[unclebuck]

About 25ys ago some folks from Collins Machine in Gary IN told me about Pete Romcevich. They seemed to think very highly of him as a person and as a racer. I heard he worked in mills in the region and was killed at a track in Michigan. Several years ago I read an obit for an lady in a old folks home in nearby Portage IN. Her work history coincided with the year of the death of Pete. She had a daughter living out of state and a son named Pete or Peter who lived in New England, Massachusetts I believe. Does anyone have some info?

Thankyou
Dale Weis
Valparaiso IN
ADDICTED FOR 41 YEARS: I've just been reminded....Well what are women for if they can't remind you of your supposed shortcomings?:O::O::kookoo

[pgray]

Courtesy of Wikipedia , the online encyclopedia -

PETE ROMCEVICH was a Serbian-American race car driver born in Silopaj , Serbia.

He was killed in a Midget race at the Michigan State Fairgrounds , Detroit , Michigan on September 7 , 1952 when his car went out of control.

He made one start in the Indianapolis "500" in 1947 , starting 17th and finishing 12th.

He was born in 1907.

[SUPERDUKE]

Originally Posted by unclebuck About 25ys ago some folks from Collins Machine in Gary IN told me about Pete Romcevich. They seemed to think very highly of him as a person and as a racer. I heard he worked in mills in the region and was killed at a track in Michigan. Several years ago I read an obit for an lady in a old folks home in nearby Portage IN. Her work history coincided with the year of the death of Pete. She had a daughter living out of state and a son named Pete or Peter who lived in New England, Massachusetts I believe. Does anyone have some info? Thankyou Dale Weis Valparaiso IN ADDICTED FOR 41 YEARS: I've just been reminded....Well what are women for if they can't remind you of your supposed shortcomings?:O::O::kookoo

I REMEMBER HIM RUNNING OVER A DRUNK WHO STEPPED OUT IN FRONT OF HIM IN TIME TRIALS AT WINCHESTER AAA BIG CAR RACE! NOT HIS FAULT!:checkered:

Pete was from Gary and raced extensively in the Chicago area, both indoors and outdoors, in a very heady time in midwest midget racing. He sometimes drove for recent National Midget Hall of Fame inductee Joe Shaheen who is most known for his "Little" Springfield Raceway. Pete finished 12th in the 1947 500 - there were some unusual circumstances surrounding the qualifying for that race that is too much to get in here. He is also credited with a 7th place finish in the 1949 National Midget championship standings but this really only involved a few races because in the early days of the AAA National Championship for midgets only races on the mile track counted. He was killed on the 48th lap of a 150 mile race at the Michigan State Fair - he was right behind Bobby Ball who won the race when he crashed through the fence and hit some parked cars.
Parenthetically, a few years ago my son played hockey at the arena at the Fairgrounds and I drove back to where the track was - there were a huge number of cars parked their for auto dealers and I didn't get far before a security car tracked me down - he of course, had no idea there had been a racetrack there. For those who holler about travel in racing - the Championship trail schedule once called for the guys to race a Syracuse and then at Detroit the next afternoon - long before interstate highways existed.

Pete is buried in Gary.

[sramoa]

If I know he started his career in 1925(arrived to the USA in 1922).I think his nationality was croatian,and he was born in Austro-Hungary Monarchy.His real name was Slavko Romčević and born in Lasinja.

[dave]

I was at Winchester the day he hit that guy. It seems, if My memory serves there was a gate near the flag stand with a guard he brushed aside to get to the pits just as hot laps started. Pete didn't race the rest of the day. I have his autograph and must have got it that day for don't remember having seen him race again.

[unclebuck]

Thanks everybody for answering my question, I had forgotten about this post.
I believe his wife passed away a few years ago in a nursing home in Portage Indiana. Sounds like they had 2 children, a boy and a girl. The boy was living somewhere in New England. After Pete's death it looked like she worked for many years in a department store. Pretty sure this the same family. Thankyou

[Peteromcevich]

Pete Romcevich is my great grandfather, his son Pete is my grandfather we both live just outside boston, I just did a video for my history class titled the flying serb on Pete Romcevich on youtube

[DejanG]

''Pete'' Romcevic - Slavko Romčević is hes real name. Hes my faraway cousin from Kindgom of Yugoslavia, Serb. I started my family tree and i came to him and hes brothers. Hes from Serbian vilage called Stipan.
If anyone have some more info about hes career and private life, share with me if its possibile. Kind regards to all