A Family’s Passion Is Its Bane

After their son’s fatal crash 14 years ago, Paul and Helen Bagley could have shunned the dangerous world of sprint car racing.

Instead, they embraced it. They were planning to attend the third annual Jeff Bagley Classic next Saturday in Ventura, a race they organized and named for their son, killed in an accident in May 1989 at the age of 29.

But the Hesperia couple were struck and killed Saturday night by an out-of-control sprint car that overturned onto the infield at Perris Motor Speedway, a few miles southeast of the city of Riverside.

The deaths sent a chill though the racing world, a reminder of the risks that accompany the rush of motor sports. Yet the Bagleys “wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else,” said Anne Wilkerson, an old family friend.

After the death of their son, the Bagleys became regulars at the races and grew close to many of the young drivers attracted to the sprint car -- a brutish, dune buggy-like racer that, until recent decades, was among the most dangerous to drive.

For the last seven years, Paul Bagley, 74, served on the board of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum Foundation in Knoxville, Iowa. From 1989 to 1998, the couple gave a memorial trophy named for their son to those involved with the sport who displayed exceptional sportsmanship. Then they turned their attention to the Bagley Classic at the Ventura Raceway.

“I’m sure it was hard for them, but they realized Jeff absolutely loved what he was doing,” said Tom Schmeh, the hall of fame’s executive director. “Jeff wouldn’t have wanted them to lose their love for the sport, and they didn’t.”

According to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, driver Jack Paul DeArmond’s racer collided with another car during a qualifying race on the speedway’s half-mile clay track, before hitting the Bagleys.

DeArmond, 38, was hospitalized with neck and back injuries. Paul Bagley was pronounced dead at the scene. Helen, 72, died shortly afterward at a local hospital.

Paul Bagley, a semi-retired trade-show company employee, had never been a driver himself. But he and his wife were determined to support the sport that claimed their son. They played a central role in the tight community of drivers and car owners who foster one of America’s oldest styles of auto racing.

Paula Shuman, secretary of the Sprint Car Racing Assn., called Saturday “the saddest day in SCRA history.”

Unlike NASCAR -- which has evolved from a regional curiosity to a national, big-budget phenomenon, sprint car racing has a more limited audience. For many, the racing is an expensive passion, forcing most drivers to hold other jobs.

The sport has its roots in contests that were once regular features at county fairgrounds in the early 20th century, when modified Model Ts raced around dirt tracks built for horses. By the 1930s, the sport had achieved a reputation for danger, in part because the cars’ open cockpits provided little protection.

Today’s sprint cars zoom across the track at speeds as high as 140 miles per hour. Roll cages have been added to protect drivers in recent decades. The Sprint Car Racing Assn. -- the successor to the California Racing Assn., and the sponsor of Saturday’s race -- has had only one other fatality since Jeff Bagley’s crash. Today, the sport is no more dangerous than other kinds of auto racing, Shuman said.

The Bagleys’ experience showed how difficult life can be for drivers’ families, who must offer unconditional support while dreading racing’s mortal risks, Shuman said. She speaks from experience: Her son is a sprint car driver, and her husband, Ron -- the current association president -- is a former champion racer who retired in 1997.

“I have a love-hate relationship with racing,” Shuman said. “I’m an avid fan, but I hate to see the sad part -- the injuries, the crashes.”

Wilkerson’s husband, Billy -- also a former champion driver -- said the Bagleys encouraged their son’s interest in racing from an early age. When Jeff began racing professionally, Paul served as part of his race team.

Nearly 14 years ago, Jeff was involved in an accident with driver Bobby Ferguson on the first turn of the fourth lap of a race at Ascot Park. He died of internal injuries a few days later.

“Helen and Paul never really got over Jeff,” Billy Wilkerson said. “They just couldn’t let go of him. They kept his truck and the tools that he had, and everything like that.”

Eventually, the couple -- who are survived by their older son, Steven -- returned to the world of racing. Over the years, they spent many hours at the track with the Wilkersons, who were standing a few feet away during the accident.

Ann Wilkerson said she had wondered why they went back to racing. “But where else do you go? You go to where the people are who love you and who can remember the good times you had. I know a lot of people will not understand that.”