Joseph Wale
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| Complete name: Joseph Victor Wale |
| Birth date: 11.Feb.1933 |
| Birth Place: Alexandria, Rapides Parish, LA, United States |
| Death date: 17.Jul.1965 |
| Death Place: Monroe, Ouachita Parish, LA, United States |
| Nationality: United States |
| Gender: male |
| Age at death: 32 |
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| Event date: 17.Jul.1965 |
| Series: unknown |
| Race: [feature race] |
| Event type: race |
| Country: United States (Louisiana) |
| Venue: Harmon Airport Dragstrip |
| Variant: 1/4-mile paved dragstrip (c.1963-c. 1965) |
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| Role: driver |
| Vehicle type: car |
| Vehicle sub-type: dragster |
| Vehicle brand/model: Cupit-Cunningham - Chrysler Hemi "Wales & Candies" |
| Vehicle number: ?? |
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Notes:
Joseph Wale, mostly known as "Q-Ball" Wale, 32, was killed on Saturday, 17 June 1965, in a drag race due to chute failure. The crash happened at Harmon Airport Dragstrip, also known as Bob Harmon Memorial Speedway, in Monroe, Louisiana.
Wale had just won the feature race, completing the quarter-mile run at 201 mi/h (323.4 km/h), and pushed the button to open the chute, but it failed to deploy. At high speed, his fuel dragster went over an embankment at the end of the strip and crashed into a deep ditch.
He was at the helm of the Chrysler Hemi-powered "Wales & Candies" fueler, built by Cupit-Cunningham, owned by Glenn Cupit and Terry Cunningham. At the Harmon Airport Dragstrip, before his fatal run, "Q-Ball" Wale raced against Terry Cunningham, who red-lighted, putting Wale in the final. It is believed that if Terry had not red-lighted, he would probably have won the event and Wale would not have been in the feature and would still be alive.
A mechanic from Metairie, a New Orleans suburb, Louisiana, Joseph Wale left behind his wife and four children. Burial was in Garden Of Memories, Metairie, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.
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Sources:
- 1940 United States Federal Census.
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1950 United States Federal Census.
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Book "The History of America's Speedways - Past & Present", by Allan E. Brown, third edition, first printing, November 2003, ISBN 0-931105-61-7; America's Speedways, C/o National Speedway Directory, 909 Seneca Road, Wilmette, IL, United States, 60091; 847-853-0294, page 346.
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Newspaper The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, FL, United States), issue of Monday, 19 July 1965, page 27, article "Drag Racer Killed When Chute Fails", wire feed from Associated Press, retrieved by website https://www.newspapers.com/image/223813424/ .
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Newspaper The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA, United States), issue of Monday, 19 July 1965, page 10, article "Drag Racer Killed", wire feed from Associated Press, retrieved by website https://www.newspapers.com/image/569841666/ .
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Newspaper The Age (Melbourne, VIC, Australia), issue of Tuesday, 20 July 1965, page 2, article "Killed", retrieved by website https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NEUVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=k5YDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3312,3367973&dq=dragster+killed&hl=en .
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Newspaper Pacific Stars & Stripes (Tokyo, Japan), issue of Tuesday, 20 July 1965, page 14, Associated Press wire service, article "Driver Wins Race, Loses Life".
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Website Drag Strip Deaths, page https://dragstripdeaths.webs.com/196569.htm .
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Website wediditforlove, article "Cupit & Cunningham", http://www.wediditforlove.com/Cupit_Cunningham.html .
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Website Find-A-Grave: Joseph Victor Wale.
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E-mail by Mark W. Lucas, dated 18 September 2007.
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