Charlie Van Acker: the builder who raced at Indianapolis

1946 — 1950

Poncho: Charles Edward "Poncho" Van Acker Sr. was born in Brussels, Belgium, on 14 March 1912, and made his racing life in South Bend, where he died on 31 May 1998. He is one of the fourteen men who built South Bend Motor Speedway — and in time he owned and operated the track himself. In the same years he was a national-class driver. His first Indianapolis attempt came in 1946, too slow to make the field. He started the 500 three times: in 1947 he started and finished 29th, out in a crash on lap 24; on 27 July 1947 he won a AAA Championship race at Milwaukee, a win carried in IndyCar's official record book of winners, and finished fourth in the 1947 AAA national standings in his biographical record; in 1948 he finished 11th at Indianapolis and 10th in the national championship; in 1949 he crashed ten laps in and was classified 31st. The 1949 crash ended his Indianapolis career by ruling: in May 1950 the Associated Press reported him physically disqualified from the effects of the crash, and he did not qualify — his last Championship appearance.

The story he corrected himself: Van Acker's biographies circulate a tale that he was once declared dead after a dirt-track crash at Dayton, Ohio. The record carries his own answer with it: he said the reports were exaggerated. The tale is printed here as he left it — a story told about him, denied by its subject.

Sources:

1. The biographical record of Charlie Van Acker (ChampCarStats; The Third Turn; OldRacingCars) — born 14 March 1912, Brussels; died 31 May 1998, South Bend; the 1946 attempt, the starts of 1947 (29th, crash, lap 24), 1948 (11th), and 1949 (31st, crash at ten laps), and his place among South Bend Motor Speedway's builders and later its owner-operator.
2. IndyCar, Historical Record Book (2011), winners list — Van Acker's AAA Championship win at Milwaukee, 27 July 1947; and the biographical record (Playing Pasts) for his fourth place in the 1947 AAA standings and tenth in 1948's championship.
3. Associated Press, 22 May 1950 — Van Acker ruled physically disqualified from the effects of the 1949 crash.
4. Van Acker biographies, with his own correction — the Dayton "declared dead" story, printed as attributed and denied by him.