Those who are fans of sprint car history are sure to know the names of Bloomington Speedway legends like Bob Kinser, Dick Gaines and those who followed. But not to be overlooked are the exploits of Bedford, Indiana stone cutter Cecil Beavers. Beavers was born on September 17, 1930 to Roy and Leona (Lake) Beavers. He was a Korean war veteran and came back hungry for action. Thus, by the mid-1950s could be found in a racecar at Bloomington, Bedford and the Mitchell Speedrome. He found victory lane early and a big win came on July 26, 1958 win he took Bob Neikurk and Hubert Dove's car to a win in the Bloomington Speedway Mid-Season Open Stock Car championship over Dick Gaines.
By 1960 he was piloting the Leroy "Junior" Foutch's car with great success. In fact on May 22, 1960 Cecil won at Brownstown in the afternoon and at Mitchell that same night. He was just warming up. In fact, Beavers won five straight features at Brownstown in 1961. In July of that year he took on the stars of the IMCA and ran second to Pete Folse and the Hector Honore Black Deuce at Terre Haute.
A Bloomington title came in 1963 - a year that saw him win 8 of the 9 features contested between May 24th and July 12th. He was eventually sidelined with what was reported to be a broken back. In 1964 he was he Lawrenceburg Speedway champion but again suffered back problems.
Beavers would recover again and continue to find victory lane. Sadly his owner Leroy Foutch would pass on July 31, 1946 of a heart attack. The World War II veteran and Bedford businessman was just 46 years old.
However, Beavers would make it back to victory lane in a sprint car, but he also remembered his stock car roots. On June 6, 1969 after chasing Don Hobbs for two weeks Beaver's finally got his 1968 Camaro to the front and took the $300 top prize. The winner of the Demolition Derby that night -- Rex Huntley.
Cecil had relocated to Lutz, Florida where he passed on March 6, 1997.
Cecil is one of the legends we honor this Friday night.
Legends 50
Adult General Admission $15
Kids 12 and under Free
Pit pass Adults $30
Kids 12 and under $15
Pit gates 4
Spectator Gates 5
Hot laps 6:30
Racing 7:30
John Mahoney photo of Cecil Beavers April 1967
6/6/1969 Cecil Beavers Late Models (68 Camaro) Rex Huntley demolition class
- administrator on Jul 10, 2025
- Article Date: 7/10/2025 by Patrick Sullivan