Cowley County Fair
Wednesday,
August 30, 1950
Bill Mears |
Winfield Daily Courier
Tuesday, August 29, 1950 - Front page:
Stock Car Races on Fair Program
WINFIELD - An addition to entertainment program at the Cowley County Fair, which opened today, is announced by Secretary Noble Bradbury. Wednesday afternoon, a series of stock car races will be held in front of the grandstand, beginning at 2:30.
It will be a $200 stock car claiming race says Bradbury, which means that no car valued at more than $200 can be entered. Any car entered must be with the stipulation that the owner will sell it for not more than $200, if anyone wants to claim the car, at the close of the race.
Entries are limited to the first 20 cars registered at Ken's garage, 1920 South Main. That there would be no difficulty in securing the cars was indicated by the number of entries made following the announcement.
Winfield Daily Courier
Thursday, August 31, 1950:
Bill Mears Wins Stock Car Races at
County Fair
Bill Mears, Wichita’s crack driver
who has blazed a trail of glory at Cejay stadium this summer, dominated the
stock car field at the county fair Wednesday afternoon, winning every race in
which he was entered.
Mears set his pattern for the day in the time trials when he negotiated the
one-half mile fairgrounds track in 30.4 seconds, fastest time turned in by the
16-car field.
The event itself was the first of its kind ever held in Winfield and the crowd
of an estimated 450 thoroughly enjoyed the two and one-half hour program of
time trials and five competitive races.
Closest session of the afternoon was the Class B feature which held the interest throughout, particularly in the drive for second and third places. Charlie Lutkie, also of Wichita, eventually placed in the runner-up spot over Glenn Webster of Winfield.
Mears compiled his first positions in the trophy dash, second heat, and the Class A feature which was the final race of the program.
The track was exceptionally damp during the morning hours but by the finish of the stock cars, it was packed hard and very dry. A final entry list of 16 cars was surprisingly good, particularly in view of the fact that it was the very first stock car race ever held here.
There were no turnovers, spills, nor serious accidents, largely because of the size of the track and also the width. At times, the cars threw up heavy clouds of dust on the turns and on the south and north curves.
In line with Mears' three firsts, Claude Ash - another Wichita driver - finished second behind Mears each time, having gone through the time trials with a mark of 35 seconds flat. Other positions over the five races were well scattered.
The summaries (no official times of races given):
Time Trials
1 Lap
Time |
Place |
Driver |
From |
30.4 |
1 |
Bill Mears1 |
Wichita, Kansas |
30.5 |
2 |
Jefferson Davis “J. D.” Hanna2 |
Dallas, Texas |
30.6 |
3 |
Tom Salmon, Jr. |
Wichita, Kansas |
30.6 |
4 |
John Hale |
Anthony, Kansas |
30.6 |
5 |
Frank Lies |
Wichita, Kansas |
30.8 |
6 |
Hugh Francis Shea |
Wichita, Kansas |
30.8 |
7 |
Carl Simpson |
Wichita, Kansas |
35.0 |
8 |
Claude Ash |
Winfield, Kansas |
36.0 |
9 |
Ira “Red” Woodward |
Wichita, Kansas |
37.0 |
10 |
Willard Bodkins |
Winfield, Kansas |
37.0 |
11 |
Charles John “Charlie” Lutkie |
Wichita, Kansas |
No Time |
12 |
James Dow “J. D.” Cox, Jr. |
Wichita, Kansas |
No Time |
13 |
Glenn “Bud” Webster |
Winfield, Kansas |
First Heat Race |
|||
|
Place |
Driver |
From |
|
1 |
Charlie Lutkie |
Wichita, Kansas |
|
2 |
Bud Webster |
Winfield, Kansas |
|
3 |
J. D. Cox |
Wichita, Kansas |
Second Heat Race |
|||
|
Place |
Driver |
From |
|
1 |
Bill Mears |
Wichita, Kansas |
|
2 |
Claude Ash |
Winfield, Kansas |
|
3 |
Frank Lies |
Wichita, Kansas |
Trophy Dash |
|||
|
Place |
Driver |
From |
|
1 |
Bill Mears |
Wichita, Kansas |
|
2 |
Claude Ash |
Winfield, Kansas |
B Feature Race |
|||
|
Place |
Driver |
From |
|
1 |
Willard Bodkins |
Winfield, Kansas |
|
2 |
Charlie Lutkie |
Wichita, Kansas |
|
3 |
Bud Webster |
Winfield, Kansas |
A Feature Race |
|||
|
Place |
Driver |
From |
|
1 |
Bill Mears1 |
Wichita, Kansas |
|
2 |
Claude Ash |
Winfield, Kansas |
|
3 |
J. D. Hanna2 |
Dallas, Texas |
|
4 |
Tom Salmon, Jr. |
Wichita, Kansas |
|
5 |
John Hale |
Anthony, Kansas |
|
This series of photos was taken in 1950 before the cars raced at the Cowley county fair in August of that year. The two photos above were taken from just outside the third turn at the northeast corner of the racetrack. In the photo below, the wooden railing lining the back straightaway, is barely visible in this photo taken from the grandstand.
1 Bill Mears drove a 1932 Ford owned by Pat Lucas of Wichita, Kansas. Lucas had been reluctant to enter his car at Winfield as this was a $200 claiming race and Pat did not want to have his car claimed, so Bill's grandfather, Harmon Forrest, claimed the car for Pat so that no one else could do so, and so that it would not appear as though someone connected to the car had put up the money to claim it.
2 “J. D.” Hanna died on October 1, 1951 of injuries he received in a racing accident at the Devil’s Bowl Speedway near Dallas, Texas.
SOME OF THE DRIVERS WHO PARTICIPATED THAT DAY
|
Ira “Red” Woodward |
Bud Webster |
J. D. Cox |
Charlie Lutkie |
Tom Salmon, Jr. |
Claude Ash |
Frank Lies |
Hugh Shea |
J. D. Hanna |
Carl Simpson |
Return to page one of the History of Auto Racing at Winfield website.