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.
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.
Return to the Feature Race Winners at Hutchinson, Kansas web page