Photos and Statistics of the
Midget Racing at Cejay Stadium in Wichita, Kansas
1945 – 1949
Page 1
Emmett Taylor completes his time trial in his own midget at Cejay Stadium on September 2, 1945. The car was orange in color. Click your mouse on the photo above to see another of this car with Emmett Taylor at right and Carl Oliver at left – Vickey Cummings collection
Jess Engle of Tulsa, Oklahoma in the #11 leads Milton “Tiny” Wainwright of Kansas City, Missouri in Carl Oliver’s #3 at Cejay Stadium on September 16, 1945 – Vickey Cummings collection
Buzz Barton in Emmett Taylor’s orange #2, Clarence Merritt in Peaches Campbell’s #7jr. and Bud Camden in Duke Westerhaus’ #23 at Cejay Stadium on September 16, 1945. Merritt went on to win the feature on this date. The #23 may have been behind in this photograph but that proved to be a rare occasion as that one midget won a record 11 of the 69 midget feature races run at Cejay Stadium between 1945 and 1949, seven with Bud Camden driving and four with Don Brown behind the wheel – Vickey Cummings collection
Jim Roper of Halstead, Kansas in the #27 leads Buzz Barton of Chickasha, Oklahoma in Emmett Taylor’s orange #2 at Cejay Stadium on September 16, 1945 – Vickey Cummings collection
Bud Camden in Duke Westerhaus’ Ford V8-80 #23 leads Don Brown and D. A. Clem in his own front-wheel-drive Menasco #13 while another driver uses the high groove to challenge Clem during this race on the new 1/5 mile racetrack in 1945. Note that the car in fifth place has spun out and is sitting backward on the racetrack – Buddy Carroll collection
Craig Hanson in the #96 midget and Bob McKim in Lee McDonald’s black #3 midget on the outside, take evasive measures to miss the white #3 sitting precariously on the racetrack in 1946 – Darrin McKim collection
#47 Ernie Powell and the driver of the unidentified midget on the outside take evasive measures to avoid crashing into #96 Craig Hanson who is sitting backward on the racetrack in 1946 – Darrin McKim collection
Charlie Lutkie was driving this #7 midget when he tried to hook the left front tire over a pipe infield marker and flipped the car across the track to the outside wall. Lutkie suffered minor injuries and, always the showman, insisted the men carrying the stretcher to the ambulance stop long enough that he could raise up and wave to the fans before being transported to the hospital.
The car was constructed, owned, and maintained by Emmett Taylor of Wichita. Tommy Vardeman is also known to have driven this car for Taylor on occasion.
The man in the baseball cap on the racetrack at right is Jim Roper who won the first what is now the NASCAR Nextel Cup race in Charlotte, North Carolina about a year after this photo was taken in 1948.
The third boy from left looking through the fence is Bill Nelson who went on to become an outstanding local driver. The boy fifth from left is Walt McWhorter who went on to drive sprint cars with UMCA, NCRA, and is the all time feature race winner at “81” Speedway in Wichita, Kansas – Jim Edwards photo
Jim Edwards photo from the Darrin McKim collection
The #30 midget under the grandstand was owned by Jack Hinkle and driven on that night be Dean “Casey” Case:
“I'm certain that was the night my father nearly lost his life by being too aggressive, losing control, going through a barbed wire fence nearly decapitating him. Long recovery with many stitches.” - - - Joyce (Case) James
Above are the midget racing photos from Cejay Stadium.
to go on to page 2 where you can view the winners and the known statistics from these races.
