Bill Cornwall
Harvey , Ill. —1963 Raceway Park stock car champion, Bill Cornwall, 86, passed away on December 13, 2009. A lifelong resident of Harvey , Cornwall began his speed career, racing motorcycles in 1946 before trying his hand at stock car and some midget auto racing.
Cornwall began racing stock cars at Raceway Park near Blue Island in 1949, winning his first feature race of his career on Easter Sunday afternoon in 1952. Cornwall would win a total of 57 stock car feature races at Raceway Park during his career there that was capped off by his late model division title-winning year in 1963. Cornwall , behind the wheel of his familiar orange Chevy No. 3, won 18 feature races that year at the “World’s Busiest Track.”
After serving in the U.S. Army in World War II, Cornwall began racing motorcycles and received a broken leg in his first competitive program, suffering the injury at Schererville , Ind. , which is now the site of Illiana Motor Speedway. Years later, Cornwall would comment that his current day “aches and pains” were due to all of those spills and crashes during his motorcycle days. Cornwall would try his luck several times in motorcycle action on the famed Daytona Beach , Fla. beach course, riding a Harley-
Davidson cycle for Illiana owner, Harry Molenaar.
An old ’39 Ford two-door was one of Cornwall ’s early stock car rides at Raceway Park with Cornwall also trying his luck in midget racing during the early 50’s. He took a brand new 1954 Oldsmobile to Daytona for the beach races in ’54, qualifying among the fastest qualifiers after getting a bit of the “run around” by race officials as they questioned the legality and the ownership of the car. Cornwall would tell the story that officials thought the car was owned by fellow Chicago area racer Bob Pronger, who the year before set new speed records in a “questionable” ’53 Olds.
Going through a long, drawn out, technical inspection and after providing ownership paperwork from the finance company back home, Cornwall eventually qualified 18th for his only Daytona stock car appearance. Mechanical ills forced him out after only 18 laps on the beach/highway course as he was credited with a 53rd place finishing position.
In 1954 and 1955, Cornwall competed on the “Circuit of Champions” tour. A fresh ’55 Chevy V8 convertible was Cornwall ’s ride for the 1955 season. Cornwall scored 10 “top five” finishes during the ’55 campaign, including a third place finish in the 150-lap season finale at Montgomery , Ala. Cornwall made eight starts in NASCAR-sanctioned convertible competition in 1956, nailing down two “top 10” finishes.
Returning to Raceway Park in 1957, Cornwall had a few “so-so” seasons, also trying his luck at other Chicago area speedways. Pretty much a Raceway Park “regular” by 1961, Cornwall ’s Chevy late model was basically the same car that started out as the ‘55 Chevy convertible. After his track championship year in 1963, Cornwall competed at Raceway Park the next two years and closed out his stock car racing career in 1966 at Santa Fe Speedway near Willow Springs.
Visitation is scheduled for this Friday morning, December 18, from 9:00 a.m. until the funeral services at 12:00 Noon at Panozzo Bros. Funeral Homes, 530 W. 14th St . (U.S. 30) in Chicago Heights .
END
Bill Cornwall (center) receives his trophy
for winning the late model stock car track championship at Raceway Park in
1963. Cornwall is joined by (from left to right) assistant starter “Smokey”
Smith, starter Tom Plouzek with announcer Wayne Adams handling the
presentation. Cornwall passed away on December 13 at the age of 86.
(Bud Norman Photo)
Stan Kalwasinski