Richard Frank Vogler (July 26, 1950 – July 21, 1990) was an American champion

sprint car Sprint cars are high-powered open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia, New ...

and

midget car Midget cars, also speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on most ...

driver. He was nicknamed "Rapid Rich".Biography
at the

National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame The National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame is an American Hall of Fame and museum for midget cars. The Hall of Fame is located at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin Sun Prairie is a city in Dane County in the U.S. state of Wi ...

, Retrieved January 3, 2007 He competed in the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

five times, and his best finish was eighth in 1989.

Racing career

Vogler was the National Alliance of Midget Auto Racing (NAMAR) midget champion in 1973. He won the midget car track championships at the Indianapolis Speedrome in 1984 and 1985. He won the Fireman Nationals midget car race at

Angell Park Speedway Angell Park Speedway has a 1/3 mile () dirt racetrack located in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. The track has been run by the city's fire department since 1903. Racing occurs every Sunday approximately Memorial Day until Labor Day. Special racing event ...

in 1985. Vogler became the first driver to win the USAC Sprint Car and Midget championships in the same year (1980).Biography at the Rich Vogler Memorial Scholarship Fund
, Retrieved January 3, 2007 He won USAC National Sprint Car Series championships in 1980 and 1989,

USAC National Midget Series The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapol ...

championships in 1978, 1980, 1983, 1986, and 1988. He won numerous major national events: the

Hut Hundred Terre Haute Action Track (also The Action Track) is a half-mile dirt track racing, dirt racetrack located at the Vigo County, Indiana, fairgrounds on U.S. Route 41 in Indiana, U.S. Route 41 along the south side of Terre Haute, Indiana. The track ...

eight times, the 4-Crown Nationals midget car event four times, the Copper Classic twice, the Hoosierdome Invitational twice, the WWRA Florida Winter Nationals in 1983, and the

Night Before the 500 The Dave Steele Carb Night Classic is a United States Auto Club dirt track car race held near Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, which takes place in late May before the Indianapolis 500 at the nearby Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Over its his ...

once. In 1987 he won the inaugural Chili Bowl Midget Nationals race.Driver profile Chili Bowl Midget Nationals
Retrieved January 3, 2007 Vogler finished seventeenth in his only

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

start at the

North Carolina Speedway Rockingham Speedway, formerly North Carolina Motor Speedway and later North Carolina Speedway is a racetrack located near Rockingham, North Carolina. It is also known as The Rock and previously hosted NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, ...

in Rockingham in 1988.

Career summary

His 134 wins (95 Midget, 35 Sprint, and four Silver Crown wins) in national events is second only to

A. J. Foyt Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. (born January 16, 1935) is an American retired auto racing driver who has raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes United States Automobile Club Champ cars, sprint cars, and midget cars. H ...

's 169. Vogler had 170 total USAC wins, and won over 200 "outlaw" (non-USAC) midget races.

Indianapolis 500 Participation

Vogler made his first start in Indianapolis 500 participation in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

where he drove the #60 Patrick Racing/

KFC KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...

car to a 23rd-place finish. He would make consecutive starts at Indy from then on, up until 1990. During most of his IndyCar tenure he was sponsored by KFC, whom he had a longtime professional relationship with. In 1988, Vogler was running 20+ laps down in the race when he waived his position to former

Formula 1 Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

champion

Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi (; born 12 December 1946) is a Brazilian former automobile racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the Indianapolis 500 twice each and the CART championship once. Moving up from Formula Two, Fittip ...

. USAC, however, did not see Vogler waive Fittipaldi by, and, as a result, they penalized Fittipaldi two laps. When Vogler got word of Fittipaldi's penalty, he went up to USAC to testify for him, calling the penalty "unjust." The following morning, in part because of Vogler's testimony, the penalty was overturned and Fittipaldi was credited with the runner-up position.

Death

Days before his 40th birthday, Vogler was competing in a nationally broadcast ESPN Thunder '' Joe James / Pat O'Connor Memorial'' sprint car event at

Salem Speedway Salem Speedway is a long paved oval racetrack in Washington Township, Washington County, near Salem, Indiana, United States, approximately south of Indianapolis. The track has 33° degrees of banking in the corners. Major auto racing series ...

. He was leading the race at the time, when his car crashed with just over a lap to go. Vogler's helmet flew off his head and he suffered severe head injuries that proved to be fatal. Because of USAC rules on a red flag reverting to the previous completed lap, he was declared the winner of the event following his death, which was his 170th win. He was scheduled to make his NASCAR Winston Cup (now

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

) series debut at

Pocono Raceway Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as ''The Tricky Triangle'', is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA M ...

the day after his fatal crash. He was awarded a 40th-place finish (as a "Did Not Start").NASCAR Winston Cup results from July Pocono race
Retrieved January 3, 2007 The Pocono race was not his first attempted NASCAR Winston Cup start: two weeks before, he entered the Michigan race but failed to qualify. At the time, Vogler was scheduled to run the full Winston Cup Series in the near-future for U.S. Racing but was replaced posthumously by

Ted Musgrave Theodore Musgrave (born December 18, 1955) is an American former stock car racing driver. Pre-NASCAR Musgrave's father, Elmer, was a famous short-track racer in the Midwest who raced for over 25 years at Soldier Field, O'Hare, Waukegan, and Wi ...

Memorials

His mother Eleanor started a college scholarship fund for aspiring Indiana students as part of Rich's concern over his sons, and the fund was started by USAC officials and sponsor Valvoline. The first major fund-raiser for the fund has been a

Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...

viewing party in Indianapolis, today well-attended with a silent auction and notable names in auto racing in the state as guests. Usually, his mother and his sons appear at the annual fund-raiser. In 2008, the viewing party was moved to the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...

, where 1996 scholarship recipient Ryan Newman won the aforementioned race. In April 1991,

Winchester Speedway Winchester Speedway is a half-mile paved oval motor racetrack in White River Township, Randolph County, just outside Winchester, Indiana, approximately northeast of Indianapolis. It seats 4000 spectators. It is also known as the "World's Faste ...

began the annual season-opening Rich Vogler Classic sprint car race, usually the first race at the track each year. There is also a Team Vogler Classic at the Indianapolis Speedrome. His father Donald Vogler died in a midget car accident at the Indianapolis Speedrome on May 1, 1981.

Career awards

*He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1992. *He was inducted in the

in 1986. *He was inducted in the

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, Sp ...

Rich Vogler
at the

in 2010.

Motorsports career results

Complete USAC Mini-Indy (
Formula Super Vee Formula Super Vee was an open-wheel racing series that took place in Europe and the United States from 1970 to 1990. The formula was created as an extension of Formula Vee, a racing class that was introduced in 1959. Formula Super Vee in Europe was ...
) Results

Complete USAC Championship Car results

Complete PPG Indy Car Series results

NASCAR

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

Busch Series

References

External links

* *
Rich Vogler Memorial Scholarship Fund webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vogler, Rich 1950 births 1990 deaths Champ Car drivers SCCA Formula Super Vee drivers American Speed Association drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees Racing drivers from Chicago Racing drivers who died while racing NASCAR drivers Sports deaths in Indiana People from Washington County, Indiana Filmed deaths in motorsport USAC Silver Crown Series drivers EuroInternational drivers A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers