The 65th running of the Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial is scheduled for Saturday night, Sept. 7, when the historic sprint car race returns home to the paved high banks of Indiana’s Salem Speedway.
The event has overcome multiple roadblocks through the years and is now the nation’s second oldest sprint car race behind only the Little 500, which debuted in 1949.
The marquee sprint car event was created to honor Joe James, who lost his life in a champ car accident at San Jose (Calif.) Speedway on Nov. 5, 1952. The 27-year-old James had competed in three Indy 500s prior to his death.
Larry Crockett topped the inaugural running of the Joe James Memorial at Salem on Oct. 4, 1953.
Pat O’Connor, a native of North Vernon, Ind., had his name added to the event in 1958 after he perished in a 15-car pileup during that May’s Indianapolis 500. O’Connor was a two-time winner (1954 and ’57) of the Joe James race.
Initially contested under the AAA banner, the event became a USAC-sanctioned race in 1956, and it was part of the USAC National Sprint Car Series through 2010.
It was during this time that the race experienced highs in terms of car counts, attendance and participation by name drivers.
Bob Sweikert, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Bobby Unser, Parnelli Jones, Gary Bettenhausen, Tom Bigelow, Pancho Carter, Rich Vogler, Steve Butler, Kenny Irwin Jr., Tony Stewart, Dave Steele, Bryan Clauson, Eddie Sachs, Roger McCluskey and Kody Swanson are among the event’s winners.
The .555-mile high-banked (33 degrees) Salem Speedway opened in 1947. In 1981, a tornado severely damaged the speedway, leaving the facility in shambles for six years.
USAC moved the Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial to the dirt surface of nearby Charlestown Speedway for 1981 and fans saw Eddie Leavitt add his name to the list of winners. The following year it was run at the Terre Haute Action Track and Larry Rice claimed the victory.
After the 1982 edition, the Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial was dark until 1988. For many years longtime Salem Speedway general manager Richard Deaton did not acknowledge the Charlestown and Terre Haute events when listing the race’s history.
In 1987, local businessman Don Gettelfinger purchased Salem Speedway, made repairs and brought the event back in time for the 1988 season. Bob Frey took the checkered flag, becoming the first Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial winner at Salem Speedway in eight years.
The darkest moment in the event’s storied past occurred in 1990. Vogler was leading with one lap remaining when he crashed to his death. Vogler was declared the winner of the event, which was being run for the first time under the lights.
The race eventually began to lose its luster and car counts plummeted.
Prior to the 2011 edition, Salem Speedway officials replaced the traditional USAC sprint cars with the winged cars of the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series. Jo Jo Helberg became the first driver to win the Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial under the Must See Racing banner and the event was contested as a winged sprint car race through 2015.
USAC returned in 2016 with the USAC Silver Crown Series headlining the show. Swanson won the prestigious event five consecutive times through 2020.
In 2021, new Salem owner Bill Kniesly planned to return the race to a non-winged sprint car event with the Auto Value Super Sprints. But anticipating a low car count, Kniesly canceled the race just days before it was scheduled.
Kniesly was unable to find a viable option to continue the race as a sprint car event, so he planned to use the name in conjunction with a modified race in 2022. That event never happened, and Kniesly eventually allowed officials at Mt. Lawn Speedway to use the iconic name to promote a modified race at their track.
During the 2022 season, O’Connor’s son, Jeff, and this writer approached Casey Koehler, general manager of Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, about hosting the race at the .686-mile oval west of Indianapolis.
Koehler accepted the offer and IRP hosted the event as a 500 Sprint Car Tour series race in 2022 and ’23. Tyler Roahrig won both events.
Former midget racer Nick Bohanon purchased Salem Speedway in December 2022. It was important to Bohanon to bring the Joe James/Pat O’Conor Memorial back home.
“One of the first phone calls I received once I purchased Salem Speedway was from Casey Koehler,” explained Bohannon “He said, ‘This race belongs at Salem Speedway. I’ll do anything I can to help get the race back down there.’ It was always on my radar to get the race back here.
“I grew up in southern Indiana near the track,” Bohannon explained. “I grew up in Charlestown and my dad had a shop in Jeffersonville. I was able to see a handful of Joe James/Pat O’Connor races as a kid. I remember getting there early as a kid and watching qualifying. The pits were always full. I remember watching Dave Steele and Tracy Hines. I have a lot of memories.
“I plan on keeping it on the schedule for years to come,” Bohannon continued. “We’re looking forward to bringing it back. We’re gonna have event T-shirts for the race. We’d like to have more open-wheel shows here. Winged or non-winged, we’re open minded. I’d also like to add midgets, but it’s gotta make sense car-count wise. It might be too soon right now for that.”
So, for the first time since 2009, non-winged sprint cars will headline the Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial as it returns to Salem Speedway on Sept. 7. The 500 Sprint Car Tour will sanction the event for the third consecutive year with expectations for the race to continue at Salem well into the future.
JOE JAMES/PAT O’CONNOR MEMORIAL WINNERS
Salem Speedway
1953 Larry Crockett (AAA Sprint Cars)
1954 Pat O’Connor
1955 Bob Sweikert
1956 Eddie Sachs (USAC Sprint Cars)
1957 Pat O’Connor
1958 Eddie Sachs
1959 A.J. Foyt
1960 Parnelli Jones
1961 Parnelli Jones
1962 A.J. Foyt
1963 Roger McCluskey
1964 Mario Andretti
1965 Bobby Unser
1966 Mario Andretti
1967 Sonny Ates
1968 Rollie Beale
1969 Sammy Sessions
1970 Gary Bettenhausen
1971 Rollie Beale
1972 Lee Kunzman
1973 Tom Bigelow
1974 Pancho Carter
1975 Pancho Carter
1976 Pancho Carter
1977 Pancho Carter
1978 Rich Vogler
1979 Greg Leffler
1980 Greg Leffler
Charlestown Speedway
1981 Eddie Leavitt
Terre Haute Action Track
1982 Larry Rice
1983-1987 No Race
Salem Speedway
1988 Bob Frey
1989 Wayne Hammond
1990 Rich Vogler
1991 Steve Butler
1992 Jim Mahoney
1993 Jim Keeker
1994 Kenny Irwin Jr.
1995 Tony Stewart
1996 Chet Fillip
1997 Dave Steele
1998 Jay Drake
1999 Dave Darland
2000 Eric Gordon
2001 Tracy Hines
2002 Ed Carpenter
2003 Michael Lewis
2004 Dave Steele
2005 Brian Tyler
2006 Bryan Clauson
2007 No Race
2008 Jacob Wilson
2009 Tracy Hines
2010 Shane Hmiel
2011 Jo Jo Helberg (Must See Racing – Wings)
2012 Brian Olson
2013 Brian Olson
2014 Brian Gerster
2015 Brian Gerster
2016 Kody Swanson (USAC Silver Crown)
2017 Kody Swanson
2018 Kody Swanson
2019 Kody Swanson
2020 Kody Swanson
2021 No Race
Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park
2022 Tyler Roahrig (500 Sprint Car Tour)
2023 Tyler Roahrig
THIS ARTICLE IS REPOSTED FROM THE APRIL 24th EDITION OF SPEED SPORT INSIDER
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