There were two drivers who drove the randol offy who also drove at indy. Click on the site to see jud larsons career results at that track glossary. Bobby grims peers, to a man, would echo kunzmans sentiments. Over the years, it would be successfully driven by harold leep, gordon wooley, jud larson and grady wade. In fact some of his relatives still live and race in the austin area. Larson drove in the usac championship car series, racing in the 19561959 and 19641965 seasons with 53 starts, including the 1958 and 1959 indianapolis 500 races. Initially it was quite tough for don, with a young family to support, so he also worked in a petrol station and. One of the sprint car greats, killed in a sprint car crash. Currently suspended indefinitely by nascar, he last competed fulltime in the nascar cup series, driving the no.
Jud suffered at least two medical problems while behind the wheel of a sprint car before this race. Jud larson was probably the most perfect rendition of a real race. Zink remembered larson from back home, and jud took pole in his first start, at the hoosier 100 the richest dirt track race in the country to boot. Don branson and jud larson were two of those drivers and were veterans of the indianapolis 500. Agajanians willard battery special, driven by jones, had developed a serious oil leak. He was racing with cra when family and job allowed. Eugene wesley jud larson was an american racecar driver. I found it an informative and interesting piece on jud larson and thought i would republish here. Jud larsonresultsusac stock car series1957 the third turn. In his first year, he won six out of 19 sprint races and finished a strong second in the point standings. Janet guthrie was the first woman to qualify and compete in the indianapolis 500. Piloting an indy roadster at indianapolis motor speedway before the 500. This is the track the way it looked before what we see today. I really miss the good old day of racing when a racing fan could get up close and personal with a driver and tell him how he felt about his driving.
Had a 27year career, competing in hundreds of races. Hello all i am brand new just signed up last night and am fascinated by it all. Charles water larson racing career profile driver database. He was no fan of rules, regulations and officialdom which made him incredibly popular with fans. Don was killed a few months later at ascot in a crash that i saw. Status 1 arizona state fairgrounds 1957 pontiac 27.
Event coverage jud larson race car in austin the h. Jud larsons sprinter ended up upside down on the guard rail with red reigels, which was also upside down a little further down the track. Real name clarence, he was a hard driving driver, a hard drinking man. Jud had been out of racing for four years atfer his second heart attack. Motor racing old large photo jud larson dallas sprint car race 1949. Make offer gmp the vintage series jud larson 1965 a,j, watson spl. Atkins was the other guy who died in the branson crash. Robin millers tough guy series on jud larson youtube. Despite having never driven a usac champ dirt car on the mile, larson captured the pole position and led the race until a broken shock absorber slowed him and he ran fourth. The cd contains over 1,500 photos, 95% of them have never been printed from the original negatives and the remaining 5% have not been seen for the past 40 years.
The texan was known widely as a hard drinking, hard driving racer without fear. Reading, pa race drivers killed, june 1966 gendisasters. Jim chini of palm springs, california posted the following on the yahoo history groups forum. He spent his early years racing in texas, oklahoma, kansas and iowa on the half.
Big, brash and bold that was jud larson, whose prowess on dirt tracks made him a legend during his decade in usac. Juds midget car racing days gave way to the sprint cars in 1955 or 1956, and the racing community would learn and realize who jud larson was. July 23, 1965 jud larson, a former kansas citian now living in indianapolis, indiana, took the lead on the third lap and won going away in the 30lap feature of the united states auto club sprint car races last night at lakeside stadium in kansas city. Branson was a truck driver initially, who after world war 2, started racing in midgets. The drivers i remember are bill chennault, buzz barton, carl williams, willie hunziker, john yonke, howard house, junior hower, jerry weld, eddie mcvay, bob heilman, joe walter, ralph parkinson sr. Following that, he was drafted by sprint car owner john pfrommer, and rattled off a series of top 5 finishes in five starts in a. In 1954 they won several imca feature races and finished fifth in the points. Attended in 2 seasons and have 2 race entrances was born on 21 january 1923, usa. Eugene wesley jud larson january 21, 1923 grand prairie, texas june 11, 1966 reading, pennsylvania was an american racecar driver.
In 1956, larson got a call from john zink and was offered indy winner pat. After taking his initial ride in the car at the high banks of belleville, kansas, chamberlain and the rest of the imca entourage moved on to the big. I am a huge usac fan from the golden years 19461964. Usac starter harlan fengler, who was a close friend of agajanian, had warned teams about oil leaks on the already slick track during the prerace meeting. I attended my first midget race at olympic in 1955.
In 1964 he broke into the usac sprint car racing, proving he was a real contender. Larson drove in the usac championship car series, racing in the 19561959 and 19641965 seasons with 53. This saturday, march 14, one of the race cars jud larson drove will be on display at thunderhill raceway. He spent his early years racing in texas, oklahoma, kansas and iowa on the half mile dirt bullrings that spawned many fierce competitions in the post war years. Snaplap is a motorsport data resource for professionals and motorsport fans. Profile for racing driver jud larson from united states. Dirt track legend who died after colliding with red riegel in an usac sprint race. The most meaningful praise for any race car driver is that he receives from his peers. The 43yearold larson and william red riegel, 34, of leesport, pa. Larson drove in the usac championship car series, racing in the 19561959 and 19641965. My dad is chuck hulse who was a hot rod and sprint car driver from the 50 and 60s.
Larson raced in the days when roll cages were for sissies and few drivers lived long enough to retire from racing. Freddys 37year, roughandtumble rollick over 40 racetracks in five states is captured in a new book, the freddy adam story. With the race winding down to the last laps, driver jim clark was closing in on the race leading jones. Clicking on a race will open to a page of thumbnail photos. Jud wasnt past running unsanctioned aaa events, i believe its called running outlaw or race every chance you get. If one listens to the announer, he was surprised to see jud larsen back driving. Wilke, milwaukee, wisconsin acquired new from car builder and chief mechanic a. Jud larson was probably the most perfect rendition of a real race cardriver that this country has ever known. Jud larson was a harddrinking, harddriving sprint car driver who raced at a time when few drivers survived to retire. The race is remembered historically as a moment of firsts for the event.
Driver jud larson 1956 aaa champ car series results. In 1956, larson got a call from john zink and was offered indy winner pat flahertys ride at the hoosier hundred after flaherty had been badly injured at springfield. Charles water larson additional name jud nickname nationality american born january 21, 1923 hometown grand prairie, texas died june 11, 1966 place of. Click on the number of races to see individual races for that year. Other owners thought randol was crazy to put this big, wild texan in his sprint car but they became a great team. Watson in 1963 jack conley, brighton, michigan acquired from the above circa 1965 jack greedy, ontario, canada acquired from the above circa 1967 pat hodgson, ontario, canada acquired from the above in late 1969 rick batters acquired from the above circa. Drivers sat upright without the protection of a caged roll bar or any protection on the car itself to keep it from touching the wheels of another sprint car. Upi the body of veteran racer, jud larson, one of two drivers killed in a mishap at the reading fairgrounds raceway saturday night, will be shipped to his indianapolis home today. Jud larson taken at oklahoma city fairgrounds in 1951. Freddy became a race driver, and his calling card was that he kept the pedal to the metal, regardless of the consequences. Jud larson was a very popular personality, who was always surrounded by autograph hunters win or lose.
Click on the year to see the standings for that year. Kyle miyata larson born july 31, 1992 is an american professional stock car racing driver and world of outlaws sprint car team owner. Chuck hulse split from pat flaherty race ban posted in the nostalgia forum. Lazy beyond even people like me,he did what came easiest to him to provide money for food, girls, fancy carsand booze, not necessarily in that order, which was drive race cars. Largely based in austin, texas, larson was a gifted cartoonist but never really made a career of it, preferring to race instead. It was the second double fatality of 1966, as sprint car stalwarts jud larson and red riegel lost their lives that june during the same crash at reading, pa. Many of midget races took place at the oklahoma state fairgrounds and taft stadium in oklahoma city.