Jimmy Reece died at Trenton Speedway in 1958

A reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1.com, This might sound a little ghoulish but I am attempting to find information on race fatalities at the old Trenton Speedway. There is one in particular as I was a witness to it. All that I can remember is that it was a USAC race in the very late 50's or before 1960. On the last lap of the race, I was riding my bicycle around the outside of the track in the parking lot between turns 1 and 2 heading home when a car came through the guardrail. The car tumbled and rolled, breaking into 3 parts only held together by the fuel line and stopped no more than 10 feet from me. The driver was dead. The reason I'm asking is due to my finding a picture taken sometime before the race. The shirt that I am wearing in the picture was the same one I wore when I went to the speedway and had blood splattered on the front from the crash. I did not know about the blood on my shirt until one of the first aid guys ran over to me thinking I had been hit by flying debris, while the rest were helping to get the driver out of the car. Thank You, Leon Reisner

Jimmy Reece

Dear Leon, Jimmy Reece absolutely refused to run high banks ("The Hills" as they were called) at Salem Speedway He said it was too dangerous and called it the "Idiot Circuit."

Ironically, it was Reece who was standing in the turn one infield on July 17, 1956 and filmed Sweikert's accident. Tragically, Reece would lose his life on the last lap of the 100 Mile USAC National Championship race at Trenton Speedway on September 28, 1958. His Bowes Seal Fast 14 Kurtis-Kraft flew end over end out of Trenton, broke in half on impact, and Jimmy Reece was dead. Mark C.

These were the painful realities of not only Salem Speedway but of auto racing in the 1950s.