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or the wheels of their cars became entangled. Barzda's car had suffered a reported stuck throttle when entering the third turn and, after making contact, flipped over just as
Johnson's. While Barzda escaped with minor injuries, Johnson died of a skull fracture and other injuries or a broken neck.
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where he attended schools. Before heading east to further his racing career, Johnson raced jalopies and midgets on
Southern California tracks, most notably Culver City Speedway, though he is also known to have competed at Carrell Speedway as well.
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from 1956 to 1959, making six starts. He also failed to qualify or crashed in practice in eleven more race attempts, including the
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in 1958 and 1959. He captured his first and only race win in his sixth race start in June 1959 at the famed
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A month later in his next race, Johnson was killed in a third-lap crash in a Non-Championship race at
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202:(February 4, 1927 – July 19, 1959) was an American racing driver. Born in
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This biographical article related to United States auto racing is a
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At the time of his death
Johnson was reported to be a resident of
889:"Gamble proves costly, Randell [Randall] killed in crash"
271:, where he had moved about three years before his death, and
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where his car was either rammed from the side by that of
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Johnson's Vargo
Special was the same racer in which
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840:"Van Johnson fatally hurt in Williams Grove race"
248:had perished a few months earlier and in which
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1000:Sportspeople from Berks County, Pennsylvania
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869:"Van Johnson dies in 'jinx' racing car"
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279:Complete USAC Championship Car results
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1025:American auto racing biography stubs
1015:Racing drivers who died while racing
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995:Sportspeople from Greeley, Colorado
252:would be killed three years later.
877:. Press State Wire. July 20, 1959.
16:American racing driver (1927–1959)
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1010:Racing drivers from Pennsylvania
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914:Van Johnson at Champ Car Stats
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1020:Sports deaths in Pennsylvania
1005:Racing drivers from Colorado
938:. You can help Knowledge by
59:Williams Grove, Pennsylvania
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897:United Press International
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263:and a former resident of
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273:Norristown, Pennsylvania
214:Johnson competed in the
78:6 races run over 4 years
234:Williams Grove Speedway
216:United States Auto Club
813:www.champcarstats.com
219:National Championship
206:, Johnson grew up in
874:The Pittsburgh Press
269:Bally, Pennsylvania
265:Anaheim, California
208:Anaheim, California
111:Bobby Ball Memorial
227:Langhorne Speedway
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852:. July 20, 1959.
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200:Van Dale Johnson
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39:February 4, 1927
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809:"Van Johnson"
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52:July 19, 1959
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940:expanding it
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816:. Retrieved
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261:Pennsylvania
254:
250:Hugh Randall
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83:Years active
54:(1959-07-19)
990:1959 deaths
985:1927 births
246:Dick Linder
92:Best finish
22:Van Johnson
979:Categories
818:2023-06-29
795:References
257:Pittsburgh
238:Joe Barzda
104:First race
35:1927-02-04
151:Langhorne
140:First win
133:Langhorne
122:Last race
86:1956–1959
71:Champ Car
331:Points
165:Podiums
96:26th –
73:career
61:, U.S.
44:, U.S.
785:26th
546:35th
286:Year
169:Poles
936:stub
788:230
696:INDY
674:1959
568:INDY
555:1958
439:INDY
434:1957
342:INDY
337:1956
328:Pos
162:Wins
144:1959
126:1959
108:1956
98:1959
49:Died
27:Born
778:PHX
770:SAC
762:TRE
754:ISF
746:SYR
738:DUQ
730:MIL
722:SPR
713:LAN
705:MIL
700:DNQ
687:TRE
679:DAY
658:PHX
650:SAC
642:TRE
634:ISF
626:SYR
618:DUQ
610:MIL
605:DNQ
601:SPR
593:ATL
585:LAN
577:MIL
572:DNQ
560:TRE
549:30
539:PHX
531:SAC
526:DNQ
522:TRE
517:DNQ
513:ISF
504:SYR
496:DUQ
491:DNQ
487:MIL
478:SPR
473:ATL
468:DNQ
464:DET
456:MIL
447:LAN
415:PHX
407:SAC
402:DNP
398:ISF
393:DNQ
389:SYR
384:DNQ
380:DUQ
375:MIL
370:SPR
365:ATL
360:DAR
355:LAN
350:MIL
325:13
322:12
319:11
316:10
115:ASF
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.