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The guy who didn't win the Daytona 500. Or did he?
1959, the very first Daytona 500, and two cars flashed neck and neck across the finish line at 140 miles per hour… the flag went down and flagman Johnny Bruner and NASCAR owner Bill France declared the winner… Johnny Beauchamp. He was from Harlan, Iowa and his home track was Playland Speedway, Council Bluffs.
Beauchamp was hailed into the winners circle, kissed the trophy queen as reporters snapped photos, and hustled off to the press trailer for interviews. A Midwestern farm boy had pulled it off: he beat NASCAR’s best on NASCAR’s newest track at its premiere event.
But the glow of the win didn’t last long. Sixty one hours after the race NASCAR owner Bill France changed his decision, taking the win from Beauchamp and awarding it instead to Lee Petty.
Did NASCAR owner Bill France merely correct an error, or was there something more sinister going on?
There are several things to consider. This was a relatively new sport, and many reporters didn’t understand it. France claims to have discovered a photograph that shows Petty slightly in the lead across the finish line. Despite the fact he didn’t release the photograph, reporters bought into the story. (By the way, to this day no photo snapped at the exact moment of the cars crossing the line has been located).
But those familiar with the sport… like those in the pit crews and other drivers… know crossing the line doesn’t mean anything if one racer is a full lap ahead. And those in the crew say Beauchamp stopped four times, compared to Petty’s five or more pit stops, placing Beauchamp at least a lap in the lead.
Another consideration is a lack of sophistication of the lap counters. In this early time there was no mechanization. The wives and girlfriends of the drivers and mechanics sat in the bleachers and counted the laps, along with patrons who were given free tickets, with no check to see if they were a fan or relative of any of the drivers. There actually was a man whose job was to oversee the scoring, and perhaps he judiciously did just that. But his objectivity is suspect… he had just formed the Lee Petty Fan Club.
There was also some allegation of southern bias. According to Dr. John Havick in “The Ghosts of NASCAR,” most Iowa and Nebraska fans felt the “good old boy reporters were pulling for a southerner to win,” and indeed all twelve reporters that jumped on the Lee Petty bandwagon were from the south. One wife called the track’s announcer “a Yankee,” and it wasn’t meant as a compliment.
Beauchamp returned to Iowa and started a business, the Frontier Trading Post, on North Broadway in Council Bluffs. But racing was in his blood, so he kept returning to the track.
Beauchamp never got over the feeling he was cheated out of the 1959 win, something over which Lee Petty publicly gloated. So when they met on the track two years later the adrenaline was high.
Beauchamp afterward insisted it was a pure accident when he slammed into the rear of Petty’s car, sending him over the top of the track and down a forty foot drop. If it wasn’t an accident, then the plan was deeply flawed. Beauchamp’s bumper had locked onto Petty’s, and the man that he felt had cheated him out of the biggest victory of his life now drug him along toward what seemed like inevitable oblivion. Though the initial newspaper reports indicated both men sustained serious injuries, they survived.
Johnny Beauchamp’s back never fully recovered from the wreck, and though he raced occasionally, the glory days were behind him. He returned to Iowa and tried several business ventures that never led to great success. He lived modestly, managing a race track in Audubon and worked as a flagman at a track in Des Moines. He died of a congenital heart ailment at the age of fifty-eight.
(Much of the content presented here comes from a program presented to the Historical Society of Pottawattamie County by professor John Havick and from his book, “The Ghosts of NASCAR.” The book is well-researched and easy to read; those seeking more information on this topic are highly encouraged to get it. The book is available in the Historical Society gift shop at 226 Pearl Street in Council Bluffs and also on Amazon).
Playland Park
Anyone who spent time in Council Bluffs in the 1950s or first half of the 1960s will certainly remember Playland Park; it would be impossible to miss a roller coaster three blocks long that passed over two city streets adjacent to the city’s busiest thoroughfare.
Playland began as the inspiration of two brothers from St. Joseph, Missouri; Abe and Louis Slusky. The Slusky brothers had experience in the amusement business, including for a time operating the concessions at Krug Park in Omaha and having their own amusement park— also called Playland Park— in Houston, Texas. Under the proposed plan Louis would remain in Houston to operate that park, with Abe in charge of the new park in Council Bluffs in partnership with Harry Cohen, owner of Iowa Clothes Shop.
The firm bought 14 acres north of the Iowa approach to the Ak-Sar-Ben bridge from the Omaha and Council Bluffs Railway and Bridge company and leased additional land, a portion of Dodge Park, from the Frontier Association. The park was owned by the city but under lease to the Frontier Association for one dollar a year; Playland planned to pay the group $8,000 for the sublease. Included in the lease was a grand stand and race track.
The park was to open Decoration Day, 1948, but not all approved. Concern was raised that footings on land so near the river wouldn’t be sound enough to support such a large roller coaster; some neighbors were concerned about noise. Objection was raised over the “Playland” name, noting the land deed stipulated the park carry the name of Susanna Dodge, wife of Nathan P. Dodge. After a brief delay, and addition of Susanna’s name to the neon sign, the park opened with much fanfare.
The park prospered and grew. Rides and attractions were modified over the years, "The Bullet” allegedly a favorite of park employees because they got to keep whatever change flew out of the riders’ pockets onto the ground during the ride.
In addition to the amusement rides the owners developed the Dodge Park race track. In 1949 it was converted from a dirt dog track to a paved midget auto track; in 1952 the track was adapted for modified stock cars.
Racing fans adopted the park as a favorite for its track, crediting owner Abe Slusky for constantly keeping up with innovations that kept the racing up-to-date and fresh; they remember the stands being packed most of the time.
A news report in 1963 quotes Abe Slusky as saying he was aware of the proposed new interstate bridge to replace the Ak-Sar-Ben but hoped that if it cut off any Playland land they could double up their amusements on the remaining property and continued business as usual; “we have no plans to relocate.”
Just a few months later it was confirmed it was more than “a little” land the bridge and access ramps to it would claim; the project would take two thirds of the land on which Playland operated, including the item most associated as synonymous with the park— the big roller coaster. Playland appealed the condemnation but lost. The famed roller coaster came down in 1964.
While the new bridge was a setback, it wasn’t the end; though the park went from 60 acres to 20 it reopened with 12 rides on the remaining land. A new but smaller roller coaster— the Wild Mouse (with painted nose and round ears on the front of each coaster car)— was added.
Loss of the prominent old roller coaster congestion from construction of the new bridge and ramps made many think the park had closed. Business fell off and the rack track was idled for two years. The track reopened in 1966 featuring races with modified coupes and recaptured many of its fans.
Photos of Johnny Beauchamp:
Photos of Johnny Beauchamp:
(Photo credits: Photos of Johnny Beauchamp above and in the video courtesy of Mr. John Havick. Photo in video of Tiny Lund used under the following license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/ Other images and music are used under the following license: https://www.canva.com/policies/content-license-agreement/ Images of Playland Park and Playland Speedway are from the archives of the Historical Society of Pottawattamie County unless otherwise noted.
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