Big Car Races on the

Historic Half-mile Racetrack at the

Kansas State Fairgrounds

 Hutchinson, Kansas

Tuesday – September 20, 1938

 

 Races Sanctioned by the International Motor Contest Association (I.M.C.A.)

Race Director:  William M. “Bill” Bryant 

Announcer – Jack Story 

Attendance – 12,000

 

            Floyd Roberts, winner of the 1938 running of the Indianapolis “500” was at the Kansas State Fair as an exhibitor and was introduced to the crowd by announcer Jack Story.

 

 

 

Ralph Norman

Wood collection

Bill Morris

Charles Pauley Photo

Al Rogers

Marjorie Meyer collection

 

 

 

Oscar Coleman

Roy W. Coleman collection

Shorty Burns

Larry Sullivan photo

Posey Reeves

Don Radbruch collection

 

 

  

Time Trials – 20 Cars - 1 Lap

Place

Driver

From

Time

1

Lyn Musick

Dallas, Texas

27.20

2

Bill Morris1

Dallas, Texas

27.50

3

Win Fenstermaker3

Minneapolis, Minnesota

27.77

4

Ralph Norman

St. Paul, Minnesota 

28.25

5

Bayliss Levrett4

San Diego, California

28.41

6

Hal Cole5

South Gate, California

28.57

7

Oscar Coleman6

Dallas, Texas

28.63

8

Waldo Barnett2

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

29.15

9

Harold Shaw7

Indianapolis, Indiana

29.32

10

Les Adair8

Indianapolis, Indiana

29.54

11

Shorty Burns9

St. Louis, Missouri

30.12

12

Dan McCloskey

Peoria, Illinois

30.00

13

Bert Hellmueller14

St. Paul, Minnesota

30.25

14

Al Rogers

Colorado Springs, Colorado

30.30

15

Larry Slattery

St. Paul, Minnesota

30.93

16

Posey Reeves

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

30.95

17

Bo Bocock10

Wichita, Kansas

31.00

18

Wes Johnson12

Kansas City, Missouri

32.00

19

Val Jameson11

Wichita, Kansas

33.19

20

Bud Bardi13

Hammond, Indiana

33.50

 

 

 

First Heat Race – 6 Cars - 7 Laps

Place

Driver

From

Time

1

Bill Morris1

Dallas, Texas

3:15.82

2

Lyn Musick

Dallas, Texas

 

3

Bayliss Levrett4

San Diego, California

 

4

Ralph Norman

St. Paul, Minnesota 

 

5

Hal Cole5

South Gate, California

 

6

Win Fenstermaker3

Minneapolis, Minnesota

DNS

            Musick led this race until he slid wide in a turn and got onto a bumpy part of the racetrack which caused him to loose more ground on Morris than he could make up.

 

 

 

Second Heat Race – 6 Cars - 7 Laps

Place

Driver

From

Time

1

Hal Cole5

South Gate, California

3:17.16

2

Ralph Norman

St. Paul, Minnesota 

 

3

Oscar Coleman6

Dallas, Texas

 

4

Waldo Barnett2

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

 

5

Les Adair8

Indianapolis, Indiana

 

6

Harold Shaw7

Indianapolis, Indiana

 

 

 

 

Invitational Handicap Race - 6 Cars - 7 Laps

Place

Driver

From

Time

1

Les Adair8

Indianapolis, Indiana

3:46.21

2

Bud Bardi13

Hammond, Indiana

 

3

Larry Slattery

St. Paul, Minnesota

 

4

Posey Reeves

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

 

5

Al Rogers

Colorado Springs, Colorado

 

6

Bert Hellmueller14

St. Paul, Minnesota

 

            Adair just squeaked out the win over Bardy.

 

 

 

Consolation Race - 7 Cars - 7 Laps

Place

Driver

From

Time

1

Waldo Barnett2

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

3:59.83

2

Harold Shaw7

Indianapolis, Indiana

 

3

Dan McCloskey

Peoria, Illinois

 

4

Bert Hellmueller14

St. Paul, Minnesota

 

5

Wes Johnson12

Kansas City, Missouri

 

6

Bo Bocock10

Wichita, Kansas

 

7

Oscar Coleman6

Dallas, Texas

DNF

            Coleman’s Texas Special #1 broke an axle near the end of this race and the real wheels started to spread apart.  Coleman got the car stopped against the inside rail before anything happened though.

 

 

 

State Fair Championship Race - 6 Cars - 9 Laps

Place

Driver

From

Time

1

Lyn Musick

Dallas, Texas

4:22.22

2

Bill Morris1

Dallas, Texas

 

3

Bayliss Levrett4

San Diego, California

 

4

Hal Cole5

South Gate, California

 

5

Waldo Burnett2

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

 

6

Ralph Norman

St. Paul, Minnesota

 

This race finished in nearly a dead heat between Musick and Morris.

 

 

 

 

 

This photo was taken at the Kansas State Fair in 1938.  Left to right are unidentified, Ted Davis, Bud Bennet, car owner Murray Earl, and driver Waldo Barnett.  The car had been build by Jack Kannapel and Murray Earl with an engine from Leonard Kerbs.  Earl choose the number 75 for the car as he thought it sounded like a French 75mm cannon that he heard during World War I – Don Radbruch collection 

 

 

 

 

Win Fenstermaker

Wood collection

Bayliss Levrett

Don Radbruch collection

Wes Johnson

Charles Pauley photo

 

 

 

Harold Shaw

Larry Sullivan photo

Val Jameson

Swart family collection

Bud Bardi

Roy Pulver collection

 

 

 

Les Adair 

Osmer collection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Bill Morris was an alias used by Benjamin Franklin “Ben” Musick, Sr. (1908-1966) and a brother of Lynton Howard “Lyn” Musick (1914-1939).

 

2 Charles Waldo Burnett (1905-1947) was fatally injured in a racing accident at Ord, Nebraska in 1947 and is buried at Terrel, Oklahoma.

 

3 T. Win Fenstermaker (1911-1972) drove a car known as the Checkerboard Special in these races.  He is buried in St. Hubert’s Catholic Cemetery in Chanhassen, Minnesota

 

4 Bayliss D. Levrett (1913–2002) went on the compete in the Indianapolis “500” twice.

 

5 Hal Cole (1912-1970) went on to compete in the Indianapolis “500” three times.

 

6 Oscar Lloyd Coleman (1905-1938) was fatally injured seven weeks after this race while attempting to qualify for a midget race in Dallas, Texas.

 

7 Harold J. Shaw (1906-1941) was fatally injured in a racing accident at Franklin, Indiana.

 

8 Lester James “Les” Adair (c1908-1948) was fatally injured in a racing accident at Franklin, Indiana.

 

9 Shorty Burns was an alias used by Tom Scheck.

 

10 Gail Arthur “Bo” Bocock (1903-1972) operated a midget racetrack in Wichita, Kansas in the late 1930s.  He is buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Wichita.

 

11 Valentine U. “Val” Jameson (1905-1971)

 

12 Wes Johnson was known by the nickname “Feather Foot”.

 

13 Bud Bardi is believed to have been an alias used by Bud Bardowski (1914-2000) who was also from Indiana.

 

14 Engelbert H. “Bert” Hellmueller, Jr. (1906-1985) listed his home as a number of different places but his family home was in Louisville, Kentucky and that is where he retired to.

 

 

 

 

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