Clifford Alpheus

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## Racing

### CARCA Menards Series Wins

4 wins

Matthew Clifford Alpheus, shortened to **Clifford Alpheus**, was a former racer in CARCA, and brother of Jonathan Alpheus, Sr. His career started in the 1967 CARCA season, but ended tragically at the 1981 Grandol Oil 200.

## Racing Career

### 1967

Clifford's career began at the 1967 Grandol Oil 200, where he at first competed for a top spot but crashed out halfway through. This set up the tone for the early years of his rookie season before he took off in the late season. This wasn't enough to compete for a championship, and he just barely lost out on Rookie of the Year in one of the first CARCA controversies, as many fans felt that Clifford should have won due to his masterpiece of a later stage of the season.

### 1968

1968 doesn't have much to speak of, but it was a horrid example of a sophomore slump. He did actually finish the Grandol Oil 200 this time, with a top 10 finish and seemed consistent throughout the early season and midseason but fell off completely late in the season with several DNF's.

### 1969-1973

It was much of the same as a downward spiral continued until 1973, when he rebounded with a win at the Grandol Oil 200. This victory would be overshadowed by the rise of several drivers to complete prominence, including Clifford's brother, Jonathan, setting up for his season sweep in 1974.

### 1974-1980

These seasons produced a sort of consistency not seen in previous years. He racked up 6 top 5's and 12 top 10's in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, and 1978 all at the same time. In 1979 he topped this by just one more top 10, reaching his current seasonal record of 13 top tens. In 1980, he had the performance of his life, scoring a 3rd place points finish. This would seemingly, according to fans, gear him up for a potential championship run in 1981. However, **this was not to be.**

### 1981 Speedweeks, before the disaster

Clifford seemed to start off the 1981 Speedweeks on a championship pace, scoring the fastest speed in all 5 practice sessions and winning the pole for the 1981 Grandol Oil 200. He started the race first, but gradually lost positions until he was down to 9th, racing against his brother to hold on to the second to last spot in the top 10. Eventually, his brother passed him and took the lead with a well timed charge up the field, leaving him racing against Jonathan's teammate, Timmy Marquis. Clifford began to prepare a similar charge for the lead, with many fans believing that it could land him a victory. However, this unfortunately would not happen, as on February 8th, 1981, **tragedy would strike**.

## Death

On lap 163, a spin between the 4th and 5th placed cars caused a major predicament for Clifford and Timmy. Timmy wanted to swerve right to avoid the two and was hoping that Clifford would do the same, but Clifford wanted to floor it. The result was that Timmy took evasive action directly into Clifford, sending both towards the wall at high speeds. Timmy bounced off the wall into another car which would swipe him back towards the wall, whilst Clifford hit the wall hard at about 176 MPH, then flipping over twice, before Timmy then came back up and the two collided once more, with Clifford being forced into the catchfence roof-first. Clifford would catch on fire, and lose his roof to a caution light, being savagely torn apart by the catchfence itself. The camera cars in that area of the track were forced to witness the gruesome crash, with many averting their eyes but keeping the cameras pointed at the two. Timmy would also partially catch fire, with a portion of his front being ripped off during the crash. Finally, Clifford had completed a full 360 degree flip, with the two coming down the backstretch, the extent of the injuries was revealed, with the two coming to rest in the infield. A few safety workers came only to pry Timmy from the crash, as although he was still responsive, he was too traumatized at that point to think about moving an inch. They took a single look at the gruesome display that was Clifford at this point and immediately backed off, having witnessed the aftermath of CARCA's most brutal incident.

## Aftermath

With no hope of any lifesaving measures, Clifford was pronounced dead immediately. His roof was found stuck in the catchfence, alongside other portions of his sheet metal. After the crash, the cleanup effort took 2 hours, with the catchfence being covered so that the fans did not have to watch the cleanup effort or look at the remains of Clifford. Once the cleanup effort was complete, the race was resumed controversially, with Jonathan Alpheus winning. An investigation was launched by several organizations to determine what had happened to cause such, revealing that the cars were incredibly prone to such violent crashes at high speeds. Signs were held up for Clifford throughout the rest of the 1981 season, and a large number 59 was placed in the exact spot in the infield where he came to a stop. After his death, his wishes were fulfilled with most of his vitals going to hospitals, where his organs are still used for transplants to this day in a cycle of movement. His legacy was honored by a team created by him and a close friend named Clifford Alpheus, Inc. which has run various starts in CARCA but never a full time season.

## Personal Life

He married Eliza Gearford in 1968, but the two never had children.

## Legacy

Alongside the aforementioned Clifford Alpheus Incorporated, there are also various other ways his legacy is maintained. There has especially been safety efforts related to speed control and controlling of wrecks into catchfences since his death, with that process being sped up even more with the death of Garrett Revley, which was yet another violent catchfence death in a series already traumatized by the violent death of Clifford.