Bill Clemans

By Stan Kalwasinski

Bill Clemans hailed from Mishawaka , Ind. and he made an impression on Chicago area short track stock car racing for about three years in the early 1950’s.  Wheeling his 1940 Ford No. 79, Clemans won feature races at Illiana Motor Speedway in Schererville , Ind. , Santa Fe Park Speedway near Willow Springs and Chicago ’s 87th Street Speedway .

Clemans began his racing career at tracks in and around the South Bend/Mishawaka area, including South Bend Motor Speedway and Playland Park Speedway.  He was also a competitor at other Indiana tracks including Elkhart Motor Speedway, Plymouth Speedway and Osceola Speedway and also ventured to tracks in southern Michigan including Galesburg Speedway.

Clemans ventured over to Illiana in 1952 and was a front runner, being named among Illiana’s “Big Seven” after the 1952 season was completed.  Among the other notable drivers on the dirt at Illiana for the year were Don Oldenberg, Bob Perrine, Marion Lowry, “Happy Dan” Walters, Nick Trgovich and Hal Ruyle, who won the season finale 100-lapper in October.

Clemans began racing at the paved 87th Street oval the following year and also tried out the new Santa Fe dirt facility, which featured both quarter-mile and “short” half-mile tracks.  Clemans guided his trusty ‘40 Ford to victory in Santa Fe’s first ever held 200-lap event, winning the 100-mile contest on June 21, 1953 ahead of fellow Indiana speedsters Bob Perrine and Dick Raiza.  He was almost unbeatable at 87th Street in 1953, winning numerous features along the way.  Clemans captured the 100-lap season finale at 87th Street on October 3, 1953 over Hal Ruyle and Bill Van Allen. He would also score wins at both Santa Fe and 87th Street in 1954, winning 87th Street ’s 100-lap July Championship on July 27.  Suffering a flat tire in the final lap, Clemans held on to beat Red Duvall and Van Allen.

As quickly as he appeared on the local scene, Clemans was gone from the Chicago area picture by 1955, choosing to run at tracks closer to his home, which began featuring a more modified type of stock car.  Clemans began racing the “modified stocks” at tracks through the Midwest, including tracks in Ohio .  He was a track record holder for a time at Ohio ’s Kil-Kare Speedway.

Tragedy struck on August 10, 1957 at the Pinecrest Speedway in Maple Ontario , Canada , near Toronto .  On hand for a big modified stock car race at the quarter-mile paved track, Clemans was practicing for the event when his car’s throttle apparently stuck.  Clemans crashed hard and a fire ensued.  The Indiana driver was badly burned and rushed to a hospital in Toronto .  Clemans passed away two weeks later on August 24.  One of northern Indiana ’s top stock car drivers and a winner in the Chicagoland area was gone.

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