OVER THE WALL

     Only those accidents involving fire are more terrifying than mishaps where a race car and its hapless driver rocket over the wall out of the race track.  Even the most casual race fan understands that there are many things that can happen to a race car when it leaves the track, and none of them are good.  There are objects out there that aren't race car friendly - - trees, posts, rocks.  And at a track like Dayton Speedway the drop alone (some 40 feet) could demolish car and driver alike.

     In truth, going over the wall, whether at Dayton or any other short track, has not always been very difficult.  Generally, race track wall development has always trailed the race cars' ability to climb them by several seasons or more.  The earliest photos from Dayton show walls that appear more intended to keep spectators from watching the action for free than walls that would keep an errant race car inside the track.  Other photos show walls that seem only to define the edge of the track or the property line.  Many of the members of the Dayton Speedway Over the Wall club actually went through the wall, as the photos show.

     The drivers profiled on this page all survived their trip over the wall at Dayton Speedway.  Three were not so lucky.  We remember Johnny Shackleford who died when he smashed through the Dayton fence on June 14, 1948; Gordon Reid who left the track in the fourth corner on April 20, 1952 and died along with spectators and a track security gurard; and Jim Rigsby, who was killed August 31, 1952, when his car rocketed out of the speedway.  You can read their stories here.

KELLY PETILLO

July 4, 1934 

     When I started the Over the Wall page I intended to recognize those brave drivers who experienced the ultimate ride, over the Dayton Speedway guardrail and into the abyss.

     But I have to give a nod to famous wheelman Kelly Petillo even though he doesn't quite fit the pattern.

     On July 4, 1934, Petillo lost control of his racer in the fourth corner on lap 15 of the 40-lap main event.  The car shot towards the infield, smashed through a one-foot-tall wooden fence and took out about twenty feet of the fencing before Petillo was able to regain control.

     And by crashing through the infield fence, Kelly Petillo joins the Dayton Speedway Over the Wall club.

     Oh, by the way, Petillo went on to win that feature event!

JOHNNY RITTER

May 25, 1935

     Detroit's Johnny Ritter had a memorable ride out of Dayton Speedway during racing activities on May 25, 1935, though from this report in the Dayton Daily News (May 26, 1935) it would appear that he remembered nothing of his adventure.

     "Sunday's program produced its share of thrills.  The soft track made it hazardous and flying stones helped put out several of the racers.

     "A flying rock put Johnny Ritter of Detroit in St. E's Hospital with a broken shoulder and internal injuries.  Johnny had already qualified and was making a practice spin when he was stunned by a missile as he was coming out of the northeast turn.  He was hit in the head and collapsed over his steerijng wheel, the car jumping through the fence, rolling over four times and stopping on all four wheels.  Ritter was thrown clear of the car on the third roll and it was fortunate that he did because on the fourth roll the back telescoped and he certainly would have met death had he stayed in the seat."

     Ritter was a pretty good wheelman, though on this particular day luck did not ride with him.  Johnny Ritter was eventually inducted into the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame.

RED CAMPBELL

April 26, 1936 

     According to a report in the Kokomo Tribune, Monday, April 27, 1936, Indianapolis driver Red Campbell left the track during a Dayton Speedway event.

     Red Campbell, Indianapolis, and Johnny Wohlfield, Detroit, automobile race drivers, had narrow escapes from injury yesterday when their cars collided in the feature event of the Dayton Speedway inaugural program.

     The accident in which Campbell's car plunged through a fence and billboard, occurred while the Hoosier pilot was leading the field by a lap with only two laps to go.

     Fred Modes of Ann Arbor, Mich., won the 30-lap event.  Les Adair, Indianapolis, was second, and Mile Salay, South Bend, was third.

JOHNNY DECAMP

August 4, 1940

          The 20-lap main event at Funk's Dayton Speedway was flagged to a halt after just 12 laps because of a spectacular accident involving Richmond, Indiana driver Johnny DeCamp.  According to newspaper accounts:

          "Starter Howdy Wilcox flagged the field at the end of the twelfth lap of the scheduled 20-lap feature event when Johnny DeCamp went through the fence on the north turn.  Officials at St. Elizabeth Hospital reported that DeCamp received first degree burns on the right arm and body bruises.

           The accident climaxed a spectacular hub-to-hub battle for first place between DeCamp and Jimmy Wilburn during which time the lead changed hands on several occasions.  Wilburn jumped into the lead at the start of the event, with DeCamp closely following until the seventh lap, when he got by the champ.  One lap later Wilburn was again in the lead but the race was not over yet and DeCamp again pulled out in front on the tenth lap, holding the lead until he apparently lost control of his mount and slid therough the fence on the 12th lap."

FRED LOERKE

Circa 1941

     Reports indicate that driver Fred Lockie survived this heart-stopping smash-up but was seriously injured and may not have raced again.  We know very little about Lockie.  If you have information about Lockie, please contact me here.

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     UPDATE!  As it turns out, Fred's flight didn't take place at Dayton Speedway.  Here's the e-mail that Chris Moore sent to Gene Ingram who originally supplied the photos to DSL:

    Hi Gene, I saw your photos that you submitted to the Dayton Speedway website. It is of interest to me because my great-uncle drove track roadsters in the Ohio/ Indiana area in the 1940s. His name was Fred Loerke, but I was told that he raced under a pseudonym, unknown to me. Loerke (Larky) sounds alot like Lockie. The date you have listed is 1941 and it was my understanding that he didn't race until after the war. Is it a possible missprint? Of greatest interest to me is the distinct impression that the photograph was taken  at Winchester (note the double rail fence and woods in the background).

 
     The story is that Fred broke a steering knuckle at Winchester and left the track at the fourth turn, cleared the trees, and the car was found some distance away from the track. Fred and the engine were found another 50 feet away. He told me he still had his foot in it!! He was banged up with lots of broken bones, necessitating a full body cast. The worst part about this was the spot where he landed was a poison ivy patch!!

REX MAYS

1949

     According to a report in the Lima News, June 6, 1969, Rex Mays "flew over the fence back in 1949 and didn't receive a scratch even though he didn't wear a seat belt."

LLOYD MOORE

June 25, 1950

            Surely you remember Lloyd Moore.  (If the details of his remarkable story are a bit fuzzy for you, click here for a review.)

            Lloyd was one of stock car racing’s pioneers.  His racing career was somewhat short as he turned to the more important job of raising his family, but while he was competing he was a threat to win wherever he went.

            Lloyd caught our attention here at DSL because the one piece of memorabilia he kept from his racing days was the trophy he received for winning the 1954 running of the Metropolitan 300 at Dayton Speedway.  To the end of his life, Dayton remained his favorite track.

            A recent discovery by Rick Patterson suggests that Lloyd’s relationship with the Dayton track didn’t start well.  On June 25, 1950, in a race that was won by Jimmy Florian of Cleveland, Lloyd Moore slammed through the wall and out of the track!

            That's all the information that we've been able to find so far on the incident.  If you have additional information, please contact me here.

MARLIN "RED" RENNER

July 4, 1950

Red Renner Goes Over the Top at Dayton Speedway

By Bill Zimmerman, Journal Herald Sports Writer

            "Dayton, Ohio – July 5 – Marlin “Red” Renner, a 23-year-old “hot rod” driver, had another rendezvous with the Grim Reaper at the north curve of the Dayton Speedway yesterday, but fate and the overgrown weeks in the field below intervened.

            As a result, Renner – pale, shaken, but apparently minus serious injury -- was released from St. Elizabeth hospital last night at his own insistence.

            The freckle-faced driver from Woodburn, Ind., was locked in a scorching duel in the feature race with Roy Prosser of Sun Valley, Calif., when Renner’s car skidded, climbed the guard rail, and plummeted into the overgrown field about 40 feet below.

Question about Contact

            There was some question as to whether the two cars made contact before Renner went spinning into space.  Prosser said afterwards they did not.

            But anyway, when Renner’s famed “31” – the car owned by Daytonian Carl Reynolds – left the track, there were few in the audience of over 4,500 who would have wagered much on his chances of climbing out alive.

            Prosser immediately stopped his car and ran toward the section of the guard rail where Renner’s vehicle had disappeared.  However, a group of onlookers were the first to arrive at the scene.

            Renner Half-Pinned

            Renner was half-pinned under the wreckage of his car.  Several of the men tipped the car, and Renner managed to tumble out.  They then righted the car.

            Shaken by the 40-foot tumble, Renner sat dazed in a rapidly-growing circle of spectators.  He was unmarked except for a swelling on his neck and a tickle of blood from behind his ear.

            When the ambulance arrived, the youthful driver who won the Mutual Racing Association point standings last year and is second this year, refused to be carried and walked to the speedway office.  He was later removed to St. Elisabeth Hospital.

            After the accident in the 20-lap feature, Prosser was sent to the rear under MRA rules which require any car involved in an accident to automatically take last place.

            Crash Crockett who was running third at the time of the accident in the fourth lap took over the first position after a considerable delay and was never headed as he won the feature event.  Pat O’Connor was second and Everett Burton was Third.

            Prosser worked his way up as close as third place, but had to drop out because of mechanical difficulties.  There was no time given in the feature because of the accident and the resulting delay.

            Prior to the mishap, Renner had won the fourth eight-lap heat in 3:08.61.  Other eight-lap winners were Prosser, 3:02.55.  Tex Shackleford captured the 10-lap semi-final in 4:14.92.

            Prosser shattered the speedway mark for one-lap by turning in the distance in 21.42 seconds in one of his qualifying heats.  The old mark of 21.62 was held by Tom Cherry, current MRA point leader, who did not compete yesterday."

            Though Renner survived his 1950 Dayton Speedway roadster adventure, his racing luck ran out on September 9, 1962 at Winchester Speedway, Indiana, when he was killed in an accident during an IMCA sprint race.  Renner was nicknamed "The Woodburn Express" and was perhaps best known for his appearances in the Little 500 at Anderson Speedway (formerly Sun Valley Speedway).  He won the event in 1951 an consistently finished near the top in this annual marathon.

BOOTS ARVIN

October 1, 1950

     Here's what Buzz Rose reported in his book Kings of the Hills about an incident that took place at Dayton Speedway near the end of the 1950 racing season:

     “For the first time since WWII there were no fatal accidents on the circuit and only a handful of minor injuries that, given the intensity of the competition was somewhat of a miracle in itself.  The most serious looking accident of the year happened at the Dayton 100 on October 1^st.  A little known driver named Boots Arvin had the steering break on him at the end of the back straight and sailed over the fence at full throttles, landing right-side up in a cornfield almost 100 feet from the race track.  Other than some seriously aggravated hemorrhoids, Arvin was uninjured and disappeared into history with his name inscribed on the short list of men who got out of the ballpark on the hills in a sprint car and lived to tell about it.”

     Do you have a photo of Boots or any information we might be able to share here at DSL!?  If so, please contact me here.

JOHN MCGINLEY

FRANK CARLINI

JIM DELANEY

September 23, 1951

CHUCK ALDRICH

BILL DAVID

EDDIE BRANDENBURG

October 13, 1952

     Of all the drivers who went through or over the Dayton Speedway wall, Chuck Aldrich must surely hold the distance record (see bottom photo).  We knew very little about this accident until one of our FODS found an article that described the racing event:

     "The stock car event was originally scheduled for 100 laps - 50 miles, but was stopped at 91 laps because of a series of serious accidents including this one.  Chuck Aldrich, 28, of Toledo, went over the wall in the North turn and was taken by ambulance to St. Elizabeth's Hospital where he was treated for cuts on his head and other possible head injuries."         

         FODS Jim Welty send along this information that seems to indicate that a total of three drivers left the park during the day's racing events at Dayton on October 13, 1952:

            If you can find a copy of the Journal Herald for Oct. 13, 1952, page 7, you will see a picture of the Aldrich car about 10 feet off the track going over the wall on the north turn.  A great article mentioning that 112 cars showed up, 107 went thru qualifying AND 53 started the race.

Besides Aldrich the article also mentions others that went OTW that day. Are these in your OTW list?

Bill David thru the rail on the north turn and Eddie Brandenburg thru the rail on the "Southeast" turn,

Ed Benedict won the accident shortened 100 lap race ---which was shortened to 91 laps due to accidents and got $350. Carl O'Harold was fast qualifier with a 25.04.

          Do you have more information about Chuck Aldrich's, Bill David's, or Eddie Brandenburg's Dayton adventures?  Please contact me here.

SONNY BECK

May, 1954

     In May, 1954, Sonny Beck leaped over the wall in his Sportsman car and into... well, into the infield actually.  The wall that he went over was the guardrail surrounding the top of the quarter-mile track at Dayton Speedway and when you vault that wall you are still inside the track.  Nevertheless, Sonny deserves a seat at the Over the Wall club meetings because in those days a trip over any speedway wall was a frightening adventure. 

     The newspaper clipping below, courtesy of Rocky and Diane (Beck) Lane is the only photographic record we have of the event.  (Diane is Sonny's sister.)  Despite what the caption says, Sonny actually hurt his back badly in this accident, though he returned to race again.

DICK BAILEY

April 22, 1956

     During a MARC event on April 22, 1956, Dick Bailey went over the fence in the 3rd turn while trying to avoid a three car pile-up.  Baily was behind the wheel of a "flying" Plymouth, and he survived the 45' drop unscathed.

     That's all we know for sure.  If you have more information, please contact me here.

JACK FARRIS & GEORGE HENDERSON

June 22, 1958

     We don't have any photos we are allowed to post of either Farris' or Henderson's cars after both simultaneously joined the Dayton Speedway Over the Wall club in June 1958, but we are hoping that somewhere there's a FODS who can provide some.  What I can show you, below,  is the beautiful Mercury of Jack Farris before he launched it over the fence at Dayton.  The photo below is from the Surges/Richardson collection and you can see all the Surges/Richardson photos here.

     If you have photos of the Farris/Henderson crash you can share with the FODS Nation, please contact me here.

     By the way, the article above is not completely clear, but the "hillside" that Farris and Henderson crashed into appears to have been the backside of the speedway banking. 

     In the photo below, a crowd gathers on the banking during a red flag to remove the cars of Farris and Henderson.  The Farris car can be seen on the back of the wrecker on the road leading out of the pits (just in front of the white ambulance making its way out of the track).  The Henderson car is the wad of yellow metal just outside the guardrail to the right of the light pole in the foreground.

     Farris went over the wall many laps before Henderson.  From all appearances, the track officials left the Farris Mercury where it landed and went on with the race.  After Henderson's crash, the race was red flagged and both cars were removed.

     And the #5 in the foreground is one of those rarest of race cars: a speedy Edsel.

     (Below)  The destruction of Jack Farris' brand new Mercury appears complete.  That's MARC official June Osborne thinking that he's glad he wasn't Farris' car owner.

----Photo provided by Tom Davidson

     We think that the #41 leading (below) is George Henderson and we believe, but cannot confirm that this is the car that Henderson went over the guardrail in.

     UPDATE:  We were right about the #41 (above) being George Henderson, but we no longer think that the blue #41 was the car he rode out of Dayton Speedway.  We believe that Henderson was aboard a yellow #41 Ford, and the photo below shows what was left of George's car.

---All photos are from the Surges/Richardson collection

DUDLEY STACY, BOB JAMES, NELSON STACY

August 3, 1958

     The August 3, 1958 Midwest Association for Race Cars event, the Monza 300, was memorable but particularly for the Stacy brothers and Bob James.  All three managed to get out of the track.  Dudley (#1) and James (#44) blasted through the railing at the North end of the speedway in one of the three 100 lap legs of the event, and Nelson left the track not much later at the other end.  (Read the complete report of the race event here.)

     The photos below show the aftermath of the Dudley Stacy/Bob James crash that was triggered by oil from the blown engine of Jack Shanklin.  James gets full credit for going over the wall despite the fact that his car got hung up on the lip of the speedway and never quite completely left the track.

     Nelson Stacy's accident was more expensive than his brother's.  Nelson's car caught fire and exploded shortly after coming to rest and burned completely.  I have no photos of Nelson's crash or the car but if you do please contact me here.

     ---The photos below are from the collection of Ron Titus. 

DAVE HIRSCHFIELD

April 8, 1959

          On the 70th lap of a MARC sanctioned new car contest, Bob Cochran of Sharon PA. Managed to roll his mount over in the north turn and he dumped a crankcase full of oil all over the track in the process.

The next car on the scene, a slick 1957 Pontiac driven by Dave Hirschfield, found traction non-existent at the scene of Bob’s mishap.  Dave’s car slewed through the goop and, with Dave hanging on for dear life, eyes as wide as saucers, the big Poncho shot straight over the wall and out of the park.

No one was injured, and Dave joins the other fortunate wheelmen who went over the Dayton Speedway fencing and lived to tell the tale.

Cincinnati native Nelson Stacy had a much more pleasant Sunday afternoon at the speedway, winning his third straight MARC race at Dayton that day.

If you have photos of Dave Hirschfield, taken that day or at some other time, please contact me here.

BILL CHEESEBURG

1960

     We believe that some time during the 1960 season a driver named Bill Cheeseburg went over the Dayton Speedway guardrail in his 1959 Ford.

     If you can provide any additional information about this incident, please contact me here.

JIM HURTUBISE

July 17, 1960

     Our sharp-eyed lead researcher Rick Patterson (elvis334@att.net) found this clipping from a newspaper.  We'll post it here until we get better photos of Hurtubise's famous ride.

     FODS Bart Mantia (lupo73@woh.rr.com) was in the pits at Dayton Speedway when Herk took his wild ride out of the track.  Bart says that it all happened so fast all he remembers was the Hurtubise car disappearing backwards over the guardrail.  Bart was standing near Iron Mike Nazaruk when Herk went out and Mike reportedly said "We already have a flower fund for that boy?"

     CORRECTION:  Any number of FODS wrote in to say that Iron Mike Nazaruk couldn't have been in the pits at Dayton Speedway when Herk went over the wall because Nazaruk had been killed in a racing accident several years prior to the Hurtubise OTW event.  The first of those who wrote in was Bart Mantia himself who confessed to getting confused about which of the drivers had made the comment.

     Here's the photo that Bart provided showing the #56 at rest among the trees:

     Here's (below) a couple of photos taken from Buzz Rose's book "The Rim Riders: the World's Fastest Racing Circuit" (used with permission of Rose).  They are part of the sequence shown above that appeared in numerous newspapers at the time.

JIMMY SMITH

May 30, 1969

     You can read a Lima News article detailing Smith's flight out of Dayton Speedway from June 6, 1969, here.

     Though Smith retired from auto racing on the spot, claiming that he knew he had used up all his luck in surviving the Dayton crash, he wasn't able to stay away from the driver's seat.  He returned to driving and was killed in a racing crash.

BUTCH HARRIS

May 31, 1976

     Butch Harris of Houston, Texas was among the entrants for the Dayton Speedway 100 lap leg of the Ohio 500.  You can read the entire story of that event here, but here's a portion of the newspaper report from that event:

     "The 32-year-old Harris had a wing, but he needed a prayer, too, a short time later when he left the crowd with more to talk about than McLaren's qualifying run. Darting into the first turn at roughly 100 miles an hour during a warm-up period, he lost control, spun clockwise and blasted right through the double steel guard rail between the first and second turns.

     His racer sailed 50 feet through some small trees and brush before landing on its wheels in a farmer's field 20 feet below.

     It took nearly 15 minutes for crewmen to extract the unconscious Harris from his car, and get him into a waiting ambulance.

     He was very lucky. An official of St. Elizabeth Medical Center reported that he appeared to be uninjured but would be held overnight for observation."

     The photos below show Butch preparing to take to the track just moments before his accident.  The photos are from the collection of Mickey Thompson.

     ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:  Since we first posted the tale of Butch Harris' Dayton accident we've seen additional stories and clippings that suggest that Harris ultimately retired from race driving as a result of the Dayton Speedway incident.

     If you have further information, please contact me here.

MAX MACINTIRE

May 6, 1979

     I have no photos or newsclippings for this Over the Wall event.  But FODS Scott Solem 9kb8zcb@netzero.net) has a pretty good memory and he was there.

     According to Scott, sometime in 1976 or 1977 the speedway management announced that a big, beautiful trophy would be presented to the first car over the wall.  The trophy was won almost immediately after the announcement was made!

     Max MacIntyre (and we are not sure of the spelling of the driver's name), in a Street Stock, made contact with another car in the first turn.  Max's right front tire climbed up the side of the other car and before he could react his car was tumbling end-over-end through the first turn and into the second where Max vaulted over the rail and out of the track.

     Scott remembers that everyone was stunned that a Street Stock could get up on its nose and tumble like that after what seemed like just another bump and grind at Dayton Speedway.

     Max was apparently unharmed in the adventure, though Scott reports that an hour after the accident Max's hands were still shaking so badly that he couldn't light a cigarette.

     There was no word on whether the speedway, out a trophy after a promotion that lasted less than an hour, ever offered another award for clearing the fencing.

     [Do you have a photo of Max?  Can you help with the spelling of his name?  Does that trophy still exist?  If you can help answer some of these questions, please contact me here!)

UNKNOWN

May 6, 1979

     During street stock races at Dayton Speedway an unknown driver went over the guardrail in the second corner.  We know this because we have seen a home movie of the racing events that day.  We've found no other record to help us identify the driver.  If you have some information about the accident that day, please contact me here.

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       UPDATE!  Based on information provided by FODS Scott Solem, we now believe that this OTW club member was Max MacIntire!  Mickey - March 22, 2009

PAUL STAPLETON

Late 1970'S

     I found this series of photos in the box of photos loaned to me by Ralph Bray Sr.  I have no information about the accident, but it is clear that the car was seriously damaged, if not completely destroyed.  If you have information about this accident, please contact me here.

**********

     FODS Scott Solem (kb8zcb@netzero.net) was at Dayton Speedway on this particular Sunday, but cannot remember very much about the accident, other than that it involved A. J. Stapleton.

     [Can you help with additional information about this accident or additional photos either before or after the event?  Please contact me here!]

**********

     UPDATE: Veteran driver Ron Lewis reported that this was actually Paul Stapleton, not A.J. Stapleton.  He said that he remembered the incident because A.J. Stapleton was in the pits that day and after watching Paul thoroughly destroy Paul's race car, A.J. decided to sell his own racer.  That car was purchased by Bill Mullins.  Why would Ron remember this?

     Because the following season at Dayton, Mullins won 8 features while Ron won 4.  Only one other driver, Tim Meyers made it to victory lane and that was just one time.

      Accordingly, I have changed the name of the driver in this accident to Paul Stapleton.  If you have other information about that event, please contact me here.

     UPDATE!  One of our loyal FODS (obviously with better powers of observation than the rest of us) has pointed out that there are actually two different cars shown in this photo sequence!  If you look at the two photos that show the engine area of the crashed cars you will notice that one of the cars has a windshield while the other has had the windshield smashed out.  Likewise, one of the photos shows a car still sporting an air cleaner while the other has none, and so on.  Clearly there are two separate cars here.  We need help deciding which is which!  Could one of these be the car of Max MacIntire?  Larry Gorman?  Help!  Contact me here if you can assist!

LARRY GORMAN

1978 - 1980 (Exact date unknown)

     Scott Solem (kb8zcb@netzero.net) remembered being at Dayton Speedway sometime between 1978 and 1980 when driver Larry Gorman joined the Over the Wall club.  According to Scott, Gorman lost control going into the second corner, overcorrected, and hit the guardrail almost head-on.  The fence posts were apparently rotted and Gorman's stocker punched straight through.  He and his car landed upside down at the bottom of the embankment.  Scott wasn't able to recall the make, model, or type of race car Gorman was driving (Scott thought it might be a Flying or Street Stock type of race car), but he does remember that Gorman emerged from his mangled racer without serious injury.

     ----The photos below are from the collection of Scott Solem