Salem Speedway
 | |
| Location |
2729 Hwy 56 West Salem, Indiana |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 38°36′00″N 86°08′25″W / 38.60000°N 86.14028°WCoordinates: 38°36′00″N 86°08′25″W / 38.60000°N 86.14028°W |
| Owner | Owen and Beverly Thompson |
| Opened | June 22, 1947 |
| Length | .555 mi |
Salem Speedway is a .555 miles (0.893 km) long paved oval motor racetrack in Washington Township, Washington County, near Salem, Indiana, approximately 100 miles (160 km) south of Indianapolis. It opened in 1947. Major auto racing series that run at Salem are ARCA, USAR and USAC.
The track has 33° degrees of banking in the corners. The first ARCA race was 1955.
The qualifying record is 16.785 seconds/119.035 mph by Gary Bradberry in 1994.[1]
Rich Vogler
On the 21st night of July, 1990, during the Joe James / Pat O'Connor Memorial sprint car event at the Salem Speedway, which was nationally broadcast on ESPN Thunder, sprint car driver Rich Vogler sustained severe head injuries and was killed after a crash in turn 4. Vogler, who was leading the event at the time and was about to take the white flag signaling one lap to go, hit head on with the turn 4 wall, violently throwing tires, Vogler's helmet, and other pieces of Vogler's car all over the track. The race was red flagged and would never restart. Vogler, now dead at the age of 39, was declared the winner posthumously because of USAC National Sprint Car Series rules on a red flag reverting to the previous completed lap. This was his 170th win. Finishing first among the survivors was a young driver from Pittsboro, Indiana, named Jeff Gordon.
References
- ↑ "Salem Speedway", ARCA Racing