[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by LSC9901

I think Bob Pronger also lived beyond the sixties. I looked him up and found as much info as I could. I'm baffled on this one. Good job Bob. Thanks for the headache !!!

You are quite welcome. If you want a REALLY difficult one, just let me know. <VBG> (Just kidding)

Anyone who could have found this one was either on the south side of Chicago the same time I was, or they are a past master at research!

[Lefty Noob]

Amazing stuff, Bob. You truly are the trivia king!

[LSC9901]

WOW. I did run across Pronger's name but couldn't find anything that stated he was killed. I looked up so many names I must have confused the length of his life with some others from that era and area. Thanks again for making us work at finding the answers and once again to you lefty ... great job. I wasn't to far behind you.

Hello,

My name is Steve and I run a website called Raceway Park History. Was checking some links to my site and came across this forum. Great stuff about Pronger. I wasn't born until 1970 and never saw Pronger race but have heard many stories about him. I started going to Raceway Park in 1975 as a 5 year old. In 1980 I started going on my own since I lived a block away and from 1980-2000 I only missed 4 nights of racing. In the early 80's they were still running 4 nights a week. When they closed in 2000 it was down to 2 nights a week. Needless to say I saw many races there and met a lot of great people. As I got older I tried to find out as much as I could about the drivers and the track through videos, programs, papers and pictures. I also stay in touch with a lot of the "old timers" and their stories are priceless. I feel fortunate to rub elbows with guys twice my age who I felt were legends of short track racing. On my site I have almost 3,500 old Chicago area racing photos. Most of them are Raceway Park.

Now, a little info on Pronger. About 2-3 years ago I was reading a book by Mike Corbitt. It was called "Double Deal" or something like that. Mike was a "made" guy who played both sides of the fence. Besides being connected he was the police chief of Willow Springs or Hinsdale. Something close to where Santa Fe Speedway was. He raced Late Models at Santa Fe in the 70's and knew many of the racers. He spoke of Pronger by name in his book. In the early 70's the chop shops were taking off big in the Chicago area. Pronger was the head of one of the biggest groups doing that sort of thing. Well when there is money to be made it don't take long for the mob to want a piece. Nobody was safe and everybody had to pay something. Pronger was the forst one to speak up and try to get out of paying to do his business. So the outfit made an example of him. Per his book, they dropped him in a 55 gallon drum of acid and got rid of what was left of him. The guy was a true talent behind the wheel of a racecar. He just never showed up one night at the racetrack and everyone wondered what happened. There was tons of speculation until Corbitt's book came out a few years ago.

Steve

None of the Jenin's were tied to the chicago mob. These are very good stories however the Jenin part is not true.

Thank you
D.Jenin

Those were the days. Pronger was on hell of a driver. Never a dull moment with him around and he stuck out like a sore thumb. He was always in a white shirt and black tie driving his stock car.

Yes, I also read the book called "Double Deal" and they, Mike Corbitt, did talk about BP by name.....Corbitt also talked about "the mob" fire bombing a body shop in Bridgeview at 79th st. and Harlem back in that same time frame....Could that have been Tony Izzo's shop ?...There always have been story's at the old Santa Fe Speedway that Izzo was connected to the mob, that is why he always had new equipment all the time. It also stated in double deal that the owner of the "boby shop" said to mike corbitt, "what are we going to do"?...and if you remember back when corbitt raced at santa fe, he drove car's owned by "Izzo Racing Team"....kinda makes ya wonder!!!!!

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Yes, I also read the book called "Double Deal" and they, Mike Corbitt, did talk about BP by name.....Corbitt also talked about "the mob" fire bombing a body shop in Bridgeview at 79th st. and Harlem back in that same time frame....Could that have been Tony Izzo's shop ?...There always have been story's at the old Santa Fe Speedway that Izzo was connected to the mob, that is why he always had new equipment all the time. It also stated in double deal that the owner of the "boby shop" said to mike corbitt, "what are we going to do"?...and if you remember back when corbitt raced at santa fe, he drove car's owned by "Izzo Racing Team"....kinda makes ya wonder!!!!!

I remember Izzo. If I remember correctly, his cars were yellow either Impalas, Chevelles or Nova, depending on the time frame. His cars ran at both Kankakee and Santa Fe. In fact, I recall Tony actually doing the bulk of the driving himself.

In fact, last fall I was driving out of Chi on I-55 and saw an old sign advertising stock car racing at Santa Fe.

IRT the Bridgeview fire bombing, I don't remember it precisely but if you're familiar with that era (1960's) in Cook County, Bridgeview was pretty much an "open city." I remember that there was an entire strip of road houses which features topless and bottomless dancing, back room prostitution, gambling and fencing. Lot's of funny things happened around Bridgeview, Bedford Park and Stickney.

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hello,

My name is Steve and I run a website called Raceway Park History. Was checking some links to my site and came across this forum. Great stuff about Pronger. I wasn't born until 1970 and never saw Pronger race but have heard many stories about him.

Hi Steve, I took the liberty of putting a link to your site in this forum awhile back when I started the thread about Pronger. You have some really good photos in there except most seem to come from the period after I left Cook Co. in 1967. I remember Ray Young and Jerry Kemperman as young kids in their 20's and remember Bud Koehler driving his car down the street from his garage to qualify. I remember Pronger having that Holman-Moody chassis with Nova skin which had the wheel beside the seat with which he could adjust his brakes during a race. Neat stuff, for the 60's.

Two questions:

(1) Whatever happened to Harry Simonsen? Back in the 60's Jelin paid extra money if you ran a convertible and Harry ran, I believe, an orange 65 Merc with no top.

(2) Do you have any pix from OHare Stadium? Any old records? I'm trying to find some info on a two-car team which ran there in the late 50's and early 60's. The main driver was named Eddie Schatch. He drover a red/white 61 Impala #7. His partner (I can't remember his name) drove an identical car but it was #8, the 8 being an eight-ball. I've talked to the former ARCA driver from Joliet, Bob Schatch but he denies any relationship and claim to have never heard of him.

Eddie ran there with Bobby Dotter, Fred Lorenzen and Elmer Musgrave when he lived in Glenview, before he moved to Milwaukee.

Raceway Park, OHare Stadium, Santa Fe, K3, and Illiana..Lots of good stock car racing around Chicago back then.

[ImStoner]

I vaguely remember Bob Pronger. My Grandmother rented a small apartment that he owned on Collins Street in Blue Island. What I do remember well is that he used to park some of his race cars that he raced at Raceway Park in the yard where my Grandmother lived. I used to like to climb in them and play with the steering wheel like any other kid would until my Grandmother scolded me and told me to not go in his cars (did she think I was going to get "hit"?) I also remember him coming over to collect the rent. I also remember that one day he went "missing". That's when I heard that he was involved with the Outifit in chop shop operations (my Mom told me). What I do recall about his supposed murder is that they never did find his body. He just disappeared. I could be wrong about them never finding his body, and if anybody out there can correct me, please do. Bob Pronger was among a list of Raceway Park drivers I can remember when I was a kid. Jerry Kemperman, Bud Koehler (#77), James Bond (007 of course), etc. My brother used to live in an apartment that Bob Prongers brother owned. He new his brother pretty good. If I can get more info, I'll post it.

My Mom just had me look this up and this is what I came across first.. Bob is my Mother's Mom's Brother so that makes him my Great Uncle. This is neat to learn about some older family members.

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

My Mom just had me look this up and this is what I came across first.. Bob is my Mother's Mom's Brother so that makes him my Great Uncle. This is neat to learn about some older family members.

I'm sure Bob would love to discuss genealogy with you, but with you being anonymous, it's hard to do. please register so you and Bob can get together and explore your genealogy off line. it's inappropriate for this forum.

[Pronger_BABY]

WOW.
My dad is Bob's brother (bob=my unlce) but i didnt know this much about him. He would tell me about how I had an uncle who was a famous NASCAR driver and about his races but he obviously didnt tell me about the mob part because thatd hurt him so much. My mom did tell me how they were very close and that he was involved with the mob. She told me that he answered the door one day and was shot... but not about being found in a trunk...

This is UNBELIEVABLE.
...!


im happy u guys respect him
what i hear from my dad he was an AMAZING guy

[dutchmunsinger]

I sure believe in miracles.... All this time I have been sitting here with notes in a binder from an old interview about my father, then somehow I am on this site poking for IL and Raceway and it jives with my notes:

In July 1995, we were in southeast FL with a couple of old retired IL drivers; now for me the Fount of Knowledge is gone: both have deceased. I was interviewing one man only about my own "mysterious" 1950s driver birthfather no one talked about. 1954-1959, my father was in the circuits with Pronger.

I was told in a sincere matter-of-fact way by the other man, the late "J.S." (died 2002) that he thought he had in fact seen Bob Pronger [his fellow Raceway Pk driver] years after he went missing/murdered. If that is the case, well, who knows. Did we even have Witness Protection back in '71 ??? But I would think Bob's family would KNOW if he was deceased answering a door or not.

like a lot of older drivers I have had the joy to meet, "J.S." was very close-mouthed about the silent underbelly of early stock car racing. He also had very little to say about drivers using aliases (my father used one) and the chop shops, and they weren't just in Chicago. and just that It Did happen. but then he also said that my father was a great driver. and, maybe my father was not too involved .......but it sure explains a LOT if he was. I have always had doubts about his midnight fatal accident.

I also know about a friend of my father's drove a brand new '58 into a car shop in Iowa in front of my father and others, and while in less than 10 minutes of barely talking to them the guy had it stripped bare and ready to race with and drove out, leaving them with a pile of new seats. ... Makes ya think.