THIS DATE IN USAC HISTORY: MAY 12
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (May 12, 2020)………A.J. Foyt tallied up an incredible 162 USAC victories in his career (2nd all-time), but his very first came on this date, May 12 of 1957, at Olympic Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
Allen Crowe won his first and only career USAC National Sprint Car race on May 12, 1963 at Eldora Speedway. Just three weeks later, Crowe’s life and career was cut short when he was killed in a sprint crash at Ohio’s New Bremen Speedway. He is memorialized as the namesake of the annual ARCA Stock Car race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds each year, the Allen Crowe 100.
Lee Kunzman scored a USAC Sprint victory at Indianapolis Raceway Park in 1973 while, in 1984, a USAC doubleheader was held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Ken Schrader took the midget win while Joe Saldana scored the Sprint win during the final USAC Sprint race held on a dirt mile, a race marred by the death of Jeff Thickstun.
Rick Hood kicked off a four-race winning USAC Sprint Car winning streak with a USAC vs. CRA Challenge triumph at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds in 1985 en route to the series title. Rich Vogler, a dominant force at the Indianapolis Speedrome, among most any other place he visited in his career, captured the win at the 1/5-mile paved bullring in 1989.
Future NHRA Top Fuel star and 1994 USAC Sprint Car champion Doug Kalitta surprised the field when he won for the first time on dirt in the Tony Hulman Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track in 1996. Fellow USAC champions Brian Tyler (1996-97 Sprint) and Mike Bliss (1993 Silver Crown) each won races at the dawn of the new millennium, Tyler in a 2000 Sprint race at Hawkeye Downs Speedway and Mike Bliss in a Silver Crown car at IRP in 2001.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won his first career USAC National Midget feature race on May 12, 2007 at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind. and Kody Swanson his first career USAC National Sprint win in 2011 at IRP. Hunter Schuerenberg clicked off a second-straight USAC Sprint win in 2012 at Tri-State.
Three Eldora USAC Sprint races were held on May 12 with Robert Ballou (2010), Justin Grant (2017) and Chris Windom (2018) notching victories on the famed half-mile.
MAY 12 USAC NATIONAL WINNERS: (Through 2019)
1957: A.J. Foyt, USAC Midget at Olympic Stadium – Kansas City, Mo.
1963: Allen Crowe, USAC Sprint at Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio
1973: Lee Kunzman, USAC Sprint at Indianapolis Raceway Park – Clermont, Ind.
1984: Ken Schrader, USAC Midget at the Indiana State Fairgrounds – Indianapolis, Ind.
1984: Joe Saldana, USAC Sprint at the Indiana State Fairgrounds – Indianapolis, Ind.
1985: Rick Hood, USAC Sprint at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds – Oklahoma City, Okla.
1989: Rich Vogler, USAC Midget at the Indianapolis Speedrome – Indianapolis, Ind.
1996: Doug Kalitta, USAC Sprint at the Terre Haute Action Track – Terre Haute, Ind.
2000: Brian Tyler, USAC Sprint at Hawkeye Downs Speedway – Cedar Rapids, Iowa
2001: Mike Bliss, USAC Silver Crown at Indianapolis Raceway Park – Clermont, Ind.
2007: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., USAC Midget at Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Ind.
2010: Robert Ballou, USAC Sprint at Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio
2011: Kody Swanson, USAC Sprint at Lucas Oil Raceway – Brownsburg, Ind.
2012: Hunter Schuerenberg, USAC Sprint at Tri-State Speedway – Haubstadt, Ind.
2017: Justin Grant, USAC Sprint at Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio
2018: Chris Windom, USAC Sprint at Eldora Speedway – Rossburg, Ohio
