8 replies to this topic

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I got the below email from a friend that Jerry Wahl sent out. To me he was a legend at eldora. Sad to hear the passing of Chick Hale. He will be missed. It is with sadness that I inform you Chick passed away at 3:24 am today. Will pass along the funeral arrangements after they are made this afternoon. Many thanks for all the well wishes and prayers. Jerry

Edited by skip, 11 January 2011 - 08:54 PM.

[Dr. Speedy]

I knew him since I was 10 or so from Eldora, great guy, great driver. Geat racing advocate. :-(

[skinnykenny]

Funeral arrangements for Chick are: Visitation Friday, Jan. 14, 5-8 p.m. Funeral service, Jan. 15, 10 a.m. Kindred Funeral Home 400 Union Blvd. Englewood, Ohio

[Dr. Speedy]

You may have read it already, but they had a great write up in The Dayton Daily News yesterday. 1-12-11 If you look in ELdora's records on the website it tells you all the championships and classes he raced in at the Big E. Chick was 83 and was still competing in a mod until the recent past, don't know the exact day he totally quit. But there were still a lot of drivers who had trouble getting around him. He knew his way around Eldora. It was even better to watch him when back in "the day". Godspeed Chick

Edited by Dr. Speedy, 13 January 2011 - 11:10 AM.

[photomac]

Chick was one of a kind. Very talented.

[99TODD]

Hate to hear that. Rest In Peace CHICK! I remember a few years back Chick was sick and in the hospital when the Eldora banquet was scheduled for that weekend and they said he wanted to be released so he could get to the banquet. I believe he has not missed one for a lot of years. He will absolutely be missed......

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Is this it Dr.speedy? Updated 6:31 AM Wednesday, January 12, 2011 Through a racing career that spanned six decades, William “Chick” Hale was known for being fast on the race track. He was even faster with a smile off it. That combination of champion and charm helped turn Hale into a racing legend, as did that fireball he survived during a racing accident at Kil-Kare Speedway back in 1953. Hale died at 3:24 a.m. Tuesday. He was 83. “He was quite a sportsman,” said racing veteran Bernie Coppock, who raced against Hale and twice was teammates with him. “If he won a race, fine. If he didn’t he would come around and congratulate you. ... He was a real fan favorite. Chick was a clean driver. He didn’t beat and bang and knock people out of the way. He just drove around them.” Among his many highlights, Hale — a car owner, racer and mechanic — set fast times at the inaugural World 100 at Eldora Speedway in 1971, is credited as the only driver to race at Eldora Speedway every year under Earl Baltes’ ownership (1954-2004) and was a member of the inaugural class of the Dayton Speedway Hall of Fame in 2009. He earned his nickname as a child on his father’s hatchery in West Milton, often carrying a chick around in his pocket. “Not only was Chick my uncle, he was my best friend,” said Hale’s nephew Jerry Wahl, one of the founders of the Dayton Auto Race Fan Club and the last announcer at Dayton Speedway before it closed in 1982. “He could take a car that anyone else would have been a back-in-the-pack runner and somehow make it a winner. He was a low-buck racer but always got his cars to the front somehow.” Unofficially, Hale’s driving career started in 1949 when spectators at Dayton Speedway were invited to race their cars in a special street stock race. Hale did, popping the hubcaps off his car and finishing fourth on the intimidating high banks. “Yep, I certainly am proud of him and his memory will long live,” Wahl said. Visitation is 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at Kindred Funeral Home in Englewood. Services are 10 a.m. Saturday at Kindred. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the DARF Injured Drivers Fund, PO Box 641, Dayton, OH 45401

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Here is another article Greg Billing, Staff Writer Updated 12:17 AM Friday, September 10, 2010 When it comes to driving, William “Chick” Hale always has been fast. Just ask the Dayton police. “Good Lord, I can remember going to Dayton and we’d run stoplight to stoplight,” Hale said, recalling the start of his racing career. “The police only had those six-cylinders and we could run away and leave them. ... I’ll tell you what, some of the things I’ve done it’s a wonder I’m here. But I’m here.” Hale, who turned 83 on Aug. 23, has slowed down a little, but the Lewisburg resident’s passion for racing remains full throttle. He’s still a fixture at races, Dayton Auto Racing Fan (DARF) meetings — the trophies he donates to the injured drivers fund auction often are the most popular items — and car shows. And this weekend he hopes to be at the World 100 at Eldora Speedway. That’s where he was in 1971, becoming the World’s fastest man, in a manner of speaking. Hale set the fast time at the inaugural World 100, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this weekend, outrunning approximately 120 cars to turn the fastest qualifying lap. The actual time is difficult to chase down. But then again, so was Hale. His career started in 1949 — not counting those stoplight drag races — at the intimidating Dayton Speedway when spectators were invited to race their own cars in a special street stock race. Hale did, popping the hubcaps off his car and finishing fourth. Hale is also credited as the only driver to race Eldora Speedway every year during Earl Baltes’ ownership from 1954 through 2004. As for the World, Hale finished 10th in that first one. A rock to his radiator kept him from racing with the leaders. “I got forced down underneath somebody and they were throwing rocks up. They got caught in the radiator and it got warm,” Hale said. “I had to back off to keep from losing the motor.” Hale qualified for five World 100 features. His highest finish was fifth in 1972. His last feature came in 1977. Overall at Eldora, he claimed three late model track titles (1970, 1974-75) and six stock car championships (1975-77, 1982, 1986-87). “I ran that track when it was smaller, just a quarter-mile to start with,” Hale said. “Then it got a little bigger and a little bigger. We got going faster and faster.” For Hale, going fast wasn’t always about acceleration. Sometimes it was about ingenuity. “(Drivers) used to tell me, ‘Hey, you ain’t got much air in that left rear tire.’ I’d say, ‘Well, it’s got a slow leak in it,’ ” Hale said with a sly smile. “But when you went into the corner without any air that thing would go down and pull you around the corner. As you’d get going the tire would raise right up and go right with you. Just little things.” For Hale it was as simple as that. Just like how he came about his nickname while growing up in West Milton. “My dad ran a hatchery. Hell, I’d run around and have a chick in my pocket a lot of times,” Hale said. With his legendary career Hale has as many stories as he does trophies. Perhaps the most famous is his fire escape at Dayton Speedway in 1953. As the field roared toward the starting line the flag didn’t wave as anticipated. The field slowed except for that car behind Hale. It slammed into him and dropped the fuel tank onto the track. Hale’s car was soon engulfed in flames. Hale, with the grandstand crowd unable to see him, jumped out the right side of the car. The rolling inferno slowly made its way around the track and stopped in front of the grandstands. Hale came walking up a minute later, suffering burns and injuries that required a 10-week hospital stay. “Man, I jumped out of that sucker. It got hot in there,” he said. Friends rebuilt the car for Hale while he recovered. When he got back on his feet, Hale was faster than ever. He won with the same car his very next race.

[Dr. Speedy]

I just found out from that post that Chick and I share a birthday date of August 23. Only I was born in 1951, LOL! Both articles were great.