The Day They Remember Johnny Key

By Bruce Richardson from the Johnny Key page at the San Jose' Speedway News website

Submitted by Robert Davidson

Even headline writers, confronted almost daily with stories of his exploits, liked him. For one thing, his last name was handy for headlines-only three characters. But then apparently everything about Johnny Key, the auto-racing driver from Salinas whose goal was Indianapolis, was pleasant.
Spectators, wherever he went racing hardtops and roadsters , revered him. Even Rival drivers displayed a great deal of admiration for him. His popularity was unusual considering his achievements. Certainly, he must have created some envy in 1952 while compiling a yet to be broken 53 feature race victories, including all seven contested in one week.
But according to Fresno's Al Pombo, who accumulated six NASCAR state championships before retiring several years ago, there was no animosity, only admiration. "Everybody had a lot of respect for him", said Pombo. "He was a heck of a person....just a real good person. Pombo, who was among the top drawing attractions right up until his retirement, said he doesn't clearly remember Key's celebrated victory binge of 1952. But it didn't surprise him. "He was always on top, kind of a class of his own. We used to race eight races in seven days back then. It just seemed like we had more time to do it...”
While Pombo seldom traveled very far out of state, Key's goals took him first to the Arizona grapefruit circuit and then East.
He never made it to Indianapolis.
A story published in an unidentified periodical dated July 9, 1954, places his fatal accident somewhere in the first week of July. He was killed when thrown out of a midget auto he was driving on a Cincinnati dirt track. The car had struck the outside guard rail.
The racing community in California was stunned, and out of the emotions of the time, emerged a plan for a memorial series that would perpetuate his name. It began on August 14th, 1954 and for seven years was run at the distance of 200 long and grueling laps around San Jose Speedway's high banked paved track. It is still an extremely popular event. The 23rd running of the classic will be staged Saturday at a distance of 150 laps. While most distance races in recent years have been divided into two or more segments, the Johnny Key Memorial will remain a genuine endurance test with no planned stops between the first and 150th go-rounds.
"That's the way it should be", asserted Pombo. "That race," he said proudly, "is one of the oldest of its kind in the country. And the best."
"I'm sure going to try to be there." he emphasized. "You get to see a lot of old friends. The old-timers don’t go to many races anymore. But they go to THAT race!"
Racing Wheels writer Bruce Crowley wrote this story...
1949, the promoter at San Jose Speedway, Bob Barkhimer, bought ten old cars from some auto wreckers, hired some drivers, converted the cars to the track, and called them Hardtops. They had the glass removed, seat belts installed, and painted (boy, they were horrible). He found some Hot Rod drivers (Roadster Racing) who agreed to race them. One of these young drivers was a guy named Johnny Key from Salinas. Keys was previously a two-time champion in 1947 and 1948. Having Key he lent so legitimacy to the new found class. You might say that Key was the key.
If you ever saw these race cars you would laugh. People would go to the races just to see the cars hit another, flip over, and keep on going. A four-door Packard was a fan favorite as the driver, Sid Plummer, would bounce off the crash-wall, hit into another car, spin around and still won the race. The fans went crazy. The champion that first season was a driver named Dave Carter. Second was Johnny Key. Key won the state championship in 1952 driving for Harry and Tony [Unable to display image] Goularte from Modesto. During that year Key set the all-time record in number of wins in a season. He won 54 features in the California Stock Car Racing Association sanction races plus another three in open comp races. He turned to Midget racing the following year and had plans of racing at Indianapolis. But it was not to be, as Key was killed during a “AAA” sanctioned race in Ohio. Barkhimer set up a Johnny Key Race for him within weeks. For a past 46 years this race has been held in his memory. Johnny was one of the best drivers ever to grace the tracks in the Bay Area. Thank you, Johnny, for the memories.

See the rest of the Key History: HERE