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Rich Vogler

{{Short description|American racing driver (1950–1990)}}

{{Infobox racing driver

| name = Rich Vogler

| image = RichVoglerPortRoyal1986.jpg

| caption = Vogler works on his sprint car in 1986

| birth_name = Richard Frank Vogler

| birth_date = {{birth date|1950|07|26}}

| birth_place = Glen Ellyn, Illinois, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1990|07|21|1950|07|26}}

| death_place = Salem, Indiana, U.S.

| titles = 1978, 1980, 1983, 1986, 1988 USAC National Midget Series Champion
1980, 1989 USAC National Sprint Car Series Champion

| awards =

| module1 = {{Infobox Champ Car driver|child=yes

| years = 1980–1983, 1985–1990

| Total_Champ_Races = 15

| Years_In_Champ = 10

| Champ_Car_Team =

| Best_Champ_Pos = 8th – 1981

| First_Champ_Race = 1981 Tony Bettenhausen 100 (Springfield)

| Last_Champ_Race = 1989 Marlboro 500 (Michigan)

| First_Champ_Win = 1981 Ted Horn 100 (DuQuoin)

| Last_Champ_Win =

| Champ_Wins = 1

| Champ_Podiums = 3

| Champ_Poles = 0

}}}}

Richard Frank Vogler{{Cite web |title=Rich Vogler |url=http://www.champcarstats.com/drivers/VoglerRich.htm |access-date=2023-06-14 |website=www.champcarstats.com}} (July 26, 1950 – July 21, 1990) was an American champion sprint car and midget car driver. He was nicknamed "Rapid Rich".[http://www.worthyofhonor.com/Inductees/Rich_Vogler.htm Biography] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060706194232/http://www.worthyofhonor.com/Inductees/Rich_Vogler.htm |date=2006-07-06 }} at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, Retrieved January 3, 2007 He competed in the Indianapolis 500 five times, and his best finish was eighth in 1989.

Racing career

Vogler was the National Alliance of Midget Auto Racing (NAMAR) midget champion in 1973. He won the midget car track championships at the Indianapolis Speedrome in 1984 and 1985. He won the Fireman Nationals midget car race at Angell Park Speedway in 1985. Vogler became the first driver to win the USAC Sprint Car and Midget championships in the same year (1980).[http://www.richvoglerscholarship.org/vogler_history.html Biography at the Rich Vogler Memorial Scholarship Fund] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928194830/http://www.richvoglerscholarship.org/vogler_history.html |date=2007-09-28 }}, Retrieved January 3, 2007 He won USAC National Sprint Car Series championships in 1980 and 1989, USAC National Midget Series championships in 1978, 1980, 1983, 1986, and 1988.

Image:RichVogler1986.jpg

He won numerous major national events: the Hut Hundred eight times, the 4-Crown Nationals midget car event four times, the Copper Classic twice, the Hoosierdome Invitational twice, the WWRA Florida Winter Nationals in 1983, and the Night Before the 500 once. In 1987 he won the inaugural Chili Bowl Midget Nationals race.[https://web.archive.org/web/20020825034138/http://www.chilibowl.com/driverprofile.asp?ID=13 Driver profile Chili Bowl Midget Nationals], Retrieved January 3, 2007

Vogler finished seventeenth in his only NASCAR Busch Series start at the North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham in 1988.[http://racing-reference.info/driver?id=vogleri01 NASCAR Statistics at racing-reference.info], Retrieved January 3, 2007

Career summary

His 134 wins (95 Midget, 35 Sprint, and four Silver Crown wins) in national events is second only to A. J. Foyt's 169. Vogler had 170 total USAC wins, and won over 200 "outlaw" (non-USAC) midget races.

=Indianapolis 500 Participation=

File:March 87C Indy Car, Hemelgarn Racing, 1987 - Collings Foundation - Massachusetts - DSC07054.jpg driven by Vogler in the 1987 Indianapolis 500]]

Vogler made his first start in Indianapolis 500 participation in 1985 where he drove the #60 Patrick Racing/Jonathan Byrd car to a 23rd-place finish. He would make consecutive starts at Indy from then on, up until 1990. During most of his IndyCar tenure he was sponsored by the Byrd whom he had a longtime professional relationship.

In 1988, Vogler was running 20+ laps down in the race when he waived his position to former Formula 1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi. USAC, however, did not see Vogler waive Fittipaldi by, and, as a result, they penalized Fittipaldi two laps. When Vogler got word of Fittipaldi's penalty, he went up to USAC to testify for him, calling the penalty "unjust." The following morning, in part because of Vogler's testimony, the penalty was overturned and Fittipaldi was credited with the runner-up position.

Death

Days before his 40th birthday, Vogler was competing in a nationally broadcast ESPN Thunder Joe James / Pat O'Connor Memorial sprint car event at Salem Speedway. He was leading the race at the time, when his car crashed with just over a lap to go. Vogler's helmet flew off his head and he suffered severe head injuries which killed him instantly.{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-07-22-sp-965-story.html|title = Vogler Killed in Sprint Car Crash| website=Los Angeles Times |date = 22 July 1990}}

Because of USAC rules on a red flag reverting to the previous completed lap, he was declared the winner of the event following his death, which was his 170th win. He was scheduled to make his NASCAR Winston Cup (now NASCAR Cup Series) series debut at Pocono Raceway the day after his fatal crash. He was awarded a 40th-place finish (as a "Did Not Start").[http://racing-reference.info/race?id=1990-16&series=W NASCAR Winston Cup results from July Pocono race], Retrieved January 3, 2007

The Pocono race was not his first attempted NASCAR Winston Cup start: two weeks before, he entered the Michigan race but failed to qualify. At the time, Vogler was scheduled to run the full Winston Cup Series in the near-future for U.S. Racing but was replaced posthumously by Ted Musgrave.

Memorials

His mother Eleanor started a college scholarship fund for aspiring Indiana students as part of Rich's concern over his sons, and the fund was started by USAC officials and sponsor Valvoline.

The first major fund-raiser for the fund has been a Daytona 500 viewing party in Indianapolis, today well-attended with a silent auction and notable names in auto racing in the state as guests. Usually, his mother and his sons appear at the annual fund-raiser. In 2008, the viewing party was moved to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where 1996 scholarship recipient Ryan Newman won the aforementioned race.

In April 1991, Winchester Speedway began the annual season-opening Rich Vogler Classic sprint car race, usually the first race at the track each year.

There is also a Team Vogler Classic at the Indianapolis Speedrome. His father Donald Vogler died in a midget car accident at the Indianapolis Speedrome on May 1, 1981.

Career awards

Motorsports career results

=Complete USAC Mini-Indy ([[Formula Vee|Formula Super Vee]]) Results=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"

! Year

! Entrant

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! Pos

! Points

1978

!

| PIR1

| TRE1

| MOS

| MIL1

| TEX

| MIL2

|style="background-color:#EFCFFF"| OMS1
{{small|22}}

| OMS2

|style="background-color:#CFEAFF"| TRE2
{{small|10}}

| PIR2

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 39th

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 33

1979

!

|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| TEX1
{{small|2}}

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| IRP
{{small|6}}

| MIL1

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| POC
{{small|26}}

| TEX2

| MIL2

| MIN1

| MIN2

|

|

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 13th

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 242

=Complete USAC Championship Car results=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"

! Year

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! Pos

! Points

1980

| ONT

|style="background:#FFCFCF;" | INDY
DNQ

| MIL

|style="background:#FFCFCF;" | POC
DNQ

| MDO

| colspan=1|

!-

!0

1981-82

|style="background:#FFCFCF;" | INDY
DNQ

| POC

|style="background:#EFCFFF;" | ILL
11

|style="background:#FFFFBF;" | DUQ
1

|style="background:#DFDFDF;" | ISF
2

|style="background:#FFCFCF;" | INDY
DNQ

!style="background:#CFEAFF;" | 8th

!style="background:#CFEAFF;" | 760

1982–83

|style="background:#EFCFFF;" | ISF
{{small|20}}

|style="background:#EFCFFF;" | DSF
{{small|19}}

|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| NAZ
{{small|3}}

|style="background:#FFCFCF;" | INDY
{{small|DNQ}}

| colspan=2|

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 13th

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 296

1983-84

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| DUQ
11

| INDY
DNP

| colspan=4|

!style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 16th

!style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 40

=Complete PPG Indy Car Series results=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
Year

! Team

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! 15

! 16

! 17

! {{Tooltip|Pos.|Championship position}}

! Pts

! Ref

1980

! BFM Enterprises

| ONT

|style="background:#FFCFCF;" | INDY
DNQ

| MIL

| POC

| MDO

| MCH

| WGL

| MIL

| ONT

| MCH

| MEX

| PHX

|colspan=5|

!-

!0

!{{cite web|url=https://racing-reference.info/drivdet/vogleri01/1980/R|title=Rich Vogler – 1980 CART Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=August 16, 2023}}

1982

!

| PHX

| ATL

| MIL

| CLE

| MCH

| MIL

| POC

| RIV

| ROA

| MCH

| PHX
{{small|DNS}}

|colspan=6|

!-

!0

!{{cite web|url=https://racing-reference.info/drivdet/vogleri01/1982/R|title=Rich Vogler – 1982 CART Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=August 16, 2023}}

rowspan=1| 1983

!

| ATL

|style="background:#ffcfcf;"| INDY
DNQ

| MIL

| CLE

| MCH

| ROA

| POC

| RIV

| MDO

| MCH

| CPL

| LAG

| PHX

| colspan=4|

!-

!0

!{{cite web|url=https://racing-reference.info/drivdet/vogleri01/1983/R|title=Rich Vogler – 1983 CART Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=August 16, 2023}}

1984

! Morales Racing

| LBH

| PHX

|style="background:#ffcfcf;"| INDY
DNQ

| MIL

| POR

| MEA

| CLE

| MCH

| ROA

| POC

| MDO

| SAN

| MCH

| PHX

| LAG

| CPL

|colspan=1|

!-

!0

!{{cite web|url=https://racing-reference.info/drivdet/vogleri01/1984/R|title=Rich Vogler – 1984 CART Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=August 16, 2023}}

1985

! Patrick Racing

| LBH

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| INDY
23

| MIL

| POR

| MEA

| CLE

| MCH

| ROA

| POC

| MDO

| SAN

| MCH

| LAG

| PHX

| MIA

| colspan=2|

!style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 54th

!style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 0

!{{cite web|url=https://racing-reference.info/drivdet/vogleri01/1985/R|title=Rich Vogler – 1985 CART Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=August 16, 2023}}

1986

! Alex Morales Racing

| PHX

| LBH

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| INDY
26

| MIL

| POR

| MEA

| CLE

| TOR

| MCH

| POC

| MDO

| SAN

| MCH

| ROA

| LAG

| PHX

| MIA

!style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 47th

!style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 0

!{{cite web|url=https://racing-reference.info/drivdet/vogleri01/1986/R|title=Rich Vogler – 1986 CART Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=August 16, 2023}}

1987

! Hemelgarn Racing

| LBH

| PHX

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| INDY
20

| MIL

| POR

| MEA

| CLE

| TOR

| MCH

| POC

| ROA

| MDO

| NAZ

| LAG

| MIA

|colspan=2|

!style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 43rd

!style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 0

!{{cite web|url=https://racing-reference.info/drivdet/vogleri01/1987/R|title=Rich Vogler – 1987 CART Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=August 16, 2023}}

1988

! Machinists Union Racing

| PHX

| LBH

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| INDY
{{small|17}}

| MIL

| POR

| CLE

| TOR

| MEA

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MCH
{{small|15}}

|style="background:#CFEAFF;"| POC
{{small|11}}

| MDO

| ROA

| NAZ

| LAG

| MIA

|colspan=2|

!style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 32nd

!style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 2

!{{cite web|url=https://racing-reference.info/drivdet/vogleri01/1988/R|title=Rich Vogler – 1988 CART Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=August 16, 2023}}

rowspan=2| 1989

!rowspan=1| A. J. Foyt Enterprises

| PHX

| LBH

|style="background:#CFEAFF;"| INDY
{{small|8}}

| MIL

| DET

| POR

| CLE

| MEA

| TOR

|colspan=8|

!rowspan=2 style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 25th

!rowspan=2 style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 5

!rowspan=2|{{cite web|url=https://racing-reference.info/drivdet/vogleri01/1989/R|title=Rich Vogler – 1989 CART Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=August 16, 2023}}

Arciero Racing

|colspan=9|

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MCH
{{small|28}}

| POC

| MDO

| ROA

| NAZ

| LAG

|colspan=2|

1990

! Arciero Racing

| PHX

| LBH

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| INDY
{{small|DNQ}}

| MIL

| DET

| POR

| CLE

| MEA

| TOR

| MCH

| DEN

| VAN

| MDO

| ROA

| NAZ

| LAG

|

! -

! 0

! {{cite web|url=https://racing-reference.info/drivdet/vogleri01/1990/R|title=Rich Vogler – 1990 CART Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=August 16, 2023}}

=NASCAR=

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

==Winston Cup Series==

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:75%"
colspan=45| NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year

! Team

! No.

! Make

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! 15

! 16

! 17

! 18

! 19

! 20

! 21

! 22

! 23

! 24

! 25

! 26

! 27

! 28

! 29

! {{Tooltip|NWCC|NASCAR Winston Cup classification}}

! Pts

! Ref

1990

! Ray DeWitt

! 50

! Chevy

| DAY

| RCH

| CAR

| ATL

| DAR

| BRI

| NWS

| MAR

| TAL

| CLT

| DOV

| SON

| POC

| style="background:#FFCFCF;"| MCH
{{small|DNQ}}

| DAY

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| POC
{{small|40}}

| TAL

| GLN

| MCH

| BRI

| DAR

| RCH

| DOV

| MAR

| NWS

| CLT

| CAR

| PHO

| ATL

! NA

! -

! {{cite web|url=https://www.racing-reference.info/drivdet/vogleri01/1990/W|title=Rich Vogler – 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=April 18, 2023}}

==Busch Series==

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:75%"

!colspan=42| NASCAR Busch Series results

Year

! Team

! No.

! Make

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! 15

! 16

! 17

! 18

! 19

! 20

! 21

! 22

! 23

! 24

! 25

! 26

! 27

! 28

! 29

! 30

! {{Tooltip|NBSC|NASCAR Busch Series classification}}

! Pts

! Ref

1988

! Bruce Lawmaster

! 31

! Ford

| DAY

| HCY

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| CAR
{{small|17}}

| MAR

| DAR

| BRI

| LNG

| NZH

| SBO

| NSV

| CLT

| DOV

| ROU

| LAN

| LVL

| MYB

| OXF

| SBO

| HCY

| LNG

| IRP

| ROU

| BRI

| DAR

| RCH

| DOV

| MAR

| CLT

| CAR

| MAR

! 76th

! 112

! {{cite web|url=https://www.racing-reference.info/drivdet/vogleri01/1988/B|title=Rich Vogler – 1988 NASCAR Busch Series Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=April 18, 2023}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{Commons category|Rich Vogler}}

  • {{Racing-Reference driver|Rich_Vogler}}
  • {{Find a Grave|1996}}
  • [https://richvoglerscholarship.com/ Rich Vogler Memorial Scholarship Fund webpage]

{{Patrick Racing}}

{{Hemelgarn Racing}}

{{Machinists Union Racing}}

{{Chili Bowl Midget Nationals Winners}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vogler, Rich}}

Category:1950 births

Category:1990 deaths

Category:Champ Car drivers

Category:SCCA Formula Super Vee drivers

Category:American Speed Association drivers

Category:Indianapolis 500 drivers

Category:National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees

Category:Racing drivers from Chicago

Category:Racing drivers from Illinois

Category:Racing drivers who died while racing

Category:NASCAR drivers

Category:Sports deaths in Indiana

Category:Filmed deaths in motorsport

Category:USAC Silver Crown Series drivers

Category:EuroInternational drivers

Category:A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers