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Ken de la Bastide: Wright's life long, colorful
Wright died Dec. 23, three weeks short of his 91st birthday
He was seated in the corner of the press room at Anderson Speedway, dressed in a windbreaker-style jacket with a baseball cap pulled down on his forehead.
That was the first time I met Crocky Wright.
After that first time at Anderson Speedway, I would observe Wright wherever USAC was competing. He was a sidekick for Dick Jordan, the vice president for communications.
It was clear from the start that Wright loved open-wheel racing, particularly midgets and sprints. He had his favorite drivers — Kasey Kahne, Tony Hunt and Bobby East among them.
For many years, I thought that Wright was a fan who traveled with Jordan and kept track of statistics. Was I ever wrong.
Sitting through a rain delay several years ago at O’Reilly Raceway Park, I learned there was a lot more to this soft-spoken man.
That evening Jordan related that Wright used to drive motorcycles through flaming boards. He did it at the age of 70 at the Indianapolis Speedrome and again at the age of 77 at Raceway Park.
Wright laughed often and smiled as he related what it was like to race a roaring motorcycle through flaming boards while most people his age were content with a rocking chair.
Wright raced a midget in the 1930s on the East Coast and raced motorcycles on cinder tracks.
Ernest Schlausky, aka “Crocky,” Wright died Dec. 23, just three weeks short of his 91st birthday.
I later came to learn that Wright served with the 762nd Tank Battalion during World War II in the Pacific theater and returned to race against the likes of Len Duncan, Dutch Schaefer and a very young Mario Andretti.
But Wright also was a writer and historian. He authored a six-volume set of books on East Coast midget racing, a history of the high-banked Nutley (N.J.) Velodrome and a history of three-quarter midget racing.
But he also wrote a tribute in 1961 to Johnny Thompson, who died in a racing accident, and again for Rex Easton. Wright turned over all the proceeds of the two books to the racers’ families.
He championed the career of Tony Stewart, long before the Rushville Rocket’s name became well known among racing fans, starting in 1987 when Stewart was 16 years old.
When Wright was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2005, Stewart flew all the way to Wisconsin to make a surprise appearance.
The one thing I always will remember about Wright is the twinkle in his eye and the smile on his face following an exciting midget or sprint car race.
A celebration of Wright’s life is planned for later this year at the Latimore Valley Fairgrounds in Pennsylvania, and he will be interred at a burial plot located within yards of the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing.
Wright will be missed by his many friends.
Contact Ken de la Bastide: 454-8580, ken.delabastide@kokomotribune.com.
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