memorabilia from their collections on display. Jeff brought the 1/4 scale hand made Sprint Car model that was presented to Pat at the MA banquet after Pat had won the 1953 Midwest Sprint Car Championship. Jeff, 42, has a strong resemblance to his father while 53 year old Rob looks very Irish with curly sandy-red hair . Bob Creech, who owned the first race car that Pat ever drove, what he referred to as a Track Roadster, was on hand with many pictures and stories. Like the others who knew Pat, Bob's feelings for the racer and gentleman are still strong. Once again the show was a large success. Plans for next years event honoring the 1954 Rookie-of-the-Year, Larry Crockett of Columbus have already been made.

Racing Fraternity Deaths

On behalf of the National Indy 500 Collectors club, we offer sincere condolences to the families of the following members of the racing fraternity who have recently passed:

Indianapolis 500 car owner, builder and mechanic Grant King died from injuries suffered in a car accident December 17. He was 67 years old. King owned or was Chief Mechanic on cars that competed at Indianapolis from 1964 in to the 1980's. Grant King Racing, which opened its doors in the 1970's fielded cars for Sheldon Kinser, Bob Harkey and John Martin, among others. King also built USAC Sprint Cars and is a member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.

Former Midget driver and car owner Carl Forberg, died January 17 in Indianapolis at age 88. Forberg, Pancho Carter's Father-in-Iaw, drove MA Midgets throughout the Midwest in the 1930's and 40's. He competed in the 1951 Indianapolis 500 finishing 7th. After retiring as a driver he owned USAC Midget & Sprint cars. Johnny White, Lee Kunzman, Bill Puterbaugh, Ronnie Duman, Ralph Liquori and Pancho Carter were among his drivers.

Former driver Dick Rathmann died on February 1 in Melbourne, Florida at the age of 74. Dick was the older brother of 1960 500 Champ Jim. After competing in the 500 in 1950, Dick became one of the leading drivers in NASCAR before returning to the Speedway in 1956. Dick won the Pole at Indianapolis in 1958 with a new 4 lap record. However, his glory was always tarnished when he became involved in the first lap crash that took the life of Pat O'Connor. Dick competed in six more 500's with his final ride in 1964 when he posted his third top ten finish, seventh place in the Chapman Spl.

Former driver and CART team owner, Tony Bettenhausen was killed in a plane crash near Leesburg, Kentucky on February 14. He was 48 years old. Tony's wife Shirley, the daughter of former driver Jim McElreath, also died in the crash along with two business associates. Tony competed in the 500 eleven times between 1981 and 1993 with his best finish of seventh in 1981.

Sam Schmidt Injured - Indy Racing League driver Sam Schmidt was critically injured in a crash while testing at Walt Disney World on January 6. Although his condition has been upgraded to stable, Sam is paralyzed from the shoulders down. He is undergoing treatment in St. Louis. Cards and letters can be sent to Sam at: Sam Schmidt, c/o Ruthie Culbertson, Treadway Racing, 60 17 W. 71 st St. , Indianapolis, IN 46278. Donations to CARA Charities, IRL Ministries or Speedway Children's Charities in Schmidt's name are encouraged.

New Indy Car Book

A new release written by Karl Ludvigsen will be available March 15. The title is Indy Cars of the 1950's". The era of Kurtis-Kraft, Watson, Novi's and the invincible Offenhauser is covered. This softbound 128 page edition contains 105 B & W photos and is priced at $19.95. The book is available from Classic Motorbooks (toll free 1-800-826-6600).