Swede Lindskog
began driving Big Cars around the Pacific Northwest while
still a high school student in his native Seattle. When midget
racing came to the area in May of 1936 he was one of the first
participants. In the fall of that year he traveled to Los
Angeles with Johnny McDowell and Jimmy Wilburn. He ran a
couple of “B” races at Gilmore Stadium where he became friends
with Roy Richter. Swede was one of those chosen for the first
tour of American drivers to
New Zealand which
was arranged by Richter.
Lindskog returned to Southern California for good in
late 1939 and terrorized the independent United Midget
Association by winning 7 out of 15 races over the winter of
1939-40. He joined AAA in May of 1940 so that he could run at
Gilmore and by the beginning of the 1941 season had become a
force to be reckoned with. He was leading the AAA points going
into the “Turkey Night Grand Prix” but a bent axle cost him
the title by a handful of points.
Swede served as an Army Air Corps mechanic in the South
Pacific Theatre during WWII and on his return in 1946 looked
like the man to beat. After winning five features for three
different owners his car bicycled head-on into the fence
during time trials at Gilmore on June 27th, killing him
instantly. He was just barely 29 years of age.
