Rich Vogler’s midget

As part of the 2018 Performance Racing Industry (PRI) trade show in Indianapolis the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum presented the “Hoosier Thunder: Indiana’s Short Track Heritage” exhibit which included Rich Vogler’s midget.

Rich Vogler won his first United States Auto Club (USAC) national midget title in 1978, and then would go on to win the national midget championship in 1980 (the same year he won the national sprint car title), 1983, 1986 and 1988. Vogler repeated as the USAC sprint car champion in 1989. Vogler was the first man to win the midget and sprint title in the same season.

During his career, Rich won all the prestigious midget races - the inaugural Chili Bowl Nationals in 1987, the Night Before the 500 at Indianapolis Raceway Park in 1978, the WWRA Florida Winter Nationals in 1983, the “Hut Hundred” eight times, the midget portion of the 4-Crown Nationals  at Eldora Speedway  four times, the midget portion of the  Copper World Classic twice and the Hoosierdome Invitational twice. Vogler also drove in the Indianapolis 500-mile race five times, frequently qualifying for the race with very few practice laps.   

His record of 134 USAC National Series wins - 95 Midget, 35 Sprint, and four Silver Crown wins is second only to AJ Foyt’s total of 169 wins. Vogler was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1992 and into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1986.

Rich Vogler lost his life the day before his 40^th birthday, July 20, 1991 in a crash during live-televised USAC sprint car race at Salem Indiana.   Rich was leading the race at the time of the accident and the race was considered complete after the accident with Rich declared the victor for his 134^th and final USAC national win.   

All photographs by the author