Racing History Minute - May 30, 1951

Race number 9 of the 1951 season was a 100 mile event on a half mile dirt track in Canfield, Ohio, known as the Canfield Fairgrouds Speedway. Thirty-five cars entered the event although I can find no indication that it was a special event by any means. I suppose because the previous event was May 6th and the next event was not until June 10th, this left some open time for the racers who were always looking to race. Ironically, I think, the race was known as "The Poor Man's 500", in reference, I am guessing, to the closeness to the date of the Indy 500.

Bill Rexford started his Oldsmobile from the pole. Unfortunately, starting positions from my source for the remainder of the field is not available. Rexford would flip his Oldsmobile on lap 115 and end up outside the track in a ditch. He complained of chest pain but remained at the race track. Bill was the defending Grand National Champion as well as the defending winner of this race from the previous year. But May 30, 1951, was not Rexford's day.

The race ended with Marshall Teague taking the checkered flag three laps ahead of runner up Tim Flock, allowing Teague to retain the points lead with which he entered the race.

The attendance at the race was just in excess of 17,000 folks which was, at that time, a record for attendance at a half mile track. Although the number of caution flags is not specified in my source (Greg Fielden's Forty Years of Stock Car Racing), it is noted that caution flags were "numerous". Special mention is made of Mike Klapak flipping his Nash with two laps to go and still finishing in 8th place.,

Top five finishers were:

1. Marshall Teague, Fabulous Hudson Hornet, winning $1,000.00

2. Tim Flock, Black Phantom Oldsmobile, winning $700.00

3. Fonty Flock, Red Devil Oldsmobile, winning $450.00

4. Herb Thomas, Thomas Plymouth, winning $350.00

5. Lee Petty, Petty Special Plymouth, winning 200.00

Sixth through tenth were Bob Flock, Frank Munday, Mike Klapak, Dick Rathmann and Don Eggert.

Bill Rexford was 21st in the final rundown.

Honor the past, embrace the present, dream for the future.

Whew, that was a tough one to find a news clipping. But I finally did in the May 31, 1951 edition of the Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Your post has more info than this clipping. I believe just about every motorsports oriented media member would have been credentialed at the Indy 500 vs. at this Poor Man's 500 in Canfield OH some 350 miles to the east.

Found a website with some history of Canfield Speedway - primarily on its evolution into a staple for the MARC/ARCA series. But it does have a couple of photos from the 1953 Grand National race. Nothing from the 1951 event, but it at least is in the ballpark of that era.

http://diecastcrazy.com/community/collector-chat/207743-canfield-marc-arca-story-good-photos-within.html

Found these pics on Getty Images.

This one is captioned - May 30, 1951: A look from turn one at Canfield Speedway as the Por Man's 599 NASCAR Cup race gets underway in front of crowd of 17,000 people. Just five of the 38 cars that started the event were running at the finish. Marshall Teague, driving a Hudson, won the race by three laps over Tim Flock.

This one didn't have a date tied to it - but it looks to be from same era. Captioned: Driving his famed Fabulous Hudson Hornet, Marshall Teague ran just 19 NASCAR Cup races in 1951 and 1952, but won seven of them.

While the subject of this post is the 1951 race, I'm not sure how often we'll return to the subject of Canfield. So I thought I'd toss in a couple of other photos I found from the 1950 race. Bill Rexford was the pole winner for the 1951 race - but he was the race winner on May 30, 1950. It was his only win in 36 NASCAR Grand National starts.

The field follows the pace car during a NASCAR Cup race at Canfield Speedway. Bill Rexford in the No. 60 Oldsmobile went on to win the race.

Curtis Turner (No. 41) leads the way during a NASCAR Cup race at Canfield Speedway. Turner led the first 120 laps of the event before the engine in his Oldsmobile went sour, handing the lead over to eventual winner Bill Rexford.

They certainly drew a big field of cars as noted and a really big crowd of fans. It is espacially interesting to me to see posts about events at locales we no longer visit. Thanks.

Harold Petty must be another of those brothers who gave up on driving early on and spent his time building race cars.

I wish we knew more about WHY we no longer visit. There's been a big push to move NASCAR out of the South and win fans in other parts of the country. But they had already been to most of those new areas and abandoned them after one or two races. Canfield had a good crowd and lots of participants, was Big Bill not getting a big enough cut? The Winston West series ran for years and years, why are they still struggling to build a market in California? For all of Bill France's numerous talents, he seems to have failed a presenting a better show than the midgets, sprint cars and modifieds that were already established outside of the South.

I still maintain that NASCAR would do better if they established an East and West league and held a ten race series between the two for the national championship. They could give each track two races like they want and still have room for more short tracks and road courses. You could cut the race schedule to 25 events for each league and still have racing on TV every weekend. Plus, "the chase" would actually mean something. Obviously, DW and Jeff Hammond would be traded to the Western League. Hollywood Hotel and all that.

8th place finisher Mike Klapak was the National Sportsman Champion in 1950, 1951 and 1952.

Dennis, I wasn't familiar with Mike Klapak, but after your post I have read several accounts of his racing prowess and he was obviously quite talented, having a long and successful career. Found several photos at different places... the uncredited ones below are posted on the Legends of NASCAR site.

I love his #23 "Bambi Special" Ford coupe. That car was destroyed, however, on Labor Day afternoon 1953 when Klapak went over the first turn at Pinegrove Speedway in Shippenville, Pennsylvania.

MIKE KLAPAK - above

Above - MIKE KLAPAK'S "BAMBI SPECIAL" BEFORE THE SHIPPENVILLE ACCIDENT

Below - MIKE KLAPAK'S "BAMBI SPECIAL" AFTER THE SHIPPENVILLE ACCIDENT LABOR DAY 1953

Also note that Klapak won a 6 hour, 500 mile USAC stock car race at Trenton, NJ on September 2, 1957 - the same date as Darlington's Southern 500. Look at the Trenton results as posted at Ultimate Racing History and you'll see a lot of familiar faces who were at Trenton rather than Darlington that day:

USAC Stock Car race
Trenton International Speedway, Trenton, NJ
September 2, 1957
500 laps on 1 mile paved oval; 500 miles

Fin St Driver # Owner Car Laps Money Status Laps Led
1 Mike Klapak 1957 Ford 500 4,000 running 191
2 Jerry Unser 1957 Ford running
3 Russ Hepler
Bob James 1956 Chevrolet Convertible
4 Les Snow
Johnnie Parsons
5 Norm Nelson
Marshall Teague
6 Don Schisler
7 Bill Walker
8 Harold Frankel
9 Carl O'Harold
10 Bill Shoulders
16 Gus Linder
6 Sam Hanks 1957 Mercury 270 piston
4 Marshall Teague Chevrolet 30 piston
1 Dick Rathmann accident
2 Ralph Moody mechanical
3 Tom Pistone
5 Johnny Mantz differential
Dick Linder engine
Ed Lindsay
Harvey Eakin 226
Bill Lone 170
Lou Spears 50
Bill Benson 151
Bobby Abel 50
Roland Lufton 104

Notes: 43 cars started the race.
James was relieved by Russ Hepler.
Les Snow relieved by Johnnie Parsons.
Norm Nelson relieved by Marshall Teague.
Time of race: 06:07:07
Average Speed: 81.718 MPH
Pole Speed: 39.37 seconds
Attendance: 18,746

Wonder if after that wreck the Bambi Special was renamed The Yearling. Ka-bloom.