I know I'm behind on making updates to the main Marchbanks history, and will make those in the coming days.
But I wanted to add this quick note about a third death at Marchbanks Stadium/Hanford Motor Speedway.
You may recall in my interview with Gary Marchbanks that he mentioned a third death at the track, of which I had no knowledge. I previously had uncovered details about the deaths of Arlen Smith in 1956 and James "Red" Stainton in 1969.
Gary's recollection got me digging and on findagrave.com I found recently posted details of the death of Ernie Cornelson during a race on May 29. 1957.
According to the site, the 29-year-old from Los Angeles was "killed instantly when his hardtop car crashed during the 330-lap "Little Indy" at Marchbanks Stadium."
The former Bakersfield resident rolled several times "after his car went out of control, slammed into a retaining wall and burst into flames. It was during the 148th lap of the race. The race was held up for an hour and 20 minutes."
RELATED STORIES: Read more about Marchbanks Speedway and Hanford Motor Speedway in my Marchbanks section, including the regularly updated "History of Marchbanks Speedway, aka Hanford Motor Speedway."