Fire has been a dreaded part of auto racing from Day One. As with most things, there are particular examples of this that stand out
in history and in the memories of racing people - perhaps because someone really prominent was involved or simply because more photos were taken of that event than others like it. I will certainly show what is perhaps the Northeast's most infamous racing fire, the Rene Charland "French Barbeque" fire; but, I will also show as many other stock car racing fires as I can find in my 53 images files. It's nothing glorious - just a part of racing that can't be ignored.

          Leave it to Rene Charland to make a joke about the fire that nearly ended not only his career, but his life. He wrecked at Albany - Saratoga Speedway, a home track of sorts, and the familiar white #3 burst into flames. Were it not for diminutive Ed Flemke, who rushed in and pulled him out, the then - four - time NASCAR National Sportsman champion would likely have died. The accident left him burned enough to stall an otherwise successful drive for a fifth championship. Poetically, Charland's first win after the fire was also at  Albany - Saratoga Speedway.

John Grady Photo via Dave Dykes The car is fully engulfed here.	Source Unknown Likely a Grady Photo A rare color shot, probably with no flash.	Source Unknown Likely a Grady Photo Another color shot.	Courtesy of M. P. Roy In this familiar shot of the fire, the coupe is pretty well shot by this point.
Courtesy of J. Canfield Charland is down, on the track , behind the fire as Flemke looks on.	Courtesy of Ron Coonradt Another shot of the same fire.	Courtesy of Ron Flemke.com Site Another shot that shows how close Flemke ended up to the fire with his Cent Sign car [black].	Courtesy of Ron Wilson Another Charland fire - this time at Thompson. One prominent driver said Rene told him he could store gas in his roll cage. Might expalin the combustiblility of his cars.

 
Courtesy of Robert Clock
The aftermath.

Courtesy of Midstate Club Thought to be the Bill Wimble fire: Salt City race, 1964.	Courtesy of James Osterhoudt Another shot of what is said to be the Bill Wimble fire. It looks like the same situation [on  the guard rail].	8MM Capture,  Likely From a Dan Ody Film Another shot that is siad to be the Wimble fire.	Frank Simek Photo Courtesy of Fred DeCarr Collection Another shot of another fire. That might be Ken Meahl's 28 nearby.
Bob Bruno Collection Courtesy of John Rock The remains of Bob Bruno's Vic Wolfe - owned 66 after it was left on the track at Syracuse and subsequently struck.	Source Unknown Bill Slater's 1964 fire at Trenton.	Source Unknown The disastrous "big fire" at the first Langhorne Mod/spt stock car race.	Courtesy of Otto Graham Jerry Cook's pit fire at Langhorne.
Courtesy of Dirt Track Digest Jerry Cook's pit fire at Langhorne. Further engulfed.	Courtesy of Philly Fun Guide.com More of the disastrous "big fire" at the first Langhorne Mod/spt stock car race.	Courtesy of Jalopy Journal An Ed Flemke fire - track not known.	Courtesy of PublicFotki.com All I know is it's Langhorne, and it's a sportsman coupe.
	Lew Boyd Collection A car burns on the backstretch at Syracuse as early runners such as Red Fotte [J2] wait on frontstretch.

                  The track in Naples, NY was strictly a 1950's flash - in - the - pan place, but it can boast of being the starting off point for the great career of Dutch Hoag. The track had one wicked fire involving multiple jalopies around 1952.

Courtesy of NYMM Bill Rogers' 192 and Hap Brown's C22 are involved here.	Courtesy of Dean Wright A track worker looks on helplessly as car 12 lights up.	Courtesy of Dean Wright The fire takes its own course.	Courtesy of Dean Wright Wreckers begin removing burnt hulks.
	Courtesy of Dean Wright A driver looks on helplessly as his car 19 lights up.	Courtesy of Dean Wright Car 2 sits in relative safety in the infield as many others are destroyed on the track.

Bob Mackey Photo Couurtesy of Ardyce Blohm Canadian Pierre LaFrance lights up the Airborne Park Speedway in the earlier 1960's.	Bob Mackey Photo Couurtesy of Ardyce Blohm More Pierre LaFrance fire.	Courtesy of Cho Lee The local fire truck mosewys in and cars wait to line up as Wayne Chandler's #3Sr. Hudson catches fire at Otter Creek Speedway in Waltham, VT in 1961. [He's 2nd from left]	Courtesy of Cho Lee The beautiful sportsman cooupe of Canadian Ray Forte burne to the ground at Catamount in the mid 1960's. Catamount stars Beaver and Bob Dragon [both firemen] stand at far left in driver suits.
Couldn't Make Out the Credit  A particularly bad looking fire in the Eddie Tysko car.	Gater Photo by Ron DeYullo The Joe Lawrence Mustang [seemingly often given to disaster] lights up after a wreck.	Gater Photo by Ron DeYullo The Joe Lawrence Mustangs 622 and another car involved at Claremont Speedway.	Claremont Daily Eagle Photo via Ernie Bodreau Roger Ranade's car in an early Claremont jalopy fire.
Lew Boyd Collection Likely Russ Bergh Photo Ken Shoemaker's recently - built Chris Drellos - owned 111 burns during a pit stop in a Fonda Long distance race for which he had qualified fastest.	Kinda Looks Like a Simek Photo eh ? Ken Shoemaker's fire from another angle.	Courtesy of Ken Gypson This burning JO car may well have been some sort of demo derby car  for Ollie Palmer.	Lew Boyd Collection Likely Russ Bergh Photo The infamous Fake/Bellinger wreck at Fonda. Fake's car on fire.
Courtesy of Gerry LaVallee Fonda safety personnel have the Dick Bennett 71 [driver UNK] under control.	Courtesy of Neal Davis The famiiar 901 of Jean Guy Chartand fires up somewhere in Vermont.	Cavalcade of Auto Racing Photo The supermod of Reino Tulonen erupts in flame somewhere at a New England track.	Courtesy of John Rock A driver watches as his Airborne Park Speedway car burns to the ground.

Return to the Main Page
Return to the Main News Page
Return to the All Links Page