8 replies to this topic

[racinggeek]

Former CART racer and Super Vee champ Bill Alsup has died in a construction accident. RACER.com obituary is here -- worth noting that Alsup won not only the 1978 SCCA "professional" Super Vee title but the USAC Mini-Indy title that same year in his Argo, in the first year using the water-cooled VW engines in the series. While the story notes his run in 1981 as a part-time Penske driver, Alsup was semi-competitive in 1980 running his own effort with a year-old PC7 (a few other small teams did OK with those chassis that year) and Polaroid sponsorship, but he totally bonked at Indy and missed the show, and the Polaroid decals disappeared at some point during the season.

 

And, nice of RACER.com to run a lead photo of Alsup in his Argo CART effort. It seems tough to find photos of that car.

 

RIP.

[ensign14]

Never knew he was born in Honolulu.

[Mila]

Never knew he was born in Honolulu.

 

I didn't know that, either.

 

I knew that he was a fellow Vermonter, way back when. Here's a story of how he, a local yokel, and his Indy crew did their best to recreate, on its 50th anniversary, the first ski tow in the United States:

 

http://www.nytimes.c...-years-old.html

[JacnGille]

Damn. I watched Bill run in both Super Vees and CART. Sad news.

[B Squared]

Sorry to hear this sad news. I saw Mr. Alsup race numerous times during my CART years. I think he may have also had the first of the small onboard NBC cameras on his car that was introduced in the early '80s - at Michigan in either 1981 or 1982, if I recall correctly. Racinggeek mentioned his first alternate 1980 run in the PC7 seen below at the Speedway that year. He was also first alternate in his own March 83C in 1984. Condolences to his family and those close to him.

Edited by B Squared, 11 August 2016 - 02:12.

[10kDA]

Another one of my heroes gone. My race fan buds and I were totally jazzed when he won the title in 1978, even though he beat Wisconsin homeboy Herm Johnson. Later, though he didn't have great results in CART, he continued to do things his own way which is often worth a great deal more. R.I.P. Bill Alsup.

[B Squared]

Gordon Kirby remembers Bill Alsup in his latest column:

http://www.gordonkir...t_is_no546.html

[E1pix]

A great friend, I just spoke with Bill two weeks ago.

I am too sad to say anymore.

[Jack-the-Lad]

It's shocking for Bill to have died in such circumstances. My sincere condolences to his family.