5 More lesser-known, but awesome racing stories (Part 6)

 5 More lesser-known, but awesome racing stories (Part 6)

By Brian Cotnoir

Here we go again!   These are some awesome stories (…well maybe not #2) that you’ve probably never heard about in racing.   I hope you you enjoy reading this article as much as I did researching and writing it. 

1.)  The Official Indy 500 Pace Car crashes into the photographer stands

The Indianapolis 500 is the most famous open wheel race held in the United States (and quite possibly the world).   Manufacturers every year vie every year to have one of their vehicles be the official pace car of the Indy 500.  In 1971, four Indianapolis-area Dodge dealers supplied Dodge Challenger’s to be the official pace car or that year.  With track owner, Tony Hulman, ABC Reporter Chris Schenkel, and astronaut John Glenn riding along for the parade lap, pace car driver Eldon Palmer pulled onto the pit lane and began to accelerate.  Palmer mistakenly believed that the pace car had to cross the start finish line before the race cars, and sped at over 125 miles per hour down the pit lane.   Palmer soon realizing his mistake slammed the brakes, but lost control of the car.   The Dodge Challenger crashed into a photographer stand sending it crashing to the ground and injuring 29 people.  After that, it was ruled that only former IndyCar drivers or persons with otherracing experience could drive the official Indy 500 Pace Car.

2.)  John Settlemyer’s shootout with the police

Chances are you’ve never heard of NASCAR driver John Settlemyer.  The North Carolina driver drove the Late Model Sportsman division (the predecessor to what is today the NASCAR Xfinity Series).  He was a local track star at the Hickory Motor Speedway.  Records show his only win in NASCAR was his only win the Busch Grand National Series came in the Inaugural Season of BGN at Hickory Motor Speedway.

In 2013, Sheriffs in Caldwell County, North Carolina were called to investigate a disturbance.   When they arrived, Settlemyer’s wife, Linda said that he had barricaded himself in the basement.  As the sheriff’s approached the house, Settlemyer emerged and opened fire on the Sheriff’s Deputies.   Settlemyer would eventually be shot and killed by one of the Sheriff’s Deputies.   I could not find any information about why Sherriff’s were called to Settlemyer’s house (other than responding to a disturbance), and why he choose to engage in a shootout with the deputies is also a mystery not known to the public.

3.)  Curtis Turner wins 22 races in the Convertible division and still loses the championship

The NASCAR Convertible division only ran for 4 seasons between the years1956-1959.   Bob Wellborn, won three consecutive championships in Convertible division, but in the 1956 season, he wasn’t necessarily the best driver.  That season, the NASCAR Convertible division ran 47 races on dirt tracks, paved ovals, and even one road course.   That season was dominated by Curtis Turner, who won 22 of the 42 races he entered.  By comparison Welborn only won 3 races!  

Now you may be asking yourself, how can a driver with half of the races he enters and still lose the championship.  Well besides running in 3 more races than Turner, Welborn finished the season with 32 Top 5 finishes and 39 Top 10 finishes; compared to Turner who had 28 Top 5 finishes, and 29 Top 10 finishes.   Despite dominating the season, it wasn’t enough for Turner to win the Championship.  He lost too Wellborn by 836 points.

4.)  Justin Wilson’s father mortgages his house to get his son an F1 ride

Racing is an expensive sport to get involved in.  Most of the time talent isn’t enough to get a driver into the top forms of Auto Racing, they need to bring a lot of money to team to get a top ride (usually through sponsorship dollars or financial contributions from a wealthy family member).  Briton, Justin Wilson came from humble beginnings.  He had a successful Junior Formula career, and won the 2001 International Formula 3000 championship.  In 2003, he was hoping to land a ride with the struggling Minardi F1 team.   There were a couple problems though.   At 6’4’’ tall, Wilson was one of the tallest drivers in racing, and in a sport where everything form a drivers height and weight and design of the car is scrutinized to give them every advantage possible, Wilson would need a special designed Formula 1 car to accommodate his large build.  Minardi owner, Paul Stoddart told Wilson he needed to raise 2.5 million in sponsorship if he wanted to have a ride at Minardi. 

Wilson’s father, Keith, mortgaged his home to contribute the first $500,000 to his son’s seat at Minardi.  Wilson’s manager, Jonathan Palmer started selling “stock” in the driver on the London Stock Exchange.  He essentially, did an early version of KickStarter for Justin Wilson’s Formula 1 career, and you know what: it actually worked!  Wilson drove for Minardi for the first 11 rounds of the 2003 season, before being let go after the British Grand Prix.  However, Wilson still managed to impress the higher ups at the more competitive Jaguar Racing F1 team.  Wilson ran the final 5 rounds of the 2003 season, for Jaguar, and actually scored his only point in F1 when he finished a career best 8^th at the United States Grand Prix.

5.)  Joey Gase honors his mother’s memory with charity and his racing career

Most NASCAR fans today, know Iowa driver Joey Gase as a driver who primarily drives for underfunded and underperforming teams in the NASCR Cup and Grand National Series.  Just as Gase’s NASCAR career was starting he had to endure a terrible tragedy.   When he was 18-years-old, Gase’s mother, Mary Jo, suffered a brain aneurysm and sadly passed away.  Mary Jo Gase was an organ donor and the donations from her organs went on to help 6 people after her death.

Gase used his racing career to promote the importance of Organ Donation, often running messages encouraging others to sign up to be organ donors after they pass away on his car, and speaking publicly to groups of people on the importance of being an organ donor.  When driver, Justin Wilson died in 2015 from injuries suffered during a wreck a Pocono Raceway, he honored Wilson’s memory with a tribute on the back of his racecar as Wilson, who was also an organ donor, went on to save the lives of 5 other people.   Joey Gase would receive the first ever Comcast Community Champion Award in 2015, for his work raising awareness and encouraging people to sign up to be organ donors.