This Week in Racing History (May 31-June 6)

This Week in Racing History

May 31 - Walter Baker becomes the first man to unofficially exceed 100 mph over 1 km in his electric powered "Torpedo". A wreck at the end of his run prevented it from becoming an official record (1902).

- Jo Bonnier wins the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort to give BRM their first Grand Prix win (1959).

June 1 - Ron Dennis, present head of Team McLaren, is born (1947).

- Jo Gartner dies in accident during the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1986).

June 2 - NASCAR Winston Cup racer Kyle Petty born (1960).

       - Swede Savage dies of injuries sustained three
         days earlier during the Indianapolis 500  
         (1973).

June 3 - Barney Oldfield born in Toledo, Ohio (1878).

June 4 - First recorded organized midget race held at Hughs Stadium in Sacramento, California (1933).

- Offroad racer Ivan Stewart born (1945).

June 5 - The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opens with a ballooning compitition (1909).

- NASCAR's Gary Nelson born (1953).

June 6 - Louis Chevrolet dies of natural causes (1941).

- Dave Strickler, 1960s drag racer ("Old Reliable" Chevy) dies of a heart attack while mowing his lawn in York, Pennsylvania (1985).

Previous installments of This Week in Racing History can be found at the Motorsport News International website (http://www.motorsport.com/).

Michael Stucker Anadrill Schlumberger, Sugar Land, Texas stucker@$sugar-land.spc.slb.com Remove "$" from email address above. Copyright Michael J. Stucker 1998

Get your FREE, private e-mail account at http://www.mailcity.com