Bill Lipkey Dead at 86

BILL LIPKEY, USAC's 1ST RACE ORGANIZER, DEAD AT 86

Bill Lipkey, who organized the first USAC race ever held, passed away this morning in Kokomo, Ind. He was 86 years old.

A race organizer since the early-1950's, his involvement in the sport actually spanned six decades. On January 8, 1956, when USAC took over the reigns of race sanctioning from the AAA, Bill presented the first USAC race - a Midget car race - at the Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind. In subsequent years he organized numerous races at the Fort Wayne coliseum and other area tracks, as well as at the Kokomo, Ind. Speedway, which he secured in 1952.

A stooge, an announcer and finally a race organizer, Bill's contributions to the sport were immense and he will be sorely missed. He served for a number of years on the USAC Advisory Board as the race organizer representative. In 1983 he was presented the prestigious Jim Blunk Award in recognition of his contributions to the sport of Midget auto racing.

He is survived by a son, Jim, and a daughter, Jackie Montgomery of Vail, Colo.

USAC