POLSON, Mont. – Former Midwest midget racing champion Bob Ellingham passed away Friday at the age 95.
Formerly from the Chicago and Blue Island, Ill., area, Ellingham had resided in Montana for a number of years.
For four consecutive years, 1954 through 1957, Ellingham was the champion of the Midwest Race Car Owners and Drivers Ass’n. Ellingham drove his C&E Body Shop-sponsored No. 44 to a number of victories with the Midwest association.
Raceway Park in Blue Island, Ill., Chicago’s Soldier Field and other Illinois tracks like Macon Speedway, O’Hare Stadium and Mance Park are some of the tracks that Ellingham enjoyed success at.
For a time, Ellingham held the qualifying track record at the fifth-mile paved Mance oval, which was located in Hodgkins, Ill., with a lap of 11.97 seconds, which he set in the summer of 1956.
Ellingham also competed with the United States Auto Club midget division on occasion.