Saturday - July 27, 1929

Winfield Daily Courier
Thursday, July 25, 1929 - Page 2:

Auto Races Saturday

     Automobile races are scheduled to start on the fairgrounds track Saturday afternoon at 2 o'clock.  According to the management, there will be 20 well-known speed drivers ready to go.  Auto races are held every year as the final event of the week’s program of racing at the annual meet.

     There will appear on the local track for the first time, several southern drivers who will invade this part of the country to offer competition for such well know local speed demons as Cokie Fuller, Joe Hutchinson, Speed Irwin, and Mack McAnally¹, all hailing from Arkansas City, Kansas, and who have been seen in action on the Winfield track.

Six events are scheduled to give a full afternoon of high class, thrilling entertainment next Saturday afternoon at the fairgrounds.

Arkansas City Daily Traveler
Friday, July 26, 1929 - Page 14:

Pictured in the ad above is Joe Hutchinson of Arkansas City, Kansas shown in his #44 which was the defending champion car of the Grand Final race at Winfield.

Winfield Daily Courier
Friday, July 26, 1929, Front Page:

Auto Races Tomorrow

Auto races are scheduled for Saturday afternoon beginning at 2’oclock at the final day of the annual race meeting.  According to management, the races will be fast.  The half-mile track is in the best condition it ever has been and exceptionally good time for small cars is expected.

Of special interest to local auto racing fans is the announcement that four cars and drivers from Arkansas City are entered.  Cokie Fuller is on the list and probably will drive his Gallivan, the car with a fast reputation.  Fuller holds the Nebraska state record as well as numerous track records.

Joe Hutchinson will have a fast Fronty outfit on the track.  Dwight Moody, with a Chevrolet, will be a contender as will R. D. Hill.  Hill’s Fronty, with Speed Irwin at the wheel, cleaned up first money at Anthony, Kansas last week where 24 fast drivers were entered.

Moody has not announced who will pilot his speed creation, but there has been a rumor that Mack McAnally¹, of Arkansas City and well known in Winfield, will be at the wheel.  McAnally¹ cleaned the slate on the local track last year when he shot the Superior Special to the first place in three starts.

Overhead Cam Job Here

Art Hutchin of Tulsa has entered an overhead cam Laurel, a novel creation built for speed plus.  He has just returned from Houston where he set up some fast time on the new mile and a quarter track there.

P. C. “Dad” Harrier of Hiawatha, (Kansas), oldest dirt track driver in the country, will be back again.  Dad will be remembered by the local fans who saw him whiz the half-mile last year in his Fronty-Ford.

Slim Ellison of Ascot Park, California entered what he chooses to call “Mystery X”.  Webmaster’s note:  “Sam Ellison” appears to have been an alias for Leech Fox of Kansas City, Missouri although the name “Leech Fox” may have been an alias as well.

A. H. Kilgore of Salina, Kansas, a Mayfield special.

Sam Samuels of Parsons, Kansas, a Keystone special.

Harold “Red” Kinser, “The Kansas Cyclone” from Lyndon, Kansas a Laurel Ford special.

Clarence “Speed” Speed Haskell of Lincoln, Nebraska will roll out his Antelope special.

The Front Wheel Drive job will be on hand with Chester White, of Oklahoma City, tromping the accelerator.  White’s brother, Commodore White, has a Speedway Frontenac entered.  The Speedway Frontenac comes to Winfield from the Pacific coast where it raced against such drivers as Ralph DePalma, Keech, DePholo, and others.

Tom Holden of Denver, will be back again with his Chrysler 70.  He is one of the drivers who makes conditions lively in Colorado.

Joe Kline⁷, known as the “Dixie Favorite”, brings his fast Laurel from Mascot, Tennessee.

Two from Kansas City

Two Kansas City entries are in from Fred Littleton and Dutch Lingle.  Littleton, last year, set up the track record at Riverside as well as taking two of the three events in which he ran.  Lingle holds the track record at Savannah, Bedford, Marshall, and Nevada, Missouri.  Both Littleton and Lingle drive Frontys.

With the excellent field of 17 entries, the auto races promise to be a fitting close for the annual race meeting here.  There will be six events on the program, two preliminary races with cars finishing first, second, and third to qualify for the final sweepstakes, as well as a three-corner match, and a straw hat derby.  The straw-hat derby will be an added thriller attraction.

The management announces, as a feature on the program, the appearance of Mickey McCormick, a daredevil stuntman and movie doubler, who will attempt to perform his original stunt of leaping from the rear of a speeding car traveling over 80 m.p.h.  The feat is scheduled to be pulled in front of the grandstand.  This will be the first time that McCormick has scheduled to give his performance west of the Mississippi River, the management states.

Winfield Daily Courier
Saturday, July 27, 1929, Front Page:

Nearly 3000 See Fast Car
Race At Fairgrounds
One Tears Up Fence at North End of Track in Time Trial

Best time in the time trials at the automobile races at the fairgrounds this afternoon was made by Art Hutchin⁴, of Tulsa, who shoved his Laurel special around the half-mile in 33.6 seconds, within 1.6 seconds of the track record set last year.

One of the largest auto race crowds in years was present to watch the excitement.  Nearly 3,000 persons were in the grandstand when the time trials, first event of the afternoon, opened.

Two changes in drivers were made before the time trials began (with) Joe Hutchinson, of Arkansas City, taking over the Chevrolet which was to have been driven by Dwight Moody, of Arkansas City; and Harold Cowan taking over Hutchinson’s Fronty.

White Hits Fence

Commodore White of Benton, Kansas went out of the running in the time trials when his Speedway front-wheel-drive crashed into the fence at the north end of the track, demolishing a section of fence.

Speed Irwin of Arkansas City, a favorite with the crowd, went into a bad skid just as he was starting on his time trial.  He was given a second chance but had trouble with a rear axle, or wheel, which apparently had been damaged when his car lurched on its first try.

Dutch Lingle, Kansas City, Missouri, was replaced by Larry Steele at the wheel of a Fronty special.  Cokie Fuller of Arkansas City, with his Gallivan, and Sam Samuels of Parsons, Kansas with his Keystone special, were entered but did not appear.  Speed Haskell of Lincoln, Nebraska had his Antelope special on the grounds but did not start in the time trials.

Winfield Daily Courier
Monday, July 29, 1929, Front Page:

Several Wrecks But
None Hurt In Races
Fourteen Cars Appear in Final Event of Race Week

The auto races held at the fairgrounds track on Saturday afternoon, as a conclusion to the full week of racing and annual race meeting program, furnished thrills for a crowd of 3,000 spectators in the best card of motor competition events seen in Winfield for several years.  Although there were several wrecks when the cars crashed into the fence on two turns, no one was injured and the races were run off promptly on schedule.  There were 14 entries.  Racing fans were disappointed in the absence of Cokie Fuller and Mack McAnally¹ of Arkansas City.  Fuller damaged his car on the Anthony track last week and did not have it repaired in time for the Winfield races.  McAnally¹ broke his car down recently and is having it overhauled.  Both drivers are expected to appear in the competition at the Labor Day races at Arkansas City, Kansas on September 2nd.

Old Record Stands

The first event on Saturday’s program was the time trial event in which the drivers run against time for starting positions in the other races.  An attempt was made to lower the track record of 32 seconds held by W. A. Sparling of Winfield, who last year drove his Superior Special in several of the events.

The nearest to the record was 32.7 made by Speed Irwin, Arkansas City, in a Fronty Ford on his second attempt.  The first attempt ended in a complete failure.  Irwin went into a bad skid on a turn and bent the rear axle of his car.  After repairs were made, he was permitted to make another time trial.

One Lap Time Trials on the Half-Mile Track:
	DRIVER	FROM	CAR	TIME
1	Louis J. “Speed” Irwin^10	Iola, Kansas	Fronty Ford	32.7
2	Art Hutchin^4	Tulsa, Oklahoma	Laurel Ford Special	33.3
3	Harold “Red” Kinser	Lyndon, Kansas	Laurel Ford Special	34.2
4	Fred Littleton	Kansas City, Missouri	Fronty Ford	34.2
5	Larry Steele^5	Glendale, California	Fronty Ford	34.6
6	Slim Ellison	Ascot Park, California	Mystery X	34.8
7	Dad Harrier^8	Hiawatha, Kansas	Fronty Ford	35.0
8	Joe Hutchinson	Arkansas City, Kansas	Chevrolet	35.4
9	J. Chester White	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Front-Wheel-Drive	35.8
10	Tom Holden	Denver, Colorado	Chrysler 70	36.4
11	Major Cline^6	Mascot, Tennessee	Laurel Special	36.6
12	Harold Cowan^9	Atchison, Kansas	Fronty Ford	37.5
13	Commodore C. White^3	Benton, Kansas	Fronty Ford	Crash / No Time
14	Speed Haskell^2	Lincoln, Nebraska	Antelope Special	No Time Attempted
15	A. H. Kilgore	Salina, Kansas	Mayfield Special	No Time Attempted
First Heat Race – 6 cars – 8 laps:
1	Art Hutchin^4	Tulsa, Oklahoma	Laurel Ford Special	4:20.0
2	Fred Littleton	Kansas City, Missouri	Fronty Ford
3	Slim Ellison	Ascot Park, California	Mystery X
4	Tom Holden	Denver, Colorado	Chrysler 70
5	J. Chester White	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Front-Wheel-Drive
6	Major Cline^6	Mascot, Tennessee	Laurel Ford Special
The big race in the event was between Littleton, Ellison, and Holden in the first six laps and finally centered around Littleton and Ellison.  Hutchin was well in the lead all the way.
Three-Corner Match Race – 3 cars – 4 laps:
1	Art Hutchin^4	Tulsa, Oklahoma	Laurel Ford Special	2:38.8
2	Harold “Red” Kinser	Lyndon, Kansas	Laurel Ford Special
3	Fred Littleton	Kansas City, Missouri	Fronty Ford
Hutchin was leading the first lap with Littleton second and Kinser crowding them.  In the first half of the second lap, Kinser spurted up to leading position on the east side (back stretch) of the track but was going too fast on the north turn and crashed into the fence, wrecking his car.  He escaped with a few scratches and a wrenched arm.  The accident was considered unavoidable by the judges and Kinser was given second place.
Second Heat Race – 4 cars – 8 laps:
1	Louis J. “Speed” Irwin^10	Iola, Kansas	Fronty Ford	4:31.0
2	Larry Steele^5	Glendale, California	Fronty Ford
3	Dad Harrier^8	Hiawatha, Kansas	Fronty Ford
4	Harold Cowan^9	Atchison, Kansas	Fronty Ford
Irwin led the field all the way.  Steele won second place by a few feet.  Cowan lost a tire on the fifth lap and pulled into the pit.
Straw-Hat Derby – 5 cars – 6 laps:
1	Dad Harrier^8	Hiawatha, Kansas	Fronty Ford	3:41.5
2	J. Chester White	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Front-Wheel-Drive
3	Tom Holden	Denver, Colorado	Chrysler 70
4	Major Cline^6	Mascot, Tennessee	Laurel Ford Special
5	A. H. Kilgore	Salina, Kansas	Mayfield Special
In this race, each driver wore a straw hat.  Whenever a hat blew off, the driver retired from the race.  Kilgore dropped out in the second lap and Cline lost his hat in the third lap.  In the fourth lap, Holden lost his hat.  The two remaining drivers continued to agitate the dust with Dad Harrier in the lead.  In the last lap, White's hat took the air and Dad, with a grin on his grimy face and his hat pulled down over his ears, won the event.
Sweepstakes – 8 cars – 15 laps:
1	Art Hutchin^4	Tulsa, Oklahoma	OHC Laurel Ford Special	8:14.1
2	Dad Harrier^8	Hiawatha, Kansas	Fronty Ford
3	Slim Ellison	Ascot Park, California	Mystery X
4	Tom Holden	Denver, Colorado	Chrysler 70
5	Fred Littleton	Kansas City, Missouri	Fronty Ford
6	Major Cline^6	Mascot, Tennessee	Laurel Ford Special
7	J. Chester White^12	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Front-Wheel-Drive
8	Louis J. “Speed” Irwin^10	Iola, Kansas	Fronty Ford
Speed Irwin took the lead in the first lap but went through the fence at the beginning of the second lap and was out of the race.  White went through the hole in the fence that Kinser had made earlier in the afternoon and left the field in the eleventh lap.

As an added feature attraction of the afternoon, Mickey McCormick¹¹, of Chicago, dropped from the back of Tom Holden's Chrysler as it sped by the grandstand at a high rate of speed.  Mickey came out of the drop without a scratch.

SOME OF THOSE WHO APPEARED AT WINFIELD ON THIS DATE:

Dad Harrier

Tom Holden

Major Cline

Speed Irwin

Arkansas City Traveler
Monday, July 29, 1929, Page 9:

'Speed' Irwin Shows Speed
Almost Breaks Course Record in Races at Winfield

Louis "Speed" Irwin, Arkansas City auto-racer, driving a Fronty Ford, won the time trials and came within two-tenths of a second of tying the Winfield track record for a half-mile Saturday when he raced around the speedway in 32.7 seconds.  The time was especially fast considering the fact that the Winfield track is built for horse racing, not auto racing, and consequently, is not banked much on the turns.

The low banks on the turns almost proved disastrous for Irwin, who apparently was not familiar with horse-track driving.  On his first speed trial, the plucky driver took two bad skids on the curves and on the last skid, bent his right rear wheel badly.

Skidded Badly

He was given another trial after a new wheel was put on the car, and again he skidded badly on the turns.  He stayed on the track, however, and nearly set a new record.

The jinx of the track kept doggedly at Irwin’s heels throughout the races and, in the 15-lap sweepstakes, it almost claimed its toll.  Leading the field on the second lap, Irwin crashed through the inside rail of the track after another bad skid on the south turn.  He took down about 20 feet of railing and several posts, but luckily, the car failed to turn over and Irwin escaped without a scratch.

Art Hutchin took the main honors of the races after being beat by Irwin in the time trials.  The only races in which the two were pitted against each other, however, was the sweepstakes in which Irwin was leading at the time of his crash.

Another Through a Fence

A four-lap three-corner match race was won by Art Hutchin after another Laurel Special, driven by Red Kinser, crashed through the north fence on the curve and was demolished.  Kinser had been third in position but, on the east (back) straightaway, passed both Hutchin and Littleton to take the lead.  He went into the curve at full speed and the crash seemed inevitable.  His car skidded wildly on the almost flat turn and crashed into the fence head-on.  Although the car was wrecked, Kinser escaped with only cuts and burses.

¹ Marvin Wesley "Mack" McAnally  (1902 - 1989)  was president of the Arkansas City Driving Association.

² Clarence H. "Speed" Haskell's "Antelope Special" was also known as the "Antelope Park Garage Special".  This appearance in Winfield was early in Haskell’s racing career, a career that was cut short when he was killed in a pre-race practice accident at Winchester, Indiana on July 29, 1934.  Webmaster’s note:  One source claims that “Speed” Haskell’s real name was Charles Haskell.

³ Commodore C. “C. C.” White (1901 – 2000) was born at Warrensburg, Missouri and lived most of his life at Emporia, Kansas.  As a young man, he went by the name “John Commodore White”.  Head injuries suffered in a crash in the 1930s were severe enough to end his driving career but he continued to own racing cars into the early 1950s.  White died at Burlingame, Kansas and is buried in the Cottonwood Friends Cemetery west of Emporia, Kansas.

⁴ Just three weeks before this race at Winfield, Art Hutchin, who then gave his address as Omaha, Nebraska, entered a "Ford Special" in a race at Arkansas City Speedway just west of Arkansas City, Kansas, and just 13 miles southwest of Winfield.  On August 28-29, 1930, an A. C. Hutchin of Kansas City entered his Laurel Special in races at Belleville, Kansas.

⁵ By the summer of 1930, Larry Steele was claiming to be from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

⁶ Frontis Graydon “Major” Cline (1907 - 1982) was actually from Jefferson City, Tennessee.

⁷ There was no “Joe Kline” from Mascot, Tennessee.  This was undoubtedly an error and should have read “Major Cline” who did bring a Laurel Special from Tennessee to compete in these races.

⁸ Phineas Comador “Dad” Harrier (1878 - 1938) was a regular competitor in the auto races at Winfield, Kansas from 1927 until his retirement from racing after a near fatal crash at Anthony, Kansas in 1931.  He is buried in the Netawaka Cemetery at Netawaka, Kansas.

⁹ Harold Dexter Cowan (1911 - 1981)

¹⁰ Louis Julius “Lew” (or “Speed”) Irwin (1904 - 1987) was born at Altamont, Kansas but made his home at Iola, Kansas.  Newspaper reports tended to incorrectly list his home as being the same as that of the owner of whatever race car he was driving at the time.

¹¹There was a Willard Victor “Mickey” McCormick (1920 - 1999) who drove IMCA sprint cars but he would have been too young to have been this Mickey McCormick.

¹²J. Chester White went by the name “Chester S. White” as a young man residing in Emporia, Kansas with his brother, Commodore.

Return to page one of the History of Auto Racing at Winfield website.

Commadore C. White

Commadore White

Lew Irwin

Louis Irwin

Lewis Irwin