Darl Ellis Jr.
1959-05-31 1979-07-31| Complete name: Darl Arlyn Ellis, Jr. |
| Birth date: 31.May.1959 |
| Birth Place: Burke, Gregory County, SD, United States |
| Death date: 29.Jul.1979 |
| Death Place: Rapid City, Pennington County, SD, United States |
| Nationality: United States |
| Gender: male |
| Age at death: 20 |
| Event date: 27.Jul.1979 |
| Series: sprint car [no further details yet available] |
| Race: |
| Event type: race |
| Country: United States (South Dakota) |
| Venue: Black Hills Speedway |
| Variant: 1/2-mile dirt oval (c.1976-2001) |
| Role: driver |
| Vehicle type: car |
| Vehicle sub-type: single seater |
| Vehicle brand/model: unknown |
| Vehicle number: 27 |
| Notes: Twenty-year-old Darl Ellis, Jr., mostly known as Junior Ellis, then in his third year as a sprint car driver, suffered a serious accident at the Black Hills Speedway in Rapid City, South Dakota, on Friday, 27 July 1979. Although still a teenager when he first crawled into a sprint car, the tall, good-looking youngster was rated by many observers as one of the most promising young racers in his area. Junior Ellis had finished third in his sprint heat earlier in the evening and was running alone in third place midway through the main race when his #27 car experienced a sudden mechanical failure coming off the fourth turn. It shot directly into the outside retaining wall and flipped over several times, coming to rest the right side up in the middle of the front straightaway. It has been hypothesized that Ellis' vehicle suffered a steering problem that triggered the crash. Seriously injured, Junior Ellis was taken to Rapid City Regional Hospital East, where he was listed in critical condition until Saturday night. Sadly, his condition quickly worsened and he passed away on Sunday night, 29 July 1979, two days after the accident. Bill Mellenberndt was the winner of the restarted feature sprint race, taking over the lead from Jack Tennyson just a few laps before the end. Junior Ellis was a single man who lived in Rapid City, employed by the Black Hills Packing Company. Survivors included his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Darl Arlyn Ellis, Sr. and a sister, Connie. He was buried at the Mountain View Cemetery in Rapid City, Pennington County, South Dakota. One of Junior Ellis' pit crew members at the track was his longtime friend Terry Henrickson, who was paralyzed in a sprint car accident in 1978. Ellis was the third South Dakotan race car driver to die in less than one month. Roger Larson from Madison and Darryl Dawley of Sioux Falls, died together at Knoxville Raceway, Iowa, on Saturday, 07 July 1979. |