Clyde Rea Bray
1902 - 1941
Clyde Rea Bray was born in Kansas on January 30, 1902. He was making his home at Hutchinson, Kansas and working as a policeman there when he made his first known appearance at a Cowley County, Kansas racetrack at Winfield, Kansas by entering the July 28, 1928 auto races with a Frontenac. He set the fastest time in time trials with a one-lap track record time of 33.4 seconds, then finished fourth in the first two heats, second place the third heat, and third in the consolation race only to sit out the feature event.
Bray was entered as the driver of Wendell Sparling’s Superior Special Hisso at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson on both September 17, 1928 and September 21, 1928 but he did not finish in the money on either date. Bray would later purchase that car and race it himself.
In 1929, Bray either built or acquired two Frontenac racing cars and kept them both busy for the next couple of years. One carried the #4 while the other was a #7.
On September 20, 1929, Bray set the fastest time in time trials at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson, Kansas tying the track record of 31.0 seconds. He then finished 2nd in the State Fair Dash and 6th in the feature race.
On October 6, 1929, Bray ventured west to Logan County , Kansas. Although his was not the fastest car in time trials, he did win all three of the races he entered on the American Legion racetrack at Oakley, Kansas that day.
Bray returned to Cowley County on July 4, 1930 racing the Frontenac at the Arkansas City Speedway at Arkansas City, Kansas. He was second quick in time trials with a one lap time of 31.2 seconds. Despite loosing his right front tire, he still managed to finish third in the first heat but that did not qualify him for the feature. Bray replaced the tire and returned to win the second ten lap heat race in track record time of 5:17.2 and finished the day with a second place finish in the feature behind Pat Cunningham, of St. Joseph, Missouri. Bray’s ten lap track record at Arkansas City is not known to have never been broken.
On July 25, 1930, Bray finished second to Pat Cunningham in a couple of races at the Bo Stearns racetrack north of Wichita, Kansas before blowing a tire in the feature race and not completing that event.
On September 14, 1930, Bray won the Sweepstakes race at the one-mile American Leigon racetrack at Oakley, Kansas turning the eight miles in 6:01.
On September 15, 1930, Bray lowered his own 1-lap track record at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson with a time of 30.8 seconds. He also finished 2nd to Archie Powell in the feature race.
On September 19, 1930, Bray lowered his own 1-lap track record again at the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson with a time of 30.4 seconds only to have his record broken later that same day by Archie Powell. Bray won a heat race and finished 2nd to Powell in another heat race and the trophy dash before Bray won the sweepstakes race.
That fall, Bray returned to the 1-mile American Legion racetrack at Oakley, Kansas where he competed in the races run there on September 14, 1930 and on October 26, 1930.
Bray’s last known appearance in Cowley County was in Russell D. Hill’s Frontenac at the Cowley County Fairgrounds on August 1, 1931. He set another one lap track record in time trials that day only to have it broken by Tex West later that same afternoon. After winning the “three-cornered” race, Bray finished 2nd to Tex West in their heat and in the feature race.
On August 7, 1932, Bray set the 11th fastest time in time trials at 33.2 seconds at the Bo Stearns Racetrack north of Wichita, Kansas. Bray also won a heat race that day.
On August 19, 1932, Bray turned in the 7th quickest time of the day in time trials of 32.5 seconds at the Shelby County Fairgrounds in Harlan, Iowa.
On September 18, 1933, Bray entered the races at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson but could only muster a 6th place in the consolation race.
By September 21, 1936, Bray had moved to Topeka, Kansas but he again raced at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson. This time, he finished 8th quickest in time trials with a lap of 29.4 seconds, 5th in his heat race, second in the consolation race behind Tex West, and 8th in the feature race driving the Keyes Special #K1 from Dallas, Texas.
ABOVE: Rae Bray raced at the Kansas State Fair again just four days later on September 25, 1936. He is shown here in the Bray & Coulter Special #700 blown Fronty he drove that day to a time of 31.3 seconds in qualifying time trials – Don Radbruch collection
ABOVE: Rea Bray competed in at least five races at Oakland Speedway, Oakland, California between 1939 and 1941. He finished second to Ray Gardner in a 50-mile race there in 1939 and then came in fifth in the Oakland “500” that fall. His consistent finishes earned him second place in the A.R.A. points in 1939 behind champion Wally Schock. Bray is shown here at Oakland Speedway in a car he drove there c1940 – Ted Wilson photo
RIGHT: Rea Bray, standing at left, had purchased the #35 big car at right, complete with a 358 cubic inch four-cylinder Hisso engine, from Vic Felt of Denver, Colorado. For some reason, Bray replaced that engine with a heavier 272 cubic inch overhead valve six-cylinder Hispano-Suiza passenger car engine. Click your mouse on the photo at right to see a better photograph of this engine in the car - Chalmers Davies photos from the Don Radbruch collection
BELOW: Rea Bray is pictured below sailing over the south fence at the Oakland Speedway, Oakland, California on the 356th lap of a 500-mile race there on Labor Day, 1941. The heavier engine is believed to have led to shock absorber failure making the car difficult to drive and the poor handling was probably a major contributor to this accident. Bray received fatal injuries after being thrown from the car during the crash. Click your mouse on the photo below to see more photos taken after the accident - Chalmers Davies photos from the Don Radbruch collection
