Hot Rod Races

Sportsman Park - Oakley, Kansas

Sunday Afternoon - June 4, 1950

 

 

Bill Ratcliffe

 Ray Marcotte

Les Suter

 

 

TIME TRIALS – 1 Lap – 26.57 seconds

Place

  Driver

   Hometown

  Car Owner

  Hometown

Car #

1

  Junior Pickrel

   Scott City, KS

  Junior Pickrell

  Scott City, KS

13

 

TROPHY DASH

Place

Driver

Hometown

Car Owner

Hometown

Car #

1

Bill Ratcliffe

Hutchinson, KS

Melvin Widup

Hutchinson, KS

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

GRANDSTAND CHOICE RACE2

Place

Driver

Hometown

Car Owner

Hometown

Car #

1

Ray Marcotte

Oakley, KS

Arnold Blankenburg

Oakley, KS

88

 

 

 

 

 

 

MAIN EVENT

Place

Driver

Hometown

Car Owner

Hometown

Car #

1

Les Suter

Oakley, KS

Ricketts Brothers1

Winona, KS

22

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The car running in third place at right was driven by Les Suter – Punch Lemburg collection from the book Roaring Roadsters #2 by Don Radbruch

 

1The Ricketts brothers were Cloyd and Emmett Ricketts who owned the Chevrolet dealership at Winona, KS.

 

2The Grandstand Choice Race was a novelty race calling for participants to race one lap around the racetrack; stop their car; get out; run around their car; get back in; race around the track one more time; stop their car again; get out; drink a bottle of Coke; get back in their car and race around the track one more time.  The first car to cross the finish line on that lap was declared the winner of the race.  On this day, Ralph Leo Snyder of Scott City, KS was driving the #96 straight-8 Buick hot rod owned by Phillip Paul of Scott City (although one newspaper account says the car was a #21).  Ralph had just exited his car to drink the Coke when another competitor’s car struck him.  Snyder suffered serious injuries including a severely broken leg.  Approximately $400 was given by those present to help defray Snyder’s medical expenses.

 

 

Ralph Leo Snyder

1929 – 1991

 

 

 

 

Return to the History of Auto Racing at Oakley, Kansas

Ralph Snyder

Ralph L Snyder