This is David at the Milwaukee Mile in 1991
Here's an article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Aug. 27, 2000.
about David's Crash:
ASA driver critical after crash
Hobbyist racer suffers head injury at Milwaukee Mile
By Dave Kallmann
of the Journal Sentinel staff
Last Updated: Aug. 27, 2000
West Allis - Longtime hobbyist racer David Anspaugh, 51, suffered a critical head injury Saturday in a crash during American Speed Association practice at the Milwaukee Mile.
Anspaugh's Pontiac Grand Prix spun backward into the first-turn wall, rolled over and landed upright about 10 minutes into practice for the Time Warner Cable 200 today.
According to witnesses, there were no skid marks and a piece believed to be a brake pad from the right front of the car fell off on the front stretch just before the crash.
The investigation completed by ASA technical director Joe Balash and other officials determined "that the retaining pins in the upper portion of the caliper were missing, causing the brake pad to come loose."
"I didn't see anything come off his car, but I can believe something might have broke in the braking system, the way it turned so quick," said driver Scott Hansen, who followed Anspaugh into the corner.
Anspaugh was unconscious when he was cut from his car. He was transported directly from the scene of the accident to Froedert Memorial Lutheran Hospital by the West Allis advanced life support unit.
In addition to his closed head injury, Anspaugh also suffered a fractured left arm. Neurosurgeons at Froedtert were examining the results of various tests, a hospital representative said.
"They couldn't find any marks on his helmet," said Brian Robbins, ASA executive vice president, speculating that Anspaugh's injuries could be related to deceleration rather than impact.
Anspaugh, of Sturgis, Mich., is superintendent of the Waldron (Mich.) Area Schools and has competed with ASA since the late 1980s, mostly on a part-time basis.
After finishing a career-high 20th in the standings last season, he had competed in three of the first 14 races this year. Anspaugh collected his best finish last season, ninth at I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Mo.
A driver has not been seriously injured in ASA competition since Pat Schauer was killed in 1981 at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway.
The Mile's first turn was the scene of a similar accident two years ago involving NASCAR Busch Series driver Jeff Krogh. Krogh continues to recover from his head injury.
Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Aug. 27, 2000.
Here's an article about David Anspaugh which appeared in the magazine "Stock Car Racing" and was written by the late ASA Photographer Bob Milner:
In the Waldron, Michigan, school system, a new “R” has been added to the basic school system curriculum. Recently, David Anspaugh, Ph.D., accepted the position of school superintendent. David is not only an experienced educator, but also a full-time Stock Car owner/driver in the American Speed Association ACDelco Challenge Series.
He takes both of his careers very seriously, and though they present him with a challenging schedule, he enjoys every minute. While these two jobs are very different, David sees his racing as a way to reach his students.
“I’ve always seen myself as a role model,” he says. “As a kid, I had some great teachers, and now it’s my responsibility to direct and role-model in a positive manner. My racing involvement provides a platform from which to relate to something that interests young people. In both careers, I often do—or don’t do—things based on what the kids would think.
“Today’s race car driver needs to have a lot more than just the ability to drive fast. Racers and students need socialization skills, they need to be adaptable, and they must work and communicate at different levels.”
David knows firsthand just how important those personal skills can be, as he is engaged in an ongoing search for sponsorship money. Despite his qualifications, his team remains virtually unsponsored—inspiring its official moniker: Poor Boy Racing.
Joining David in Poor Boy Racing are his wife Charlotte and brother, Frank. Charlotte, herself a full-time teacher, has been a part of the crew for all of the couple’s 26 years of marriage. She wears the hats of race coordinator, trip organizer, spotter, and scorer—and has even rolled up her sleeves to help with repairs to the race car.
Frank is the team’s crew chief and, on occasion, the only person in the Anspaugh pit box. What crew help the team does receive is strictly volunteer, and often crewmembers from nearby pits will be spotted lending a hand. Many of his crew are fans—occasionally sporting homemade David Anspaugh T-shirts—that enjoy the opportunity to help out as part of the crew for “their driver.”
Like most racers, David’s racing roots reach to the local weekly tracks. Prior to joining the ASA ranks, Anspaugh cut his teeth and earned track championships at two Indiana racetracks—Angola Speedway and Baer Field—during the late ’70s to mid-’80s. In those days he piloted cars in divisions ranging from Hobby Stock to Super Late Model.
But the Anspaugh team wanted more and made the move to the ASA circuit in 1989. With it came the additional competition, opportunity for accomplishment, and all the challenges David desired.
Of course, it also brought all the head-aches and heartaches of a traveling, professional series—including the additional costs.
But Poor Boy Racing prides itself on its ability to stretch a buck.
“Whether it’s the school system or the race team, I’m tight with money,” David says. “I construct a budget based on what I know is there, not what I I’d like to be there. You can’t base it on hope.” That grounded thinking, combined with the reality of racing expenses, has forced the brothers to squeeze every lap out of their gear. “I’m as tight as David is, and I try not to throw anything away,” adds Frank. “If I throw it away, it’s junk. But that’s when he will tell me to fix it one more time.”
The team has a good reputation in its community and with its racing counterparts. Some competitors in the series provide David with slightly worn tires (multiple sets of new tires don’t happen with this team), pit equipment, and an occasional spare part. Even his employers, the Waldron School Board, have come to the aid of the likable driver by donating the paint for the car this year. Appropriately, the Waldron school colors of red, black, and white have replaced David’s longstanding tradition of green race cars.
His racing career makes David a frequent participant at school and community events. Armed with a race car and adorned in a driver’s suit, David is out to make an impression on young minds, and according to Charlotte, he’s made quite an impact at the area elementary schools in particular. “He knows exactly how to capture their attention and make them feel the excitement of the sport that he feels,” she says.
The ASA organization has made sweeping changes in professional Stock Car racing in 2000—changes that David finds exciting. The cost-effective Vortec V-8 has become the standard ASA powerplant this season, and the move has dramatically lowered the cost of racing in a premiere Stock Car series. For the David Anspaughs of the sport, that’s a positive move.
“We still need a sponsor,” he says. “And that need won’t change, even with the new format. However, ASA’s new program gives me the chance to prove that I have the ability and can run a race like I know I can.
“We were probably 40 to 50hp short of most front-running teams. But if nobody can simply buy more horsepower, it becomes more a matter of driving skill and car setups. This move is creating better competition, and I’m confident that it will allow me to move up to mid-pack—closer to the top 10 more often.”
Though he is still out of the run for the season’s title and has yet to post a mark in the series-win column, David may already be a winner. He has found a way to integrate two jobs he loves. His racing not only brings him and his family joy, but also serves to stimulate the excitement of the future in his students—perhaps something more important than feature-win money and a trophy. And, just maybe, that’s what motivates a driver with low-budget equipment on used rubber to make the tows and endure the hardships associated with a traveling series, knowing all the while that a Poor Boy venture can’t realistically compete against the high-dollar teams in such a prestigious series.
“People ask me why I continue to race when I know I’m not going to win,” David says. “It goes back to that role-model thing. What’s really important is that you do your best and are able to feel good about it. Winning is great, but it’s not everything.”
