Big Car Races on the

Historic Half-mile Racetrack at the

Kansas State Fairgrounds

 Hutchinson, Kansas

Friday – September 22, 1933

 

 

Race Director Leonard Kerbs of Otis, Kansas

 

Attendance“a large crowd”

 

Total Purse$625

 

 

 

Verne Ellis

Larry Sullivan photo

Lew Irwin

Irwin family collection

Charles Pauley

Charles Pauley collection

 

 

 

 

Time Trials – 1 Lap

20 drivers and 21 cars participated

(Pat Cunningham ran a time trial in two different cars)

Place

Driver

From

Car Number

Automobile

 

Time

1

Clarence Haskell

Lincoln, NE

24

Miller Special

 

27.99

2

Paul Smith*****

Kansas City, MO

22 A

Riley Special

 

28.73

3

Lew Irwin

St. Joseph, MO

X 3

Lawhon Special

 

 29.96

 

Pat Cunningham

Otis, KS

K 1

Kerbs Special

 

 

 

Pat Cunningham

Otis, KS

3

Johnson Special

 

 

 

Ted Davis

Junction City, KS

M 33

Mellican Special

 

 

 

Floyd Davis*

Kansas City, MO

 

 

 

 

 

Bob Wilson

Kansas City, MO

4

Riley Special

 

 

 

Roy Lake

Los Angeles, CA

3

Frontenac

 

 

 

Verne Ellis****

Kansas City, MO

 

Ellis Special

 

 

 

Charles Pauley

Herington, KS

14

Pauley Special

 

 

 

Pete Alberts**

Chicago, IL

9

Kinsey Special

 

 

 

Art Challender

Davenport, IA

 

McDowell Special

 

 

 

Rae Bray***

Topeka, KS

 

 

 

 

 

Dick Goolsby

Kansas City, MO

 

 

 

 

 

Rex Edmonds

Dallas, TX

 

 

 

 

 

 

Helmet Dash – 2 Cars - 3 Laps – Total Purse $50

Place

Driver

From

Car Number

Automobile

Purse

Time

1

Paul Smith*****

Kansas City, MO

22 A

Riley Special

$30

1:32.0

2

Clarence Haskell

Lincoln, NE

24

Miller Special

  20

 

Haskell took off from his pole position but ran into the first corner too fast and slid clear out to the fence.  This allowed Smith to taken the inside position and build up a 20-yard lead which he held to the finish.  Besides $30 in cash, the winner received a leather helmet and a kiss from trophy girl Leatha Baettie of Topeka, KS which “was administered with move-fade-out gusto amid cheers of the patrons.”

 

 

First Preliminary Race – 5 Cars - 10 Laps - Total Purse $100

 Place

Driver

From

Car Number

Automobile

Purse

Time

1

Clarence Haskell

Lincoln, NE

24

Miller Special

$50

5:02.0

2

Pat Cunningham

Otis, KS

3

Johnson Special

 30

 

3

Lew Irwin

St. Joseph, MO

X 3

Lawhon Special

 20

 

4

Ted Davis

Junction City, KS

M 33

Mellican Special

 

 

5

Dick Goolsby

Kansas City, MO

 

 

 

 

                Haskell took the lead at the first turn and held it to the finish winning by a wide margin.

 

 

Second Preliminary Race – 6 Cars – 10 Laps – Total Purse $100

 Place

Driver

From

Car Number

Automobile

Purse

Time

1

Pat Cunningham

Otis, KS

K 1

Kerbs Special

$50

5:05.25

2

Pete Alberts**

Chicago, IL

9

Kinsey Special

  30

 

3

Paul Smith*****

Kansas City, MO

22 A

Riley Special

  20

 

4

Rex Edmonds

Dallas, TX

 

 

 

 

5

Verne Ellis****

Kansas City, MO

 

Ellis Special

 

 

6

Art Challender

Davenport, IA

 

 

 

 

                “Cunningham took chances few drivers would contemplate.  Time after time, he went into the curves at near full speed and whipped his car around the corners to gain on more cautious drivers.  Smith matched his daring however, and might have finished in the lead had he not made one false turn at the north end which nearly stopped his car.  He lost nearly 100 yards and finished third as Pete Alberts chased Cunningham across the finish.” – Hutchinson Herald

 

 

Consolation Race – 10 Cars - 10 Laps – Total Purse $60

 Place

Driver

From

Car Number

Automobile

Purse

Time

1

Ted Davis

Junction City, KS

M 33

Mellican Special

$30

5:06.5

2

Pete Alberts**

Chicago, IL

9

Kinsey Special

  20

 

3

Bob Wilson

Kansas City, MO

4

Riley Special

  10

 

4

Charles Pauley

Herington, KS

14

Pauley Special

 

 

5

Rex Edmonds

Dallas, TX

 

 

 

 

6

Dick Goolsby

Kansas City, MO

 

 

 

 

7

Rea Bray***

Topeka, KS

 

 

 

 

8

Roy Lake

Los Angeles, CA

 3

Frontenac

 

 

9

Verne Ellis****

Kansas City, MO

 

Ellis Special

 

 

10

Art Challender

Davenport, IA

 

 

 

 

                Davis won out in a spirited battle for the early lead with Wilson and Goolsby.  Davis then pulled away to win by a wide margin.

 

 

Sweepstakes – 8 Cars - 20 Laps – Total Purse $315

 Place

Driver

From

Car Number

Automobile

 

Time

1

Clarence Haskell

Lincoln, Nebraska

3

Johnson Special

 

9:48.0

2

Pat Cunningham

Otis, KS

K 1

Kerbs Special

 

 

3

Ted Davis

Junction City, KS

M 33

Mellican Special

 

 

4

Lew Irwin

St. Joseph, MO

X 3

Lawhon Special

 

 

5

Pete Alberts**

Chicago, IL

9

Kinsey Special

 

 

6

Floyd Davis*

Kansas City, MO

 

 

 

 

7

Paul Smith*****

Kansas City, MO

22 A

Riley Special

 

DNF

8

Bob Wilson

Kansas City, MO

4

Riley Special

 

DNF

Both the Kerbs Special and the Johnson Special were qualified for the Sweepstakes race since both cars had finished in the top three in their preliminary races so Haskell switched from the Miller Special to the Johnson Special for this race.  Haskell had a commanding lead all the way and won by about 200 yards.

Second place was held by four different drivers before Cunningham took control on the fourteenth lap and held it to the finish.  Floyd Davis had passed Cunningham for second on the fourth lap and held onto that position for nine laps before Cunningham again went ahead.  On the eighteenth lap, Floyd Davis tried to “slice Cunningham out” on the north corner and regain second position but he did a 180° spin out stalling the car against the inner fence.  Mechanics pulled Davis’ car away from the fence and he completed the race.

Ted Davis was running in sixth place on the third lap but worked his way forward taking third place from Smith on the last lap.

Irwin threw a tire in the south turn on the fifteenth lap but kept his car under control and managed to finish in fourth place.

Smith dropped out on the twelfth lap with engine trouble.

 

 

 

Pat Cunningham

Betty (Kerbs) Able collection

Floyd Davis

Roy Eaton collection

Pete Alberts

Don Radbruch collection

 

 

Paul Smith

Les Butler collection

Rex Edmonds

Barbara (Plant) Thompson collection

Art Challender

Wood collection

  

 

  

 

 

* Floyd Eldon Davis (1905-1977) went on the race in the Indianapolis “500” four times and co-drove with Mauri Rose to victory there in 1941.  Davis is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana.

 

** Harold Denman “Pete” Alberts (1905-1939) a.k.a. “Pietro Alberti” and “Phillipe Lecitir” was fatally injured in a racing accident at Mt. Vernon, Illinois.

 

*** Clyde Rae Bray (1902-1941) was fatally injured in a racing accident at Oakland, California in 1941

 

**** Audy Verne Ellis (1899-1934) was fatally injured in a racing accident at Memphis, Tennessee.

 

***** Paul Smith (1903-1933) was fatally injured in a racing accident at Dallas, Texas just five weeks later.

 

 

 

 

 

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