32 years ago

[Hoosierfan22]

We lost Richie Evans.   RIP #61

[Chargincharlie]

I seen him win his last race at Oswego.

[leadfoot4]

I still remember opening the front door of my house, the morning after the crash, and reaching out to my front porch, and picking up the newspaper, and seeing the picture of Richie's crumpled car, right on the front page. I hadn't heard the sad news at that point, and knowing how the Gannett corporation wasn't a big supporter of auto racing, I immediately knew that this wasn't good news. Then my focus shifted from the picture to the text, and read about the tremendous loss, that short track racing had just encountered.


RIP, Richie..........

[cwm]

  Would a Hans have changed things?

[Chargincharlie]

Lost a bunch of guys back then thought it was because of the frames back then correct me if I'm wrong.

[RPark]

Cars where defiantly not built like today . From the thickness of the cage to the way it is even bent . Just to mention a couple things . I was little back  then but I got to polish his cars a couple times down at Dewitt's in pavilion . Still remember he made me use pledge furniture polish .

[leadfoot4]

Lost a bunch of guys back then thought it was because of the frames back then correct me if I'm wrong.

The assumption, back then, was that the frames had gotten too rigid, therefore when they hit something, the car didn't give but the driver did. Not really sure if a HANS device would have helped, either. With respect to Richie's death, there were NUMEROUS theories as to what happened, but I don't think that anything substantial was ever proven. Some even thought that he had suffered some sort of medical issue, moments before the crash, as the idea of him just losing control of the car and plowing into the wall, wasn't conceivable. He was far too good of a driver, to think that he simply "lost it". But one would have thought that an autopsy would have shown if a medical condition was the cause, and I never heard of any information along that line being released. Sadly, this will simply remain one of life's tragic mysteries.....

[dennis1234]

I would think they did autopsy you would think anyway That Nascar would have wanted to know