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I have previously written in last July’s issue of the Castle Rock AreaNewsletters about the June 1965 ood that devastated Douglas County and Denver. That same ood started with 14 inches of rain falling on June 16 alone on the area south of Castle Rock. A wall of water cascaded through the area up to a mile wide in places, sweeping away all that stood before it. CDR su ered widespread damage, with even the timing tower on top of the spectator banking being swept away. Nevertheless, the track was soon patched up and back in business, once more attracting new championships.
It looked like the circuit’s success would continue, but tragedy soon intervened. During the June 8, 1969 Denver Post Grand Prix for SCCA Formula A cars, local racer Jim Mulhall was driving a Shrike when
a downpour soaked the track. As he ran along the pit straight, his team signaled for him to pit next time by; Mulhall lifted his hand from the wheel to acknowledge the call, only to hit a pool of water and
hydroplaned out of control. His car struck a row of 55-gallon oil drums forming the pit wall at around 155mph, sending them ying in all directions.
While these barrels should have been lled with water, they weren’t. More on this later.
A horri c scene quickly unfolded. Mulhall su ered severe head injuries when the retaining wire holding the barrels together snapped and struck his helmet, while all hell broke loose in the pit area. Mulhall died on the way to hospital, and CDR mechanic Michael DesJardins died several days later from head injuries from being struck by an errant barrel. Two others were also injured. An ensuing lawsuit was settled by the SCCA’s insurer, but Langsam was horri ed by the events and seemed to lose his passion for racing.
Soon after, Langsam was diagnosed with terminal cancer and CDR’s future appeared equally bleak. First to go was the drag strip, though the estimated 15,000 that turned out to watch the July 30 event in 1972 didn’t realize they were
September 2022 • Castle Rock “AreaNewsletters”
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witnessing the nal piece of
drag history at the venue. The highlight was a demonstration
by iconic stunt man Evel Knievel, who successfully jumped 11 parked cars on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Langsam was present at the track that day and was amazed to see 15,000 attend the Knieval jump, even though it was the last time this portion of the track would be used.
CASTLE ROCK HISTORY