Dinho’s car after the crash. Photo from blogdoquadriculada.blogspot.com

The ninth month of the Gregorian calendar is one of four months that have only 30 days. In the Nothern hemisphere, September is autumn. The ending of the seasons when summer sports are winding down. September in the Southern hemisphere is the equivalent of March, or the beginning of sporting seasons. With racing winding down in one hemisphere and getting started in the other, there is little doubt that September and October would register the highest amount of racing fatalities worldwide. 

Driver fatalities deserve to be remembered with proper respects paid to the deceased. Whether at the start or the end of the season, professional or amateur, old or young, these racers will forever live on in the pages of history and we remember them here.

September 1

Wallace Coleman

Grave marker for Wallace Coleman. Photo from Find A Grave

Wallace A. Coleman was born in Columbus, Indiana, on November of 1889. His father was a traveling salesman so the family relocated a few times. In 1900 they were living in Marion, Indiana. By 1910 Wallace was living in Enid, Oklahoma, working as an automobile mechanic. He soon started to work for Chevrolet, both on the Pacific coast and in New York City.

In June 1917 when he registered for the draft, Coleman was living in NY City and a Candidate in Officer’s Training School. He attained the rank first lieutenant in the aviation corps and was an instructor in the United States having served creditably in France during World War I. Upon his return to the United States in 1919, he settled in Denver, Colorado. There he took the position of assistant sales manager of the Chevrolet Motor Co. agency.

Unmarried, Coleman lived on Pearl Street.

Coleman was the winner of the 1920 Denver-Pueblo Road Race, becoming well-known as an “automobile race driver and aviator”. The following year he entered the 1921 Pikes Peak race, which was to be held on 05 September. A few days before the event Coleman took his specially prepared Chevrolet to the mountain to conduct test runs. These were required by the race organizers to determine the starting order of the cars on race day.

Pike’s Peak Hill Climb 1921. Photo from AutoBlog.com

Cars were sent off in intervals and they didn’t want a faster car overtaking a slower one. 

Coleman had arrived on Tuesday and made his first test run on Wednesday. During his second run, undertaken on Thursday, he was driving alone. The machine failed to negotiate a reverse-camber hair-pin turn and plunged into a field of boulders, bouncing off one and overturning, pinning Coleman under his car. Coleman’s chest was crushed, his skull was fractured and his back was broken in the wreck. He is supposed to have said “It won’t keep me out of the race Monday” and then passed out. Other reports say that he was never conscious. 

A newspaper account, published the same day, said that the accident was discovered by a following driver. It happened at the eleven-mile post, about 1/3rd-mile below the Glencove Inn. The other driver, Horace Frantz, could not pull the unconscious Coleman out from under the car, so he drove to the Inn to seek aid.

At the Inn, six men crowded into Frantz’ Essex and went to the scene, while a telephone message was sent to Colorado Springs for an ambulance. About the time that Coleman had been removed from the wreck and taken by stretcher to the road, the ambulance arrived. Coleman died “in the pass” while in the ambulance taking him to Colorado Springs. It was reported that Coleman’s body would be returned to Racine, Wisconsin, for burial. His parents were living in Racine, his father an executive with J. L. Case Manufacturing Company there.

Coleman was the first fatality ever in the Pikes Peak race and he would remain the only racer to lose his life on the mountain for sixty-one years until motorcycle hillclimber Bill Gross, Jr. perished after a crash in 1982.

Wallace Coleman is buried in Graceland Cemetery, block 1, lot 60, grave 3, in Racine, Wisconsin.

Bob Jusola

Bob Jusola was a veteran race car driver who lived in rural Centuria, Wisconsin. Born in Minnesota to Emil and Elvina Jusola. Bob’s dad was instrumental in getting him into racing, and was with him at every race until his death. 

Bob’s father was a first-generation Finnish-American, and Bob was proud of his Finnish heritage. He was known as “The Flying Finn,” and always had that slogan painted somewhere on his race car. His cars were always bright orange in color, and carried the number 4. His last sponsor was the Iten Chevrolet dealership.

Bob Jusola in 1980 at the Minnesota State Fair Labor Day Races. Photo from McClain Racing



Jusola had started racing in 1961, and competed at many tracks in the area. But he always raced at the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul, Minnesota. The last day of the fair featured a huge stock car race. If fact, Jusola still held the 4-lap record at the track that he set in 1964. 



On this day at the 1980 State Fair, Jusola had asked fellow driver Dick Graves to stand by as a relief driver, saying “I don’t feel all that good. If it’s hot out there, I’ll let you take over.” The day turned out to be mild and Jusola decided to start the race himself. On his 121st (of 200) lap, his car slowed and ran into the inner guardrail. He had suffered a heart attack. Taken to St. Paul’s Ramsey Hospital, Jusola died soon after being admitted. 

Robert Jusola was survived by his three daughters, Peggy, Betsy and Robbie. He was buried in Centuria, Wisconsin.

Stefan Gilboy powers through the chicane with Tony Clinkard close behind. Photo from http://www.srgtc.org.uk

Tony Clinkard and Stefan Gilboy

The accident that claimed the lives of Stefan Gilboy and Tony Clinkard, both men driving Chevrolet powered AC Cobra replicas, occurred during the 7th round of the 2002 Sports Racing and GT Challenge. 

It happened at about 12:00 on Sunday, 01 September 2002, at Cadwell Park, five miles south of Louth, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. The track had been nicknamed by fans as the “mini Nürburgring”.

While dicing for the lead of the race, Gilboy collided with Clinkard along the home straight, entering the ultra-fast Coppice bend. Both the cars slewed off at high speed, crashing hard into the tire barrier. Stefan Gilboy was killed on impact. Tony Clinkard died more than six hours later at the Lincoln County Hospital, following emergency surgery.

Stefan Gilboy’s survivors include his three children. He was 38. 

Tony Clinkard, 47, of Harwell, Oxfordshire, was survived by his wife Maria, and children Gabriella and Alexander.

September 2

Sonny Horner

Sonny Horner was a sixteen year racing veteran, having gotten involved in the sport at age eighteen where he drove and served as a mechanic. His early involvement was with the Penn Western Racing Association. Early rides were “stock cars” which he campaigned with success especially in the late 1950’s.

Sonny Horner’s #30s. Photo from greaterjohnstownspeedway.1colony.com

In the early 1960’s he moved into the faster Modified Division driving for various owners and was a top contender.

As the sprint car and super-modified type cars pushed out the modified type cars, Sonny launched the project of a new super-modified. The car was built by Don Kern, from the ground up, with the help of the whole crew which included Sonny.

This car, powered by a Chevrolet engine, was raced in 1967 and 1968 at various speedways and was the car Sonny was driving when he suffered the accident that claimed his life during a heat race of the Labor Day Special meeting at Jennerstown, Pennsylvania. The accident happened when the field took the green flag and headed into turn one and the throttle on #38 apparently stuck and the super mod crashed through the fence at 90 plus MPH, dropping over the embankment, flipped, then hit a tree backward. Injuries proved fatal at the scene. 

When not racing, Sonny worked as a Police Captain and served as a volunteer fire fighter. His job as a police officer gained him the nickname, “The Dick Tracy of Dale”, the community where he served. 

Les Ley

Les Ley (Harry Dominick) in 1964 at Riverside Park Speedway. Photo from racingthroughtime.com

Modified driver Les Ley was seriously injured on the 68th lap of a 150-lap feature race held at the Riverside Park Speedway located in Agawam, Massachusetts, on Saturday, 28 August 1964. He was running in third place at the time, driving a 1937 Chevrolet numbered M-6. Ley died of his injuries the following Wednesday, 2 September 1964, without regaining consciousness. Thirty-nine-year old at the time, Ley was a resident of Valley Stream, New York.



Ley’s real name was Harry Dominick and he raced and won mostly in venues in Long Island, New York, at tracks such as Dexter Park, Freeport Stadium and Islip Speedway. He rarely ventured racing outside of this area near his home on Long Island. He was survived by his wife Joan and daughters Lois and Linda. Burial was in Rockville Cemetery on Long Island.

September 4

Jim Shampine

More than twenty-five years after his death, Jim Shampine remains one of the most popular super modified drivers ever. He is a member of the Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame, the Cicero-North Syracuse Wall of Fame and the Oswego Speedway Hall of Fame. Shampine is the winningest driver in the history of the Oswego Speedway, which is considered the zenith of super modified racing. At that facility he collected 87 super modified victories, 5 modified victories plus 7 Super modified titles. 



Jim Shampine. Photo from www.oswegospeedwayoldtimers.com

In several aspects and instances Jim Shampine is credited for having revolutionized the design and construction of super modified. Shampine’s designs were so dominating that his cars obsoleted the rest of the field. One example was his famous rear-engined car, which was banned from Oswego Speedway on the grounds of being too fast.



In 1981 Shampine decided to prove himself behind the wheel of sprint cars. He had become so successful in super modified racing that winning had lost his fascination. So, at the age of 40 he parked his super and bought a Lloyd sprinter, joining the URC (United Racing Club) series. Shampine had his debut at the Rolling Wheels Raceway near Auburn, New York and, astonishingly, he won that event. “Winning that one felt great” Jim said. “I proved something to myself, I satisfied a desire within me and conquered a new challenge”.

Shampine did not participate in all the URC races; instead, his racing endeavors in that season were restricted to only the URC northernmost events and the Oswego Classic. 

Sadly, the same track that brought so many joys to Shampine would assist his final demise, on the 1982 Labor Day weekend. Coming off the second turn, Shampine’s car spun and was hit broadside in the driver’s door by another driver during the Modified 200, a supporting race held the night before the Super modified Oswego Classic 200, where he had qualified third fastest. Shampine was not at the wheel of his usual 8-ball car #89, but of Billy Taylor’s Modified #99. 

Jim Shampine, who lived in Clay, New York, United States, was survived by his wife Leona Barnett. He was buried in the lot 109 of section 1 of the Pine Plains Cemetery, also located in Clay, New York.

September 5

Al Chamberlain 

Al Chamberlain at Williams Grove in 1959. Photo from thevintageracer.com

Al Chamberlain was one of the first true “outlaws.” Born and raised in Altoona, Pennsylvania, United States, Al lived his entire life in the Altoona area, but drove in races across the country, wherever he could find them. 

After a highly successful racing career in modified coupes in Pennsylvania, Chamberlain bought an almost-new Hillegas Chevy sprint car in the winter of 1958-1959 and decided to go nationwide. He began by racing in Florida in February in the IMCA races at Tampa, then moved up north to run some USAC sprint races in March and April in the Midwest, by June was running in the URC on the East Coast, then hit the IMCA Fair circuit in Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska in August. He managed to make at least one unsanctioned race in Ohio, was back with USAC in the fall in Pennsylvania at Allentown, Reading and Williams Grove, and finished up with IMCA again down in Louisiana.



The next year, Chamberlain started out to do the same thing, still driving his Chevy-powered Hillegas sprinter. He ran in more IMCA races, but still managed to win URC events at Lincoln and Selinsgrove Speedways in Pennsylvania, and a Fair date at Shelby, North Carolina. In only his second IMCA season, he impressed spectators and race experts alike at the prestigious and highly-competitive races at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, finishing fourth in one feature and sixth in the other.

 Just a few days later, likely a result of his success at Des Moines, Chamberlain was given a big break. Chet Wilson, builder and owner of the famous Wilson No. 25 “Offy Killer” sprinter, gave him a chance to drive it.

Al Chamberlain (#55) and Dave Humphrey (#66) in 1960. Photo from jalopy journal.com

The car literally had been hand-built by Wilson. He made every piece of the chassis except the fiberglass nose and tail sections. It was fitted with a Chevrolet 283 c.i. fuel-injected custom-built motor. Over the years, it would be successfully driven by Harold Leep, Gordon Wooley, Jud Larson and Grady Wade. After taking his initial ride in the car at the high banks of Belleville, Kansas, Chamberlain and the rest of the IMCA entourage moved on to the big 5/8th dirt oval at the Nebraska State Fair in Lincoln. On Saturday, 04 September 1960, he timed third in the quals and finished third in his heat, but dropped out of the feature. The old sandy horse oval tended to dry out as the day worn on, giving the drivers a constantly changing track to deal with. 

The next day, Chamberlain ran into a another problem. The time trials carried over from the previous day, but a car still had to finish well in the heats to make the feature. Chamberlain had turned his own car over to his brother John, who was also a race driver. But John was struggling to make the field for the feature.

So Al planned on driving his own car in one heat and Wilson’s car in another. He would then turn his own car back over to his brother after qualifying it for the feature. Unfortunately, both cars were slated to run in the same heat race.

To solve the problem, Chet Wilson arranged for Jerry Blundy to run the Offy Killer in the heat race. Blundy’s regular ride, the Speedy Helm Offy, was running in a different heat. While the problem was solved, the results were mixed. Chamberlain failed to get his own car into the feature. Blundy, however, did manage to finish third in Wilson’s car, thus qualifying the car for the feature. So Chamberlain jumped back into the Offy Killer to run the dash. 

Again the results were not good.

Chamberlain in 1960. Photo from jalopyjournal.com

Chamberlain ran last in the dash. He felt he need more track time to figure out the changing surface. He did not need to run in the consolation, the car had already qualified for the feature, but he opted to do so just to get 10 more laps of experience.

 As a result of his qualifying run, Chamberlain started on the pole position of the race. A last minute addition to the event, Barton was starting scratch but did not intend to remain there long.On the first lap, just after the flag flew, even before the field had reached the first turn, there was a five-cap pile-up. The first row got off to a bad start and Barton came busting up on the inside. The accordion-effect caused Barton to hit Davis, who in turn was pushed into the rear of Al Chamberlain’s car. Chamberlain’s car bounced off Wyrembeck’s car, turned sideways, jumped over the inside railing and rolled.

Chamberlain in 1959. Photo from jalopyjournal.com

Because the field was not up to full speed, the wreck was not particularly violent, the car seeming to barely have enough momentum to overturn. 

The wreck was, unfortunately, deadly. The point at which the Offy Killer went over the infield fence and rolled over was precisely where the inside tunnel emerged from beneath the track. Landing upside-down on the concrete tunnel cover, the car pinned Chamberlain beneath it. Suffering from severe head and neck injuries, Chamberlain was taken to a local hospital with his brother in the ambulance by his side. He died there later the same day. 

Al Chamberlain had scored enough points before his death to finish 14th in the IMCA points for the year. 



Alton was the son of Alton, Sr., and Margaret Chamberlain. Alton was married on 26 May 1960, less than four months before his death. He was interred at the Oak Ridge Cemetery in Altoona.

Dinho Bonotti

Dinho before the crash. Photo from blogdoquadriculada.blogspot.com

Dinho Bonotti was one of the front-runners at the races held in Interlagos in the 1950s. His actual name was Edmundo André Bonotti – “Dinho” being a hypochoristic for Edmundo. He prepared his race cars himself, and was known mostly for being a formidable competitor at the 500 Quilômetros de Interlagos, a race that took place yearly on the high-speed outer ring of that circuit.



Bonotti suffered a fatal accident on Thursday, 5 September 1963 during a practice session for the 6th edition of the 500 Km of Interlagos, a Formule Libre race scheduled on the following Saturday, 7 September 1963. He was at the wheel of a single-seater built by Luciano Bonini, fitted with a powerful Chevrolet Corvette V8 engine. When focusing on beating the track record, Dinho Bonotti lost control of his car and crashed trying to correct the slide. The car entered the back of the boxes, hit several spectators, and flew off with the engine still running. Bonotti was thrown from the car and died almost instantly. The car crossed the whole area of the small paddock landing far away, near the Curva do Pinheirinho.

Dinho’s car after the crash. Photo from blogdoquadriculada.blogspot.com



According to different sources, including the Spanish newspaper “El Mundo Deportivo”, issue of 7 September 1963, three spectators were also killed in the accident. A street in the Cidade Dutra neighborhood of São Paulo, located very close to the Interlagos circuit, is named in Bonotti’s honor.

Next Chapter

In part 2 we will continue honoring those Chevrolet racers that tragically perished in the month of September. For those that we have presented already, we lift a glass and pay homage to your memory.