If you have read the page titled MY HERO you will realize that I was a child of 12 years at the time of Swede's passing in 1973. I often think of my childhood days as a racefan. In the 70's I met many drivers but when I met legends like Roger Ward, Jim Rathman, and Peter DePaulo, they, to me, were just drivers who raced at Indy a long time ago, I could not relate because they had done it so long ago. Same thing went for drivers that gave their all prior to 1970. I just could not relate because they were before my time and before the Ontario Motor Speedway era in Southern California. I knew of Bill Vukovich Sr. only because I met and watched Billy Vukovich, Jr. so many times. Bill Sr. died some 15 years prior to my first Indy Car race in 1970, so I didn't relate. The first driver I ever read about dying in the paper was the late great Bruce McClaren. The first driver to lose his life after I saw him race was drag racer SNEAKY Pete Robinson. The first driver I ever met and got their autograph to die was Jo Sieffert. Although all of these were tragedies and deeply saddened me, I never even considered it happening to my favorite, but sadly it did.

And now I think of all the new fans out there today, and I think well... Swede died almost 30 years ago. WOW! Swede would have been older than Dale Earnhardt Sr. I wonder if those old Gurney Eagles look as old and funky to the new fans as the cars from the 30's and 40's did to me in the 70's??

Somehow or another I was raised in a family that did not truly discuss how to handle the bad things in life. I had the opportunity to meet Swede's widow Sheryl and her mother and father in my teenage years at E st. etc... but I never told anybody just how much of a fan I was of Swede's and just how sad I was and still am of his death, I guess I didn't know how. Our family's thoughts go out to Swede's parents, his siblings, his widow Sheryl and the sadness she has been through with the loss of her husband and their daughter Shelly, and especially to our new found friend Angela, the daughter Swede never got a chance to embrace and vice versa. We hope that you are experiencing happiness in your lives through all you have been through.

This website is merely something I have put together through what I remember, what I have read, and what you the fans of Swede have recalled and have so kindly submitted to me. Thanks goes out also to all those who have submitted anything to help this site remember Swede.