Race car driver lee kunzman

He operated a race car parts shop in mendota and also owned a farm implement dealership. So he went to tricounty speedway, borrowed another driver s helmet, kept it on all afternoon through his heat race, and won the 40lap feature. Race car driver, he retired after nearly dying in a wreck at the indianapolis 500 in 1995 and then later was killed in a road accident in new zealand. Jul 29 roger mccluskley aug 11 lee kunzman jul 03 rich vogler sep 16 pancho carter oct 11 steve kinser 1994 1963 oct 21 lee kunzman apr 02 frankie kerr. Lee kunzman won his first usac race driving bobby grims midget at davenport iowa speedway in 1968. He is best known for his career in the champ car world series and the indycar series. Usac sprint car reading fairgrounds reading, pennsylvania april 26, 1969. So johnny parsons jr, lee kunzman, larry rice, jerry sneva, bubby jones. Usac win cedar rapids, iowa april 30, 1971 the sun is shining for lee kunzman, the 26yearold race driver from guttenberg. Lee kunzman won the usac midget race over arnie knepper, mel kenyon. Usac silver crown sprint car racing news, schedules. As kunzman pushed grim to the track for qualifying, they encountered bobby grim jr. Get the best deals on vintage car racing art prints when you shop the largest online selection at. Click on the site to see lee kunzmans career results at that track glossary.

Sprint car races at hutchinson, kansas on september 16, 1967. From news and results, to online fantasy racing has it all. In the early 1960s, jim hurtubise and parnelli jones were best buddies while they drove to the front of american open wheel racing in sprint cars and at the indianapolis motor speedway. Happily, he has made a recovery and is back visting events. Iowa hall of fame and racing museum announces 2019. Norm wiemers from manson, iowa, won 27 feature wins in a row in 1963 and is an inductee in the national sprint car hall of fame. Deadly may of 1973 still resonates at indianapolis motor. Rear view ambulance wagon on racetrack at indianapolis. The team returned to competition in 2015, and currently competes fulltime in the usac silver crown series with driver justin grant. At a team lunch a couple years ago lee kunzman, pancho carter, bill vukovich, merle bettenhausen, gary irvin and johnny parsons were reminiscing about how much fun it was to race on the highbanked quarter mile of little springfield where jones grew up and was a fourtime champion. As you probably know, harry was a fine, very aggressive driver. Jimmy sills inducted into national sprint car hall of fame by tom schmeh knoxville, ia.

If you know, stub, which his friends call him that should make you happy. See more ideas about indy cars, racing and race cars. He finished in the top ten 21 times, with his best finish in 2nd position in 1979 at atlanta. He also raced in the usac championship car series, in the 19771978 seasons, with 2 career starts, including the 1977 indianapolis 500.

Click on the year to see the standings for that year. Race car driver janet guthrie of new york city, the first woman to have an entry accepted for the indianapolis 500mile race, takes one last look at the 2 12mile oval after the rack closed, may. Johnny rutherford won the pole for the first race, with gordon johncock starting second, mike mosley in third, danny ongais in fourth, and tom sneva in fifth. Now lives in indianapolis where he was team manager of hemelgarn racing for over 20 years. He raced in the 1969, 19721973 and 19751980 seasons, with 48 combined career. Robin millers toughest drivers series on jim hurtubise. Their first sprint car driver, lonnie jensen, was inducted into the knoxville raceway hall of fame in 1999. Get premium, high resolution news photos at getty images. Most recent race in database 1980 midohio champ cars. The most comprehensive sprint car racing website on the web. Lee kunzman raced in several indy 500s and was a member of the 2006 nschof class.

Click on the site to see lee kunzman s career results at that track glossary. Richert, the defending imca national champ would settle for runnerup honors. Excited nascar drivers react to new schedule across social. Sanctioned by international motor contest association i. Janet guthrie was the first woman to qualify and compete in the indianapolis 500. Patrick also drove for gillett evernham motorsports in the nascar sprint cup series. In 2010, he suffered a heartattack and was in quite poor health after complications set in. Features vintage sprint car pic thread, 1965 and older only please.

Lee kunzman the champ car and indy car online stats. On friday, september 11, 1964, lee kunzman finished second in the first heat race at the mississippi valley. The callahan racing page contains racing photos, racing art, racing links, and real audio. The racer channels robin miller honors iron man lee kunzman in the latest installment on openwheel racing s toughest drivers. Kunzman started in racing as a drag racer before moving to stock cars, and then to sprint cars, a discipline in which he had a lot of success. Patrick racing, which fielded the winning car, driven.

Jimmy sills, buckwheat, luke warmwater, hammerdown. I was always the rabbit as a driver, i went for it right away, he said with a laugh. Ned spath won the cra sprint car race over jimmy miller, jim roessler. Rear view ambulance wagon on racetrack at indianapolis motor speedway electronic lap board tower, topped by windsock lee kunzman driving eagle offenhauser into pits, pit crew refueling and. Driver lee kunzman 1977 usac champ car series results. Lee kunzman was a former driver in the usac and cart championship car series and raced in the 1979 indy 500. Kunzman, 52, began racing imca sprint cars in 1967, where he finished. Indy car racing indy cars vintage race car car and driver car photos race cars indie photo galleries sport. This site is dedicated to the memory of everyone who contributed to the success that made the san jose speedway one of the most successful short tracks ever. In the race, rutherford and johncock dominated the first 60 laps. May of 1973 was deadliest month at indianapolis motor speedway since 1937. Hemelgarn racing is an american auto racing team owned by ron hemelgarn.

Keith kauffman, frankie kerr, mark kinser, sheldon kinser, lee kunzman, danny lasoski. Goodfair condition with water stains and scratch in lower left. In a group of race cars so tightly packed, anything that happens to one car is bound to affect others, drivers get too ambitious, and they try to race to the starting line instead of beginning. Profile for racing driver lee kunzman from united states. Lunch, laughs and life at indy motor sport magazine. Driver lee kunzman 1978 usac champ car series results. For more pages at racing from the past check the home page. That was at indy in 1953, and troy ruttman was going to be the driver, no less.

Cup series drivers havent been behind the wheel for a nonvirtual race since the fanshield 500 on march 8 at phoenix raceway. Hell, dad, you should be pushing him, bobby grim jr. He raced in the 1969, 19721973 and 19751980 seasons, with 48 combined career starts, including the 19711973, 1977 and 1979 indianapolis 500. Norman bubby jones born june 4, 1941, danville, illinois, is a former driver in the usac sprint car series, with 22 victories, and a member of the national sprint car hall of fame, inducted in 1998. Driver art pollard was killed in an accident during a practice. In 1996 he was inducted into the national midget auto racing hall of fame and drivers of his cars included the likes of the great tony bettenhausen, bob tattersall, parnelli jones, mike mcgreevy, lee kunzman and henry pens. After completing his driving career, he became the general manager for hemelgarn racing and was part of the. Persistence pays for couragous team manager lee kunzman.

Click on the number of races to see individual races for that year. I also remember darl harrison, always ran well here. The race is remembered historically as a moment of firsts for the event. Vtg paul randall 14x11 lithograph lee kunzman at the astrodome houston 1970. According to paxton, mitch smith was one tough race car driver.

June 4, 2006 drivers lee kunzman of indianapolis, jimmy sills of elverta, california, and granville buster warke of center valley, pennsylvania, promoter lanny edwards of lawton, oklahoma, and media member newton buzz rose of glendale, arizona, took. Curt relates that bob morgan was the track photographer at riverside stadium in this time era. Kunzman, a native of utten burg, lowa, started his driving career on the drag strip after watching a race at cordova, illinois. Tom bigelow went on to race in every indy 500 between 1974 and 1982. The racer channels robin miller honors iron man lee kunzman in the latest installment on openwheel racings toughest drivers. The mile high banked paved oval,located on east tully road, operated from 19461977. Lee kunzman 1963 pictured is stock car driver lee kunzman of guttenberg, iowa, in 1963. Lee kunzman was a talented midget, sprint and indy car driver never a. Fort worth, texas, a long time ago, lee kunzman discovered two things. Kunzman was so tired he couldnt get the car out of gear when he pulled up to receive the checkered flag at the startfinish line. Features vintage sprint car pic thread, 1965 and older. National championship indy cars car and driver race cars over the years indie college station american vehicles.

When he ended his driving career, kunzman realized he knew more. Lee kunzman born november 29, 1944, guttenberg, iowa, is a former driver in the usac and cart championship car series. Indy car racing, indy cars, car pics, car pictures. He was inducted into the national sprint car hall of fame nschof in 1996. Please enjoy the season recap and results from each years of the series from its inaugural year in 1971 through 2019. Kunzman started in racing as a drag racer before moving to stock cars, and then to sprint cars, a.