Remembering The 1974 Hutch Nationals
Lap #2
This page is dedicated to Jack Petty, Jerry Soderberg and the "Late" Aaron Madden.
Taken by Jeff Nichols and contributed by Ed Barlett.
This is George Armstrong #5 from Tulsa. He had got into another car or ran over the wheel of another car. Has you can see the front axle is completely torn away from the car. George is right in the middle of the track. Two cars dive to the inside looking like their in the grass or close to it. The white super is a single digit number and may have been David Brotherton #8, Dale Reed #6, or Randy Jones #9. The car behind the white car may have been Fred Hembree #79. Fred timed in #27th though. They may have used the heat races to improve their qualifing spots though, I'm not sure?
The more I think about the car behind the white car, the more I think it was Jay Woodside in the team car of Dale Parson. Dale ran a team car in the mid 70's. It usually ran #68 and Dale ran #67. Jay Qualified quick time on the Saturday. He is listed has #58. Duane Cain is also listed as a #58. So I believe the car behind the white car is Jay. It appears to be a Parson's car. He may have had trouble in his heat and therefore didn't start on the pole. That is if the heats meant anything back then as to determining your final line-up in the A Main.
Of course it could be Dale Parson too. Jay might have been running the Looney yellow #58. Duane and Hap Looney bought the #501 that Don Engel drove in 74 and numbered it #58. But I think that was the winter of 74-75??
Remember Jim Harkness, Jon Johnson, Grady Wade and were out front of this.
Many accounts and editorials state George got over the wheel of a straggler and flipped. It appears to my records etc that George should have started up front and not very far behind the 3 front runners and there should have not been stragglers unless it was a car that was running slow because of the dust? They were just beginning the 2nd lap.
I have always questioned that unfair term a straggler.
Photo #1
Taken by Jeff Nichols and contributed by Ed Barlett.
In this photo the cars that are visible and known to me are The #55 of Roy Bryant, #5 George Armstrong (with the white tail and in front), #56 Frank Lies (front and center), #90 Johnny Boe (in the center with white circle on the roof), #01 Aaron Madden (in the white car on the inside with sprint tail), The super with the rear end in the air I'm not sure about? After looking at photos from 1974 it could be Fred Hembree #79. "Fast" Fred did have a deep purple super that year. In the black and white photo it shows up in a dark color.
Photo #2
Taken by Jeff Nichols and contributed by Ed Barlett.
Cars in this shot that have piled into the wreck now and that are visible are #2 Ray Riner, #96 of Jack Petty his sedan bodied car is center and up in the air some.
Who is the car way in the infield to miss the wreck. I don't recall anyone getting run over.
Photo #3
Taken by Jeff Nichols and contributed by Ed Barlett.
Now we add a #99 of Lonnie Snowden and #20 of Wayne Wiseley's (or maybe Al Lemmons was driving it, it seems they may have switch cars or didn't come back from Tulsa the night before with both cars) right behind the #99 and two or three others toward the inside of the track.
The car to far side of the crash where a driver is getting out of is either the #29 of Harold Lloyd Leep or the 11x of D.E. Suggs. Suggs car might have been red, white and blue which explains the helmet on the driver getting out. Leep's car also was completely destroyed. I had also heard the fuel cell was still full after the fire on Harold's car???
Johnny Boe is just exiting from his car. His car is almost in the middle next to Jack Petty's
I believe the driver climbing out of the top of his car (next to #90) is the same one in Photo 2 with the rear end in the air.
In this photo you can also see Buck Cadwell's #07 straight back of the #20. I know this because Buck's car had the blue stripe from front to back and that is visible on the top.
Buck's 07 would race later in the season. I don't know if it was the same car or not. So it may have been towed out?
What car is the dark colored roof with the white trim around the edge??
What car is the one to the left that appears to get stopped?? It appears in Photo 4, 6 and is still setting in 8.
Photo #4
Taken by Jeff Nichols and contributed by Ed Barlett.
Lonnie pushes his car away from the crash by himself!
Another driver behind the #20 is climbing out. This may have been Harold Lloyd Leep in the #29.
Photo #5
Taken by Jeff Nichols and contributed by Ed Barlett.
In this photo it appears the flames have been knock down. This is probably about the same time all the portable fire ext. were used up.
George Armstrong is still in his super knocked-out.
Photo #6
Taken by Jeff Nichols and contributed by Ed Barlett.
In this photo and the next photo look at the upper right and the last person standing in the upper portion of the infield. This is a driver holding his helmet. I'm just guessing but I imagine his car came to a stop in turn one somewhere. Could this driver be the one that George Armstrong hooked wheels with and began his flip.
Just an observation made from studying the photos.
Photo #7
Taken by Jeff Nichols and contributed by Ed Barlett.
Shortly after this photo is when wreckers towed the #55, #56 and maybe the #2 out of the away? but the fire kept blazing.
Cars involved according to newspapers accounts were: Madden 01, Petty 96x, Soderberg 91, Leep 29x, D.E. Suggs 11x, Boe 90, Buck Cadwell 07, Fred Hembree 79??, Frank Lies 56, Roy Bryant 55, Dutch ter Steege 7, Al Lemmons 20 or 19?, Jay Woodside?,
The problem with the newspaper accounts is Lonnie Snowden is not listed.
Also interesting in the 8 photos is: George Armstrong's car appears to have not been hit at all after it came to rest minus the front end??
Just for the record the supers heat races etc. 1st heat: 1.Scott Carson, Oklahoma City, 2.Gene See 3.Dutch ter Steege. 2nd heat: 1. Larry Dewell, 2.D.E. Suggs, 3. Aaron Madden 3rd heat: 1. Jim Harkness, 2. Jon Johnson, 3. Grady Wade. The Trophy Dash was won by Larry Dewell. No B-main or consolation race was run, just one big feature.
If you can ad to any of this please feel free to e-mail Racing From The Past or Ed.
Photo #8
Aaron and son Mike
Taken from the great NCRA Yearbooks produce by Jack Ward.
Anyone who has ever watched Aaron race has a strong inkling of his unfailing determination and his unflinching "never say die" spirit. We've seen his persistent effort even if he's a lap down with a lap to go. These assets of character saved his life when even the finest doctors despaired of saving him.
The beginning of the 1974 season found Aaron with an enthusiasm for racing that he hadn't felt for many years. It was reflected in a crowd pleasing, hard charging style that was reminiscent of a much younger Aaron Madden. As the summer progressed, Aaron was thoroughly enjoying the season and closely watching the development of son Larry's racing career.
Aaron enjoyed the challenge of the Hutchinson Nationals, but after qualifying a poor 23rd on July 27th, he was less than enthusiastic about returning to Hutchinson from a successful Saturday night of racing in Tulsa. His crew talked him into returning to Hutchinson and the stage was nearly set for his greatest challenge.
Temperatures at race time were nearly 1000 as fans packed the venerable grandstand at Hutchinson Fairgrounds, for Jack Merrick's 18th Nationals event. Things seemed to go smoothly until the late model 30 lapper when an ominous dirt cloud arose from the track. Finally it was time for the big 50 lap super modified event and Aaron carefully placed ice around the hood of his racing uniform to keep him as cool as possible. He had discarded his flame retardant driving gloves after his heat race because they made it difficult to remove the throw-a-way shields as they became dirty.
Aaron became concerned as the pace lap was completed, because of dust stirred by the field of nearly 40 cars. He wanted to get off the track, but was fearful of causing a pile-up if he did so. The race began and leaders Jim Harkness, Jon Johnson, and Grady Wade had completed the first lap and were into turn two when back in the pack, it happened. A charging George Armstrong got on the wheel of a straggler and flipped, blocking the track at the entrance to turn one. Blinded by choking dust, car after car crashed into the tangled wreckage.
Aaron was one of the first involved, and as he tried to get out of his car, he was hit broadside by another, breaking his leg. At that moment his fuel tank exploded, drenching him with blazing gasoline. An adjacent car's tank exploded almost simultaneously, creating a literal holocaust.
Aaron fought frantically to free himself from his harness, with hands seared numb. Painfully he vaulted through flames towering high above his car. Walt McWhorter and pit man Ivan Peters pulled him away from the flames. Two other badly burned drivers, Jerry Soderberg and Jack Petty, lay on the track nearby receiving emergency first aid, as a horrified crowd looked on in stunned silence.
Aaron and the other drivers were rushed to Hutchinson for initial burn treatment. Aaron's critically burned body was packed in ice and flown by chartered plane to the Tulsa Hillcrest Hospital's burn unit, where he would spend the next six weeks fighting for his life. His excellent physical condition helped bring Aaron through the terrible days when his resources were stretched to the limit. In the countless hours and days of late summer 1974, Aaron endured the fiery torment of his burns as silently and stoically as a human could.
Aaron was burned over 75 per cent of his body, with especially bad areas on his back, legs, and hands. His face, except for a patch on his chin, was spared because of the ice that he had placed around his collar just before the race. As he and Dr. Park fought to stabilize his condition, fever raged because of peritonitis and ulcers caused by the intense pain. He was rushed to surgery and half his stomach was removed.
Miracuously he bounced back from this setback and his rapid recovery amazed the doctors and hospital personnel who had witnessed so many other similiar cases. Aaron cited the value of having so many prayers said for his recovery; he stated "I wouldn't have made it without all the many people who prayed for me, for I firmly believe in the power of prayer and faith in God." After several skin grafts and slow but steady progress, Aaron was released from the hospital on October 26. He still has a long way to go, with three more surgeries due to make his hands usuable again. He is able to drive his car and spends some time each day at his business. And he is looking forward to the racing season.
Aaron expressed special gratitude to close friends Ivan and Maxine Peters who were so devoted during the long hospital stay. And to Emmett and Fuzzy Hahn who shared the long vigils with Aaron's wife Donna. Aaron stated, "I want to thank everyone for all the help, the letters, the money. ..I never would have believed there were so many who cared."
The depth of his character shines through when he says, "I don't blame anyone for what has happened and I believe racing is the greatest sport in the world. The people in it are just simply tremendous. And I have faith enough to believe everything happens for a reason."
I believe those reasons are coming to pass. As Aaron and I sat eating lunch in an Oklahoma City restaurant, one of the city's leading min!sters approached the table. He was deeply moved as he told Aaron, "Your strong testimony about un- swerving faith and the ability to accept the things that happened to you have enabled God, through me, to bring about miraculous changes in three different lives this week."
Faith. Courage. Determination. The cornerstones of the character of a strong and complex man. An inspiration for all of us, and a man whose life is touching total strangers in the deepest way as God uses Aaron's faith to influence others.
Click here for the 1974 quailfying times for the race.
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