What war did the owner of the Indianapolis 500 Speedway who jeopardized the 1946 AAA Championship Car season fight in?
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1946 AAA Championship Car season The 1946 AAA Championship Car season was the first season of American Championship car racing following World War II. After four years without racing in the United States, the AAA Contest Board was initially concerned about having enough races and entrants for the 1946 season. Even the Indianapolis 500 was in doubt, as the speedway was neglected during the war, and owner Eddie Rickenbacker sold the track to Tony Hulman only in November 1945. However, as the season progressed, it proved to be a success, and marked a successful return of the National Championship. George Robson and George Barringer were killed at Atlanta in the race. Al Putnam died at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Speedway in qualifying.
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Eddie Rickenbacker Edward Vernon Rickenbacker (October 8, 1890 – July 23, 1973) was an American fighter ace in World War I and Medal of Honor recipient. With 26 aerial victories, he was America's most successful fighter ace in the war. He was also considered to have won the most awards for valor by an American during the war according to the April 2017 VFW magazine in their special World War I edition.
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1997 Indianapolis 500 The 81st Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana over three days, May 25–27, 1997. It was originally scheduled for Sunday May 25, however, rain washed out all activities for the day. The race was started on Monday May 26, but rain halted the race after only 15 laps had been completed. On Tuesday May 27, the race was resumed, and was run to completion. The rain delay, as well as two controversies (one during time trials, and one during the race), put a damper on the month.
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Herman Schurch Herman Schurch (April 7, 1903 in Sumiswald, Switzerland – November 10, 1931 Los Angeles) was a Swiss-American racecar driver. His family had emigrated to the United States when he was a boy. He made five starts in AAA Championship Car from 1929 to 1931. He had previously failed to qualify for the 1928 Indianapolis 500 but made the race in 1929. He served as a relief driver for Shorty Cantlon in the 1930 race. He also drove in the 1931 Indianapolis 500 but his transmission failed after 5 laps. His best finish in AAA Championship racing came later that year at the New York State Fairgrounds Raceway where he finished sixth. Schurch excelled in Big Car racing (Sprint Car), where he won many races on the Eastern circuit (in the Northeast United States). He was killed in practice for a dirt track race at Legion Ascot Speedway in California. Schurch was elected to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2010.
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1910 AAA Championship Car season The 1910 AAA Championship Car season consisted of 19 races, beginning in Atlanta, Georgia on May 5 and concluding in Long Island, New York on October 1. The de facto National Champion as poled by the American automobile journal Motor Age was Ray Harroun. Points were not awarded by the AAA Contest Board during the 1910 season. Champions of the day were decided by Chris G. Sinsabaugh, an editor at Motor Age, based on merit and on track performance. The points table was created retroactively in 1927 – all championship results should be considered unofficial.
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Jim Trueman James R. Trueman (May 25, 1935 – June 11, 1986) was an American businessman and automobile racing team owner. His most successful business ventures were Red Roof Inn motels and the Truesports racing team. Bobby Rahal won the 1986 Indianapolis 500 for the team. Eleven days after the victory, Trueman succumbed to cancer and died at the age of 51.
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Dave Lewis (racing driver) Dave Lewis (11 May 1881, in Syracuse, New York – 13 May 1928, in La Jolla Lodge, California) was an American racecar driver. He competed in the Indianapolis 500 four times, with a best finish of second in 1925. His appearance in the 1925 race with a Miller car was the first time that a front-wheel drive car had competed in the Indy 500.
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1961 Indianapolis 500 The 45th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Tuesday, May 30, 1961. For the first time since 1949, the Indianapolis 500 was not recognized on the World Championship calendar. The race celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first Indy 500 in 1911.
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Carl Scarborough Carl Scarborough (July 3, 1914 – May 30, 1953) was an American racecar driver. He died from heat exhaustion during the 1953 Indianapolis 500, a race in which several drivers experienced heat-related illness. The race was Scarborough's second entry in the Indianapolis 500. He had also been the national champion in both big car and midget car racing. After he died, race officials announced plans to inspect Indy 500 vehicles for suitable ventilation.
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J. C. McDonald J. C. McDonald was an American racecar driver from South Bend, Indiana. The 1930 Indianapolis 500 was his only AAA Championship Car start. He drove a Studebaker "special" that he designed and built.
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1928 AAA Championship Car season The 1928 AAA Championship Car season consisted of seven races, beginning in Speedway, Indiana on May 30 and concluding in Salem, New Hampshire on October 12. There were also three non-championship races. The AAA National Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner was Louis Meyer.
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1956 USAC Championship Car season The 1956 USAC Championship Car season consisted of 12 races, beginning in Speedway, Indiana, on May 30 and concluding in Phoenix, Arizona, on November 12. There were also three non-championship events. The USAC National Champion was Jimmy Bryan and the Indianapolis 500 winner was Pat Flaherty. This was the first year that the National Championship was sanctioned by the USAC, after the withdrawal of the AAA from all forms of racing after the 1955 season.
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Fred Lecklider Fred Lecklider (9 June 1895, in Toledo, Ohio – 10 January 1964, in Los Angeles, California) was an American racecar driver. Lecklider made six AAA Championship Car starts in 1926 and 1927 including the Indianapolis 500 both of those years. His best finish was sixth on a pair of board ovals in 1927. He returned to Indianapolis in 1930 to drive in relief for Leslie Allen.
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Bill Vukovich William John Vukovich Sr. ( ; Serbian: Bil Vuković, Бил Вуковић; December 13, 1918 – May 30, 1955) was a Serbian American automobile racing driver. He won the 1953 and 1954 Indianapolis 500 plus two more American Automobile Association National Championship races. Several drivers of his generation have referred to Vukovich as the greatest ever encountered in American motorsport.
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Jim Buick James J. Buick (born December 14, 1940) is a former American racing driver from Omaha, Nebraska who competed in the CART series in 1981. He started four races in 1981 with a best finish of 16th and failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in a 7 year old Chevrolet–powered Eagle. Buick again attempted but failed to make the Indy 500 in 1983 in a Chevrolet-powered 3 year old Penske chassis. With the formation of the Indy Racing League in 1996, the then 55-year-old Buick attempted to qualify for the series' first race at Walt Disney World Speedway in a 1992 Lola, but was unable to qualify. He still earned $10,000 for his entry.
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1919 Indianapolis 500 The 7th Liberty 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 31, 1919.
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Jimmy Wilburn Jimmy Wilburn (November 25, 1908 - August 26, 1984) was an American racecar driver from Los Angeles. He won a non-points Championship Car race at Lakewood Speedway in March 1946 which is the first known Champ Car race to be held after the end of World War II. Later that year he drove in the 1946 Indianapolis 500 driving an Alfa Romeo and started 16th and retired after 52 laps with engine trouble, credited with the 19th finishing position.
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Lou Moore Lewis Henry 'Lou' Moore (12 September 1904 Hinton, Oklahoma – 25 March 1956 Atlanta, Georgia) was an American racecar driver. He was most known during his racing career for qualifying on the pole position of the 1932 Indianapolis 500.
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1980 Indianapolis 500 The 64th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 25, 1980. Johnny Rutherford won the pole position, led 118 laps, and won the race by a commanding 29.92 second margin. After failing to finish the race the year before (with Al Unser behind the wheel), Jim Hall's radical new Chaparral 2K ground effects chassis was a heavy favorite entering the month, and drove a flawless race. Rutherford, the winner in 1974 and 1976, became the sixth driver to win the Indy 500 three times.
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Charlie Wiggins Charles Edwin "Charlie" Wiggins (15 July 1897 – 11 March 1979) was an auto racing driver and mechanic from the United States of America, who won the prestigious, annual, Gold and Glory Sweepstakes race four times between 1926 and 1935. As an African-American competing in the Midwest during the inter-war years, he was barred from participating in white-only events – including the Indianapolis 500 – but was a leading light in the parallel Colored Speedway Association (CSA) championships. His dominance during this period was such that the popular media dubbed him the Negro Speed King. His career was ended when he was caught up in a serious accident at the 1936 Gold and Glory event, as a consequence of which he lost his right leg and eye.
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Mickey Thompson Marion Lee "Mickey" Thompson (December 7, 1928March 16, 1988) was an American auto racing builder and promoter.
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Arthur Greiner Arthur Greiner (28 April 1884 – 15 December 1916) was an American racecar driver, and historically the first to finish last in the Indianapolis 500. Greiner crashed on the backstretch after completing twelve laps in the inaugural race. His riding mechanic Sam Dickson was killed in the accident, becoming the first Indianapolis 500 fatality.