Professional Race Car Driver. He was an American auto racer, who competed in 15 Indianapolis 500 races between 1925 and 1948. He lost the 1937 race by a mere 2 seconds. He set an Indy Speedway track record in 1946 while driving a "Novi" race car. Besides car racing, he was a pioneer American motorcycle racing champion starting as a young man. After World War I, he came to national prominence in 1919 upon placing first in the 200-mile National Championship at Ascot Park in Los Angeles riding for the Harley-Davidson factory. In 1921 he placed first the "Dodge City 300 National Championship" while breaking all existing 300 mi (480 km) records. He repeated placing first in the 20-mile National Championship in 1922. He raced in Australia in 1924 before starting his car racing career. He died in a race car accident during a practice run. In 1970 he was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame and in 1998, was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
Professional Race Car Driver. He was an American auto racer, who competed in 15 Indianapolis 500 races between 1925 and 1948. He lost the 1937 race by a mere 2 seconds. He set an Indy Speedway track record in 1946 while driving a "Novi" race car. Besides car racing, he was a pioneer American motorcycle racing champion starting as a young man. After World War I, he came to national prominence in 1919 upon placing first in the 200-mile National Championship at Ascot Park in Los Angeles riding for the Harley-Davidson factory. In 1921 he placed first the "Dodge City 300 National Championship" while breaking all existing 300 mi (480 km) records. He repeated placing first in the 20-mile National Championship in 1922. He raced in Australia in 1924 before starting his car racing career. He died in a race car accident during a practice run. In 1970 he was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame and in 1998, was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
Bio by: Linda Davis
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