1.
Wisconsin State Fair Park
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The Wisconsin State Fair Park is a fairgrounds and exhibition center in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. It has been the location of the Wisconsin State Fair since 1892, the fairgrounds later became a staging ground for Camp Harvey during the Spanish–American War and World Wars I and II. Two Wisconsin historical markers, which are positioned at the entrance of the Wisconsin Exposition Center, the NFLs Green Bay Packers played several regular season home games per year at the park from 1934 through 1951, including the 1939 NFL Championship Game. After a year at Marquette Stadium in 1952, the Packers moved their Milwaukee-area games to County Stadium when it opened in 1953, packer games in Milwaukee were ended after the 1994 season. The grounds of the State Fair, at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources park site, four pre-historic mounds originally populated the location, which were built by the Woodlands People from 100 to 1000 AD. They contained artifacts dating to 8000 BC, some of which can be found at the West Allis Historical Museum, on the 25–27 July 1969 the Midwest Rock Festival was held at the State Fair Park
2.
West Allis, Wisconsin
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West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area, the population was 60,411 at the 2010 census. The name West Allis derives from Edward P. Allis, whose Edward P. Allis Company was a large Milwaukee-area manufacturing firm in the late 19th century. In 1901, the Allis company became Allis-Chalmers, and in 1902 built a new manufacturing plant west of its existing plant. The locale in which the new plant was constructed was at the time called North Greenfield, with the building of the western Allis plant, the area was incorporated as the Village of West Allis, and it became the City of West Allis in 1906. With the presence of Allis-Chalmers, the largest manufacturer in the area, after that, West Allis grew quickly. Between 1910 and 1930, its population grew fivefold, after 1965, the Allis-Chalmers companys fortunes had turned. By 1985, Allis-Chalmerss global workforce had shrunk to 13,000 from its peak of 31,000, since then, West Allis has had some success attracting other employers, such as Quad Graphics. West Allis is located at 43°0′29″N 88°1′6″W, the upper courses of the Root and Kinnickinnic Rivers flow through the city. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 11.41 square miles. As of the census of 2010, there were 60,411 people,27,454 households, the population density was 5,303.9 inhabitants per square mile. There were 29,353 housing units at a density of 2,577.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 86. 7% White,3. 6% African American,1. 1% Native American,2. 0% Asian,3. 6% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 9. 6% of the population. 38. 6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13. 3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.90. The median age in the city was 37.7 years. 20. 5% of residents were under the age of 18,8. 3% were between the ages of 18 and 24,30. 1% were from 25 to 44,26. 5% were from 45 to 64, and 14. 6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49. 0% male and 51. 0% female, as of the census of 2000, there were 61,254 people,27,604 households, and 15,375 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,397.6 people per square mile, there were 28,708 housing units at an average density of 2,529.7 per square mile
3.
Wisconsin
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Wisconsin is a U. S. state located in the north-central United States, in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, Wisconsin is the 23rd largest state by total area and the 20th most populous. The state capital is Madison, and its largest city is Milwaukee, the state is divided into 72 counties. Wisconsin is second to Michigan in the length of its Great Lakes coastline, Wisconsin is known as Americas Dairyland because it is one of the nations leading dairy producers, particularly famous for its cheese. Manufacturing, especially paper products, information technology, and tourism are major contributors to the states economy. The word Wisconsin originates from the given to the Wisconsin River by one of the Algonquian-speaking Native American groups living in the region at the time of European contact. French explorer Jacques Marquette was the first European to reach the Wisconsin River, arriving in 1673, subsequent French writers changed the spelling from Meskousing to Ouisconsin, and over time this became the name for both the Wisconsin River and the surrounding lands. English speakers anglicized the spelling from Ouisconsin to Wisconsin when they began to arrive in numbers during the early 19th century. The legislature of Wisconsin Territory made the current spelling official in 1845, the Algonquin word for Wisconsin and its original meaning have both grown obscure. Interpretations vary, but most implicate the river and the red sandstone that lines its banks, other theories include claims that the name originated from one of a variety of Ojibwa words meaning red stone place, where the waters gather, or great rock. Wisconsin has been home to a variety of cultures over the past 12,000 years. The first people arrived around 10,000 BCE during the Wisconsin Glaciation and these early inhabitants, called Paleo-Indians, hunted now-extinct ice age animals such as the Boaz mastodon, a prehistoric mastodon skeleton unearthed along with spear points in southwest Wisconsin. After the ice age ended around 8000 BCE, people in the subsequent Archaic period lived by hunting, fishing, agricultural societies emerged gradually over the Woodland period between 1000 BCE to 1000 CE. Toward the end of period, Wisconsin was the heartland of the Effigy Mound culture. Later, between 1000 and 1500 CE, the Mississippian and Oneota cultures built substantial settlements including the village at Aztalan in southeast Wisconsin. The Oneota may be the ancestors of the modern Ioway and Ho-Chunk tribes who shared the Wisconsin region with the Menominee at the time of European contact, the first European to visit what became Wisconsin was probably the French explorer Jean Nicolet. He canoed west from Georgian Bay through the Great Lakes in 1634, pierre Radisson and Médard des Groseilliers visited Green Bay again in 1654–1666 and Chequamegon Bay in 1659–1660, where they traded for fur with local Native Americans. In 1673, Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet became the first to record a journey on the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway all the way to the Mississippi River near Prairie du Chien
4.
United States dollar
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The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its insular territories per the United States Constitution. It is divided into 100 smaller cent units, the circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars. The U. S. dollar was originally commodity money of silver as enacted by the Coinage Act of 1792 which determined the dollar to be 371 4/16 grain pure or 416 grain standard silver, the currency most used in international transactions, it is the worlds primary reserve currency. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. Besides the United States, it is used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. A few countries use the Federal Reserve Notes for paper money, while the country mints its own coins, or also accepts U. S. coins that can be used as payment in U. S. dollars. After Nixon shock of 1971, USD became fiat currency, Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution provides that the Congress has the power To coin money, laws implementing this power are currently codified at 31 U. S. C. Section 5112 prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued and these coins are both designated in Section 5112 as legal tender in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, the pure silver dollar is known as the American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins and these other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar. The Constitution provides that a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and that provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code. The sums of money reported in the Statements are currently being expressed in U. S. dollars, the U. S. dollar may therefore be described as the unit of account of the United States. The word dollar is one of the words in the first paragraph of Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution, there, dollars is a reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U. S. Congress passed a Coinage Act, Section 20 of the act provided, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units. And that all accounts in the offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. In other words, this act designated the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States, unlike the Spanish milled dollar the U. S. dollar is based upon a decimal system of values. Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the form is significantly more common
5.
IndyCar Series
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The IndyCar Series is the premier level of open wheel racing in North America. Its parent company began in 1996 as a competitor to CART known as the Indy Racing League which was created by then Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George, in 2008, the IndyCar Series merged with the Champ Car World Series. The series is sanctioned by INDYCAR, due to the legal settlement with CART, the Indy Racing League was unable to utilize the name IndyCar until the beginning of the 2003 season. For 1996–1997, the series was referred to as the Indy Racing League. For 1998–1999, the series garnered its first title sponsor, and was advertised as the Pep Boys Indy Racing League, the contract was not renewed after the second year. In 2000, the series sold its rights to Internet search engine Northern Light for five seasons. After only two seasons, however, the agreement ended when Northern Light reevaluated its business plan. The league reverted to the Indy Racing League name for the 2002 season, the IndyCar Series name was officially adopted beginning in 2003, as the series was now legally entitled to use it. Simmons also co-authored the new IndyCar theme song, I Am Indy, izod was announced as the series title sponsor beginning on November 5,2009. Exact financial terms were not disclosed but the deal is worth at least $10 million per year, izod ended its sponsorship after the 2013 season. On March 14,2014, Verizon Wireless was announced as the title sponsor. Since the series inception, IndyCar Series events have been broadcast in the United States on several networks, including ABC, CBS, ESPN, Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Sports Networks, and Spike. Beginning in 2009, NBCSN began a 10-year deal to broadcast 13 IndyCar races per season, whereas the remaining races, including the Indianapolis 500, would remain on ABC through 2018. As of the 2016 season, ABC airs 5 races per season, in the United Kingdom, since the launch of BT Sport in August 2013 races are shown on one of the BT branded channels or ESPN. Previous to August 2013, the IndyCar Series races were broadcasts on the Sky Sports family of networks, the IndyCar Series also had highlights of all the races on the channel Five British terrestrial channel and Five USA, but has since been discontinued since the 2009 season. In Portugal, all of the IndyCar Series are broadcast on Sport TV, in February 2013, Sportsnet announced that it would become the official Canadian broadcaster of the IndyCar Series beginning in the 2013 season in a five-year deal with the series. The new contract will include broadcasts on the Sportsnet regional networks, Sportsnet One, additionally, Sportsnet would also originate coverage from the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Indianapolis 500, and Honda Indy Toronto with Bill Adam, Todd Lewis, and Rob Faulds. Canadian driver Paul Tracy also joined Sportsnet as an analyst, rede Bandeirantes serves as the Brazilian broadcast partner in that country since 1989
6.
ABC Supply Wisconsin 250
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The ABC Supply Wisconsin 250 at Milwaukee IndyFest Presented by the Metro Milwaukee Honda Dealers is an IndyCar Series race held at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin. Open wheel racing at the dates back to 1937. AAA sanctioned races in 1937–1939,1941, and 1946–1955, the track was paved in 1954. USAC sanctioned Championship car races from 1956–1979, in 1980, the race switched to a CART/Champ Car race, and continued through 2006. IndyCar started holding races at the track in 2004, and thus for a time from 2004-2006. Starting in 2007, IndyCar became the lone event, the race was put on hiatus for 2010, stemming from management difficulties regarding payment of sanctioning fees. In 2011, the returned and continued to be held through 2015. For most years starting in 1949, Milwaukee traditionally hosted the first race following the Indianapolis 500, from 1947 to 1982, Milwaukee generally hosted two races, the first race right after Indy in June, and the second in August or September. The latter sometimes in the surrounding the Wisconsin State Fair. After 1982, the race was dropped. With only one race annually going forward, the decided to keep the traditional June right after Indy date. In 1986, the race was scheduled for Sunday June 1, however, due to rain on May 25–26, the Indianapolis 500 was postponed to Saturday May 31. After discussions with track, television, and series leaders, the Milwaukee race was pushed back one week to make the accommodation. From 2004-2006, when both Champ Car and IndyCar were holding races at the track, Champ Car still utilized the June date, while IndyCar chose to hold their race in late July. In 2007, when IndyCar became the open wheel race at the track. This arrangement lasted three years, as the race was put on hiatus for 2010. When the race revived for 2011-2013, for a variety of reasons, detroit took the weekend immediately after Indy, and Texas maintained its position on the second weekend of June. Starting in 2014, the race moved permanently to August, reviving the old state fair date, from 1950 to 1987, the June race was called the Rex Mays Classic, in honor of Rex Mays, a two-time AAA national champion killed in a race in 1949
7.
Indy Lights
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Indy Lights is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, the Indy Lights series has been promoted by Anderson Promotions since 2014, which also manages the Road to Indy programme. A similar series named Indy Lights filled the role for the CART series. The Indy Lights champion is awarded a $1M scholarship toward the IndyCar Series, during the early 1960s, open wheel cars were front engined roadsters. The primary ladder series included sprints and midgets, by the end of the decade, and into the 1970s, the cars evolved into rear-engine formula-style machines. Likewise, the series began to follow the same mold. When USAC became the sanctioning body for top-level Indy car racing. The SCCA Super Vee and Formula Atlantic series were among the first formula-based ladder series, however, neither had any direct tie to USAC. In 1977, USAC started the Mini-Indy series, using Super Vee machines, the series ended after 1980 when USAC stopped sanctioning Indy car races outside of Indianapolis. The original Indy Lights series was formed as a racing series that acted as a developmental circuit for CART from 1986 to 2001. It was founded in 1986 as the American Racing Series, the series was renamed Indy Lights in 1991. The CART-sanctioned series became popular and secured the title sponsorship of Firestone. Later, Firestones subsidiary Dayton Tires took over as tire supplier, a spec-series, CART Indy Lights used March chassis from 1986 to 1992. Lola provided chassis from 1993 to 2001, buick V6 engines were used for its entire existence. The ARS/Indy Lights series championship winners included two CART champions, two IndyCar Series champions, seven CCWS race-winners and two Formula One drivers, the Indy Lights schedule closely followed that of the CART series, with the noteworthy exception of Indianapolis. The series typically had a gap of up to a month while the primary CART teams raced at the Indy 500, the races were usually held the morning of the CART series races, as an undercard, support event. In early years, the Indy Lights series skipped superspeedway races such as Michigan, by the late 1990s and early 2000s, CART was suffering from financial problems. Meanwhile, in 1996, the rival Indy Racing League was formed, CART canceled the minor league outright after the 2001 season
8.
NASCAR
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The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is an American family-owned and operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto-racing sports events. Bill France Sr. founded the company in 1948 and his grandson Brian France became its CEO in 2003, NASCAR is motorsports preeminent stock-car racing organization. The three largest racing-series sanctioned by this company are the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the Xfinity Series, the company also oversees NASCAR Local Racing, the Whelen Modified Tour, the Whelen All-American Series, and the NASCAR iRacing. com Series. NASCAR sanctions over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 39 of the 50 US states as well as in Canada. NASCAR has presented exhibition races at the Suzuka and Motegi circuits in Japan, the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico, NASCAR has its official headquarters in Daytona Beach, Florida, and also maintains offices in the North Carolina cities of Charlotte, Concord, and Conover. Regional offices are located in New York City and Los Angeles, with offices in Mexico City. Owing to NASCARs Southern roots, all but a handful of NASCAR teams are based in North Carolina. NASCAR is second to the National Football League among professional sports franchises in terms of television viewers, internationally, its races are broadcast on television in over 150 countries. In 2004, NASCARs Director of Security stated that the company holds 17 of the Top 20 regularly attended single-day sporting events in the world, fortune 500 companies sponsor NASCAR more than any other motor sport, although this sponsorship has declined since the early-2000s. By the time the Bonneville Salt Flats became the location for pursuit of land speed records. Drivers raced on a 4. 1-mile course, consisting of a 1. 5–2. 0-mile stretch of beach as one straightaway, the two straights were connected by two tight, deeply rutted and sand covered turns at each end. Stock car racing in the United States has its origins in bootlegging during Prohibition, bootleggers needed to distribute their illicit products, and they typically used small, fast vehicles to better evade the police. Many of the drivers would modify their cars for speed and handling, as well as increased cargo capacity, the cars continued to improve, and by the late 1940s, races featuring these cars were being run for pride and profit. These races were popular entertainment in the rural Southern United States, most races in those days were of modified cars. Street vehicles were lightened and reinforced, mechanic William France Sr. moved to Daytona Beach, Florida, from Washington, D. C. in 1935 to escape the Great Depression. He was familiar with the history of the area from the speed record attempts. France entered the 1936 Daytona event, finishing fifth and he took over running the course in 1938. He promoted a few races before World War II, France had the notion that people would enjoy watching stock cars race
9.
Camping World Truck Series
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The series is one of three national divisions of NASCAR, ranking as the third tier behind the second-tier Xfinity Series and the top level Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Camping World has served as the sponsor since 2009, it replaced Craftsman. The idea for the Truck Series dates back to 1991, a group of SCORE off-road racers had concerns about desert racings future, and decided to create a pavement truck racing series. They visited NASCAR Western Operations Vice President Ken Clapp to promote the idea, who consulted Bill France Jr. with it, afterwards, Clapp told the four to build a truck before NASCAR considered it. The truck proved to be popular among fans, and NASCAR arranged a meeting in a Burbank, California hotel on April 11,1994, four demonstration races were held during the season at Mesa Marin Raceway had six trucks, Portland Speedway, Saugus Speedway and Tucson Raceway Park. Tucson held four events that winter, which were televised during the Winter Heat Series coverage. Tools line Craftsman served as the sponsor of the series on a deal. In addition, the series $580,000 purse is larger than the Busch Grand National Series fund, while a new series, it garnered immediate support from many prominent Winston Cup Series team owners and drivers. Prominent Cup owners Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, and Jack Roush owned truck teams, at the end of the 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule, Craftsman stopped sponsoring the series. Subsequently, Camping World signed a contract with NASCAR, rebranding the series as the Camping World Truck Series. Teams like Richard Childress Racing, a Cup team with 31 Truck wins, shut down their Truck operations, in RCRs case, thats just how the system works. To cut costs, NASCAR required teams to use sealed engines and this requirement was abandoned for the 2010 season. Starting with the 2011 season, NASCAR implemented a new rule that allows drivers to compete for the championship in only one of the three national touring series in a given season. As the years went on, a number of younger drivers debuted in the series, current NASCAR stars Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, and Kyle Busch each started in the series. And previous champions Johnny Benson, Mike Skinner, Ron Hornaday, Ted Musgrave, even though novice drivers play a minimal role in this minor league series, there is no controversy like the disputes over Buschwhackers in the Nationwide Series. A Truck Series field currently consists of 32 trucks, NASCAR uses a knockout qualifying system across the three series. The sessions are three long, In round one, all drivers have 20 minutes to set a time. In the second round, the drivers have 10 minutes to run, and the top 12 advance to the round, the final round
10.
Xfinity Series
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The NASCAR Xfinity Series is a stock car racing series owned and operated by The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. It is promoted as NASCARs minor league circuit, and is considered a ground for drivers who wish to step up to the organizations top level circuit. Xfinity Series races are held in the same venue as, and a day prior to. The series emerged from NASCARs Sportsman division, which had formed in 1950 as NASCARs short track race division. The sportsman cars were not current model cars and could be modified more and it became the Late Model Sportsman Series in 1968, and soon featured races on larger tracks such as Daytona International Speedway. Drivers used obsolete Grand National cars on larger tracks but by the inception of the format in 1982. Short track cars with relatively small 300 cubic inch V-8 motors were used, drivers used smaller current year models featuring V6 motors. The modern-day Xfinity Series was formed in 1982, when Anheuser-Busch sponsored a newly reformed late-model sportsman series with its Budweiser brand, the series switched sponsorship to Busch in 1984. It was renamed in 1986 to the Busch Grand National Series, Grand National was dropped from the series title in 2003 as part of NASCARs brand identity. Anheuser-Busch dropped the sponsorship in 2007, Nationwide Insurance took over the sponsorship for the 2008 season, the Nationwide sponsorship was a seven-year contract, and did not include the banking and mortgage departments of Nationwide. The sponsorship reportedly carried a $10 million commitment for 2008, with 6% annual escalations thereafter, on September 3,2014, it was announced that Comcast would become the new title sponsor of the series via its cable television and internet brand Xfinity, renaming it the Xfinity Series. In 2016, NASCAR implemented a seven-race Chase system similar to the one used in the NASCAR Cup Series, on March 6,2005, the series held its first race outside the United States, the Telcel-Motorola 200. The race was held in Mexico City, Mexico at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and it was won by Martin Truex Jr. On August 4,2007, the series held its second race outside of the United States, at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec and it was won by Kevin Harvick, while Quebec native Patrick Carpentier finished second. In July 2008, NASCAR announced that the Nationwide Series would not return to Mexico City in 2009, in 2016, the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series adopted a playoff format similar to the NASCAR Cup Series Chase for the Championship. Unlike the NASCAR Cup Series, whose Chase consists of four rounds, after each of the first two rounds, the four Chase grid drivers with the fewest season points are eliminated from the grid and Chase contention. The best-placed driver overall from the four Dash 4 Cash races advances to the Chase, until 2000, the Busch Grand National Series was carried on a number of both cable and broadcast networks that had deals with the series tracks. Most standalone races were aired on TNN, while races that were companion races with Winston Cup dates aired on the airing the Cup race
11.
NorthernTool.com 250
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The NorthernTool. com 250 was a NASCAR Nationwide Series race held at the Milwaukee Mile. From 1984 to 1985, the race was 200 laps,200 miles long, from 1986 to 1992, no race was held. In 1993, the race returned, and was increased to 250 laps,250 miles, the race was traditionally held Sunday afternoons, while the Winston Cup Series was either off or at a different venue, but starting in 2004, the race was run on Saturday night. The 2010 race was canceled and the date was moved across Wisconsin to Road America,2005, race shortened due to rain. 2006, race extended due to a green-white-checker finish,2007, Aric Almirola started the race for Denny Hamlin, who had arrived to the track late. After Hamlin arrived, he took over the car and went on to win, because Almirola started the race, he was credited with the victory, giving him his first Nationwide Series win. Racing-Reference. info - Milwaukee Mile Race Results
12.
USAC Stock Car
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The USAC Stock Car division was the stock car racing class sanctioned by the United States Auto Club. The division raced nationally, drivers from USACs open wheel classes like Indy cars, Silver Crown, sprints, several NASCAR drivers raced in USAC Stock Cars at various points in their careers. In the late 1950s, USAC Stock Cars rivaled NASCAR stock cars with races throughout the Midwestern and Northeastern United States, NASCAR owners Holman Moody found racing in USAC Stock Cars to be appealing because of USACs ties to the Indianapolis 500. The stock car class began as a division of the AAA Contest Board, AAA decided to stop sanctioning all racing classes after Bill Vukovichs death at the 1955 Indianapolis 500 was followed closely by the 1955 Le Mans disaster. USAC took over sanction in all of their classes starting in 1956, USAC continued to sanction the Stock Car division until 1984 but the series had lost some luster as the events were frequently co-sanctioned with ARCA. The final championship in 1984 was scheduled for three races but only two were run, the third event, part of the 4 Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway, was rained out and not rescheduled. After the division ended, many of the moved to other Midwestern series such as the American Speed Association, ARCA. USAC Stock Cars raced on tracks, asphalt ovals and road courses. The Milwaukee Mile was regularly on the schedule, the variety of tracks included the dirt at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds Racetracks oval, Indianapolis Raceway Parks asphalt oval, and the asphalt circle at Langhorne Speedway. The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb was even a stop on the schedule during some seasons, Indy car champions Al Unser and Joe Leonard were named the Rookie of the Year. Leonard had moved to stock cars after winning several AMA motorcycle championships, future NASCAR drivers Dick Trickle, Joe Ruttman, Rusty Wallace, and Ken Schrader plus USAC Stock Car champion Butch Hartman received the award
13.
ARCA Midwest Tour
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The The ARCA Midwest Tour presented by SCAG Power Equipment is a pavement Super Late Model auto racing series based in the Midwestern United States with its headquarters in Oregon, Wisconsin. Http, //www. scag. com/scagracing/ The Automobile Racing Club of America sanctions the regional series as a series along with its CRA Super Series. The series can trace its roots back to the ARTGO series which was formed in 1975, NASCAR sanctioned the tour from 1998 until 2006. During that time, it was known as the RE/MAX Challenge Series, International Truck & Engine Midwest Series and finally the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, NASCAR discontinued the series in 2006 as car counts dwindled. Tim Olson and Stephen Einhaus formed Cars and Stars Promotions in 2006 to begin a series that replaced the defunct ARTGO / NASCAR series. It was sanctioned by the American Speed Association and was known as the ASA Midwest Tour, ARCA took over sanctioning the series in 2013 when it began to be known as the ARCA Midwest Tour. Tim Olson, President of the ARCA Midwest Tour, announced that he has sold the ownership of the ARCA Midwest Tour to former Big 8 Series Director and Rockford Speedway General Manager Gregg McKarns. December 5,2014 http, //speed51. com/mckarns-takes-over-arca-midwest-tour-ownership/ In 2013, the tour stops at tracks in Wisconsin, Illinois. The series has its Touring Stars program, which recognizes the top drivers committed to racing the whole schedule, the Touring Stars are featured throughout the year on posters and event fliers promoting the series, as well as are eligible for pay bonuses at each race
14.
ASA Late Model Series
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ASA Late Model Series is a nationally touring American stock car racing series. Founded by Ron Varney in 2003 as the USPRO Cup Series, after financial difficulties during the 2004 season, the series was sold back to its founders. The ASA Late Model Series would be renamed the ASA Late Model Challenge Series, the Late Model Series was reacquired by Varney, while other assets were sold to Racing Speed Associates, led by Dennis Huth. On December,2007, Dennis Huth filed a lawsuit against the ASA Late Model Series seeking to invalidate, the ASA Late Model Series responded that the lawsuit is frivolous and without merit and plan counter sue Mr. Huth for damages caused by suit. On January 14,2009, the dispute was settled. On October 11,2010 it was announced publicly that in an Order signed on October 7,2010 by US District Court Judge Matthew Kennelly, has permanently barred Louis R, the injunction was delivered at the 2010 Oktoberfest Race Weekend at the La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway. This forced the ASA Late Model Series cars to remove the any decals with the ASA name, ASA Late Model Series ASA Late Model South Series ASA Late Model North Series
15.
Mid-American Stock Car Series
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The Mid American Stock Car Series is a traveling Sportsman Series in the Midwestern United States. The series races exclusively on paved racetracks, the cars are based on a 108 metric stock frame, less costly suspension parts and a maximum of 358 cubic inch engine. The series was founded in 1993 by Gary Vercauteran, the Series was at one time a support class for the famous ARTGO Challenge Series. The expansion also included the Stock Car Classics in 2004 and the American Stock Car League in 2005, the passing of Vercauteran in October 2005 led to the purchase of Mid-American by longtime employees Doug and Julie Strasburg. The Strasburgs kept only the Mid American Stock Car Series while MARS, the Stock Car Classics split into two groups. The Super Trucks were absorbed into the United States Super Trucks or USST, when the Strasburgs took over Mid American in 2006, the series was struggling with car counts and tracks willing to host races. The average car count average jumped from 20 entrants per race to 27, a season high 39 participants ran at the Milwaukee Mile during the Governors Cup Weekend. Several tracks have renewed relationships with the Mid-American Stock Car Series such as the Golden Sands Speedway, Marshfield Super Speedway, Dells Raceway Park, the series was sold by Strasburg to former La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway flagman Greg Oliver in early February of 2017. Oliver runs both the Great Northern Sportsmen Series and Midwest Dash Series, all three series are a part of the GO Racing Promotions organization, The series uses 8 Hoosier F-75 tires. Approved fiberglass car bodies include those from FiveStar Bodies, CASCAR, the race was often held as part of the Red, White, and Blue state championship event at Wisconsin International Raceway. The 2007 event at WIR was rained out, so it was held at 141 Speedway which is the track next closed to Vercauterans hometown Chilton, the 2010 event was held at Road America. It began in Vercauterans hometown dirt track in Chilton before the series origin and it has been held at a variety of tracks since then. The 25th annual Vercauteran Memorial winner returned to WIR and was won by Tyler Bauknecht,2016 Ron Vandemeier, Jr.2004 Gary Stein 2003 Chuck King Official Mid-American Website
16.
Race track
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A race track is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals. A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses, racetracks are also used in the study of animal locomotion. Some motorsport tracks are called speedways, a racetrack is a permanent facility or building. Racecourse is a term for a horse racing track, found in countries such as the United Kingdom, India, Australia, Hong Kong. Race tracks built for bicycles are known as velodromes, circuit is a common alternate term for racetrack, given the circuit configuration of most race tracks, allowing races to occur over several laps. A race course, as opposed to a racecourse, is a term for non-permanent tracks for sports, particularly running, water sports, road racing. Many sports usually held on racetracks also can occur on temporary tracks, there is some evidence of racetracks being developed in several ancient civilizations. The most developed ancient racetracks were the hippodromes of the Ancient Greeks, both of these structures were designed for horse and chariot racing. The stadium of the Circus Maximus in Ancient Rome could hold 200,000 spectators, racing facilities existed during the Middle Ages, and there are records of a public racecourse being opened at Newmarket in London in 1174. In 1780 the Earl of Derby created a course on his estate at Epsom. Racecourses in the British Isles are based on grass, known as turf tracks, in the United States, the race tracks are dirt. With the advent of the automobile in the late twentieth century. The earliest tracks were modified horse racing courses, racing automobiles in such facilities began in September 1896, at Narragansett Park in Cranston, Rhode Island. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was opened in August 1909, beginning in the early 1900s, motorcycle races were run on high, banked, wooden race tracks called board tracks. During the 1920s, many of the races on the AAA Championship circuit were run on board tracks. Modern racetracks are designed with safety being paramount, following incidents of spectator. These often involve run off areas, barriers, and high fencing, several racetracks are incorporated into larger venues or complexes, incorporating golf courses, museums, hotels, and conference centres. Some racetracks are small enough to be contained indoors, for such as motocross, cycling
17.
Milwaukee
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Milwaukee is the largest city in the state of Wisconsin and the fifth-largest city in the Midwestern United States. The county seat of Milwaukee County, it is on Lake Michigans western shore, Milwaukees estimated population in 2015 was 600,155. Milwaukee is the cultural and economic center of the Milwaukee–Racine–Waukesha Metropolitan Area with an estimated population of 2,046,692 as of 2015. Ranked by estimated 2014 population, Milwaukee is the 31st largest city in the United States, the first Europeans to pass through the area were French Catholic missionaries and fur traders. In 1818, the French Canadian explorer Solomon Juneau settled in the area, large numbers of German immigrants helped increase the citys population during the 1840s, with Poles and other immigrants arriving in the following decades. Known for its traditions, Milwaukee is currently experiencing its largest construction boom since the 1960s. In addition, many new skyscrapers, condos, lofts and apartments have been built in neighborhoods on and near the lakefront, the word Milwaukee may come from the Potawatomi language minwaking, or Ojibwe language ominowakiing, Gathering place. The first recorded inhabitants of the Milwaukee area are the Menominee, Fox, Mascouten, Sauk, Potawatomi, Ojibwe, many of these people had lived around Green Bay before migrating to the Milwaukee area around the time of European contact. In the second half of the 18th century, the Indians at Milwaukee played a role in all the wars on the American continent. During the French and Indian War, a group of Ojibwas, in the American Revolutionary War, the Indians around Milwaukee were some of the few Indians who remained loyal to the American cause throughout the Revolution. After American independence, the Indians fought the United States in the Northwest Indian War as part of the Council of Three Fires, during the War of 1812, Indians held a council in Milwaukee in June 1812, which resulted in their decision to attack Chicago. This resulted in the Battle of Fort Dearborn on August 15,1812, the War of 1812 did not end well for the Indians, and after the Black Hawk War in 1832, the Indians in Milwaukee signed their final treaty with the United States in Chicago in 1833. This paved the way for American settlement, Europeans had arrived in the Milwaukee area prior to the 1833 Treaty of Chicago. French missionaries and traders first passed through the area in the late 17th and 18th centuries, alexis Laframboise, in 1785, coming from Michilimackinac settled a trading post, therefore, he is the first European descent resident of the Milwaukee region. Early explorers called the Milwaukee River and surrounding lands various names, Melleorki, Milwacky, Mahn-a-waukie, Milwarck, for many years, printed records gave the name as Milwaukie. One story of Milwaukees name says, ne day during the thirties of the last century a newspaper calmly changed the name to Milwaukee, the spelling Milwaukie lives on in Milwaukie, Oregon, named after the Wisconsin city in 1847, before the current spelling was universally accepted. Milwaukee has three founding fathers, Solomon Juneau, Byron Kilbourn, and George H. Walker, Solomon Juneau was the first of the three to come to the area, in 1818. He was not the first European settler but founded a town called Juneaus Side, or Juneautown, in competition with Juneau, Byron Kilbourn established Kilbourntown west of the Milwaukee River and made sure the streets running toward the river did not join with those on the east side
18.
American Automobile Association
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The American Automobile Association is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a member service organization, with 55.6 million members in the United States. AAA provides services to its members, including roadside assistance and others and its national headquarters are in Heathrow, Florida. Those individual motor clubs included the Chicago Automobile Club, Automobile Club of America, Automobile Club of New Jersey, the Automobile Club of Buffalo joined in 1903. In 1904, the AAA merged with the very first American automobile organization, the first AAA road maps were published in 1905. AAA began printing hotel guides in 1917, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, which conducts studies on motorist safety, was established as a separate entity in 1947. AAA created an organization called the Racing Board, and later known as the Contest Board, in 1902 to officiate the Vanderbilt Cup international automobile race in Long Island, New York. The Racing Board sanctioned the Indianapolis 500 and awarded national racing championships in 1905,1916, 1920–1941, after the 1955 Le Mans disaster, AAA decided that auto racing distracted from its primary goals, and the United States Automobile Club was formed to take over the race sanctioning/officiating. In 2005, AAA re-entered racing as a sponsor of ISC-owned tracks, in 2006, AAAs foray into racing expanded when it made a three-year commitment to sponsor Roush Racings number 6 car on the NASCAR Nextel Circuit. In 1935, AAA published Sportsmanlike Driving, the first course outline for high school teachers, in 1936, AAA published the first driver education curriculum for use in high schools. AAA has updated its driver training courses throughout the years and many clubs currently offer their own driving schools, knowing that vehicles pose a hazard to pedestrians, in 1936 AAA began a pedestrian safety program with a grant from the Automotive Safety Foundation. AAA went on to commission and publish a study of pedestrian safety for the purpose of reducing pedestrian fatalities and injuries. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety was established as an entity in 1947. AAA has also provided services to the U. S. government in times of war, during the 1940s, AAA offered its services to the Advisory Commission of the Council of National Defense in anticipation of becoming involved in World War II. Reductions in manufacturing because of the war increased the need for conservation in automobiles, in 1944, AAA’s Keep em Rolling campaign sponsored a cross-country tour featuring cars equipped with synthetic tires. The tour demonstrated the reliability of tires made with synthetic rubber, AAA also assisted in the development of a manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and their operation during wartime. In 1946, AAA launched a campaign called Take It Easy, subsequently, fatalities dropped 20 percent below the pre-war figure. In the 1960s, AAA helped draft the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, setting safety standards for automobiles, tires, and equipment
19.
United States Auto Club
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The United States Auto Club is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, ultimately, USAC was formed by Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman. It became the arbiter of rules, car design, and other matters for what it termed championship auto racing, for a while there was a separate series of specifications for championship cars designed to be run on dirt, rather than paved, tracks. NASCAR drivers including Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, the triple crown is earned in USAC racing when a driver claims all three national championships. Only two drivers, Tony Stewart and J. J, yeley, have achieved the triple crown in a single season. Three other drivers, Pancho Carter, Dave Darland, and Jerry Coons, in 2012 Mike Curb and Cary Agajanian became the only car owners to win the triple crown by winning all three championships in the same year. USAC had awarded a championship until A. J. Foyt won his seventh title in 1979. It has announced that it will begin awarding a national championship starting in 2010, a drivers finishes in their 25 best races are counted toward the championship and the 2010 winner received $40,000. Points are accumulated in the three series, sprints, midgets, and silver crown. Bryan Clauson of Noblesville, Indiana claimed the championship, topping runner-up, Levi Jones. Bruce White, assistant staff doctor Don Mullendore, owner and pilot of the plane, the effect on USAC, and for open-wheel racing in the United States, was devastating, especially since it closely followed the death of Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman. The plane crash came at a time when Indy car owners and drivers were demanding changes from USAC, aside from the Indianapolis 500, USAC events were not well attended, and the owners felt that USAC poorly negotiated television rights. The owners also wanted increases in payouts, especially at Indy, though some think the plane crash was used as an opportunistic way to force change in the sport, it was merely an unfortunate coincidence. The seed of dissent had been growing for years before the accident. Finally, most car owners banded together to form Championship Auto Racing Teams in 1978, USAC tried unsuccessfully to ban all CART owners from the 1979 Indianapolis 500, finally losing in court before the race began. Both the USAC and CART ran race schedules in 1979, Indianapolis Motor Speedway president John Cooper was instrumental in forming a joint body of CART and USAC with the creation of the Championship Racing League in March 1980. However, in mid 1980, Cooper forced USAC to renounce their agreement with the CRL if they wanted to keep officiating the Indy 500, beginning in 1971, all dirt races were split from the National Championship. From 1971 to 1980, the series was named National Dirt Car Championship, Champions From 1956–1960 USAC National Sprint Car Championship was divided into two divisions, Midwest and East
20.
Champ Car
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Such racing had been sanctioned by the AAA, USAC, SCCA, the CRL, CART, and IndyCar. In its most popular and recent contemporary usage, Champ Car was the given to a governing body formerly known as Championship Auto Racing Teams. The CART series was founded in 1979 by team owners who disagreed with the direction, at the height of the popularity of the series in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was known as the CART/PPG Indy Car World Series. The term Champ Car temporarily disappeared from use, with the more marketable term Indy Car being utilized, in 1996, the open wheel split saw the CART series take a different direction from the newly created Indy Racing League IRL and the Indy 500. Thereafter, it re-branded itself as CART again, and re-booted the term Champ Car as the moniker for the machines used, the series was advertised as CART FedEx Championship Series from 1997 to 2002. CART went bankrupt at the end of the 2003 season, a trio of CART team owners acquired the assets of the sanctioning body and renamed it as the Champ Car World Series, again highlighting the historic Champ Car term. In 1905 the AAA established the national driving championship and became the first sanctioning body for auto racing in the United States, the AAA ceased sanctioning auto racing in the general outrage over motor racing safety that followed the 1955 Le Mans disaster. In response, Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony Hulman formed USAC to take over the sanctioning of what was called championship auto racing, USAC sanctioned the championship exclusively until 1978, when a split between USAC and some of the car owners prompted the formation of the rival CART series. The split from USAC was spurred by a group of activist car owners who had grown disenchanted with what they saw as a sanctioning body. Gurney took his inspiration from the improvements Bernie Ecclestone had forced on Formula One with his creation of the Formula One Constructors Association. The White Paper called for the owners to form CART as a group to promote USACs national championship. The group would work to negotiate television rights and race purses. USACs rejection of the led the owners to form a new series in late 1978 under the principles laid out in the Gurney White Paper. The first race was held in March 1979, the newness of the organization, however, prevented it from being recognized by ACCUS, the United States representative to the FIA. An arrangement was reached such that the SCCA would act as the body for the new series. This would allow the events to be listed on the International Motorsports Calendar, the new series quickly gained the support of the majority of team and track owners, with the only notable holdout being A. J. Foyt. This meant that the front and mid-pack teams would be racing in the new CART series, of the 20 races held in 1979,13 were part of the 1979 CART Championship. Of the 10 tracks to host races, five would host CART events exclusively and one, Ontario, by 1982, the CART series was almost universally recognized as the American national championship
21.
Barney Oldfield
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Berna Eli Barney Oldfield was an American pioneer automobile racer whose name was synonymous with speed in the first two decades of the 20th century. He began racing in 1902 and continued until his retirement in 1918 and he was the first man to drive a car at 60 miles per hour. Berna Eli Oldfield was born in York Township, Fulton County, Ohio, near Wauseon, on January 29,1878, to Henry Clay, a laborer and he was named after his fathers bunkmate in the 68th Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the American Civil War. As of the 1880 United States Census, the Oldfields lived in Wauseon, in 1889 they moved to Toledo, where Henry got a job at a mental asylum. In the summer of 1891, Berna worked as a waterboy in order to purchase his first bicycle, according to legend, he spent most of his Sunday afternoons at the local Toledo fire station, hoping for the next call. As its “mascot”, he was allowed to ride the big red hose wagon, Berna worked the following school year selling the Toledo Blade and Toledo Bee newspapers. He dropped out of school after the grade in 1892 and started working with his father as a kitchen helper at the mental asylum during the day. He eventually worked at the hotel full-time as he felt uneasy around mental patients, the bell captain apparently told him that “Berna” was a sissy name, so “Barney” became his official name. Barney, who had a personality, received many tips and bought his first bike. Clarence Brigham, who sold the “Cleveland” brand bike, and Edward G, eager who sold the “Columbia” models in his store, organized the Wauseon Cycle Club to increase sales and draw more people to town on the Michigan Lake Shore Railroad. Other cycling groups in Swanton, Clyde, Monroe, Adrian, Blissfield, half-mile and mile classes were raced on public tracks usually reserved for horses. Other members included Fred Ballmeyer, Ora Brailey, Curt and Buff Harrison, Doc Myers, Emil Winzeler, Doc Miley, Frank Harper, Dan Raymond, Sid Black, in October 1892, the second “Silver Tournament” was held in Wauseon. In 1893, he working as an elevator operator at a different hotel. Every night he stored one hotel tenant’s lightweight Cleveland cycle in the basement, he borrowed it. At age 16, Oldfield began bicycle racing in 1894 when he entered his first race after officials from Dauntless bicycle factory asked him to ride for the Ohio state championship. By 1896, he was paid by Stearns in Syracuse, New York, Oldfield agreed and traveled to Michigan for the trial, but neither car started. Despite the fact that Oldfield had never driven a automobile, he. One of them was the famous No.999 that debuted in October 1902 at the Manufacturers Challenge Cup, today it is displayed at the Henry Ford Museum in Greenfield Village
22.
Ralph DePalma
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Raffaele Ralph De Palma was an Italian-American racecar driving champion who won the 1915 Indianapolis 500. His entry at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame estimates that he won about 2,000 races, DePalma won the 1908,1909,1910, and 1911 American AAA national dirt track championships and is credited with winning 24 American Champ car races. He won the Canadian national championship in 1929, DePalma estimated that he had earned $1.5 million by 1934 after racing for 27 years. He is inducted in numerous halls of fame and he competed on boards and dirt road courses and ovals. Born in Biccari, Apulia, Italy, DePalmas family emigrated to the United States in 1893, DePalma was immediately successful in car racing. In 1911, DePalma won the first Milwaukee Mile Championship Car race, however, he is still remembered for the dramatic manner in which he lost the 1912 Indianapolis 500. After leading the race for 196 of the 200 laps, his Mercedes cracked a piston and with only 2 laps remaining, he, at that time, only cars completing the full 200 laps received any prize money. This Mercedes remains on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. He went on to earn the U. S. national driving championship that year, after being impaled by a corn stalk, he was hospitalized for 11 weeks, he recovered and was back to racing the following spring. He entered the 1914 Indianapolis 500 but was not able to finish the course, DePalma had been let go by the Mercer Automobile Co. racing team in favor of Barney Oldfield. In a Mercedes Gray Ghost, he showed he was a tactician in beating Oldfields much faster car. He ended 1914 by winning his second U. S. national driving championship, the following year,1915, he drove to victory at 1915 Indianapolis 500 with a Mercedes 4.5 liter Gp car. DePalma was a competitor but one of the most popular racers with his fellow drivers and the fans because of his good sportsmanship. In June 1917 he lost to Barney Oldfield in a series of 10 to 25 mile match races at the Milwaukee Mile. On February 12,1919 at Daytona Beach, Florida, he drove a Packard to a speed record of 149.875 mph over a measured mile. International competition began following the adoption of the three liter engine limit in the U. S. and Europe in 1920, DePalma began the year driving for the French manufacturer, Ballot. His Ballot vehicle won the position for the 1920 Indy race and he led for many laps but bad luck dogged him in the race. However, DePalma did race his Ballot vehicle in the Elgin Road Race, then in 1921 DePalma traveled with other Americans to Le Mans to compete in the French Grand Prix
23.
Parnelli Jones
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Rufus Parnell Parnelli Jones, is a retired American racing driver and race car owner. He is most remembered for his accomplishments at the Indianapolis 500, in 1962, he became the first driver to qualify over 150 mph. He won the race in 1963, then broke down while leading the 1967 race with three laps to go in a turbine car. He is also remembered for bringing the stock engine to USAC Sprint car racing as one of the Chevy Twins with Jim Hurtubise. He is associated with the famous Boss 302 Mustang with his wins using the engine in the 1970s, Jones son P. J. Jones was also a diverse driver, with IndyCar and NASCAR starts and a championship in IMSA prototype sports cars. His other son Page Jones was a driver before suffering career ending injuries in a sprint car at the 4-Crown Nationals. Following the death of 1960 Indianapolis 500 winner Jim Rathmann, Jones is now the oldest living 500 winner, Jones family moved to Torrance, California, where he grew up. He was nicknamed Parnelli by his boyhood friend Billy Calder, who hoped that the Jones family would not discover their son was racing cars as a 17-year-old minor, Jones participated in his first race in a Jalopy race at Carrell Speedway in Gardena, California. He developed his skills by racing in many different classes in the 1950s. His first major championship was the Midwest region Sprint car title in 1960, the title caught the attention of promoter J. C. He began racing at Indianapolis in 1961, Jones was named the 1961 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year, an honor that he shared with Bobby Marshman. Jones led early in the race and ran among the leaders until being hit in the face with a stone, bloodying his face, blurring his vision and slowing him to a 12th-place finish. In 1962, he was the first driver to qualify over 150 mph at the Indianapolis 500, Jones dominated the first two-thirds of the race until a brake line failure slowed him, and he settled for a seventh-place finish. In the 1963 Indianapolis 500, he started on the pole and this was the year the controversial Lotus-Ford rear-engined cars made their first appearance, and had ruffled the Indianapolis establishment. With Scotsman Jim Clark in a Lotus-Ford closing on Jones in the waning laps, at that moment, driver Eddie Sachs crashed on the oil-slickened racing surface and brought out a yellow caution flag, slowing the field. Agajanian, Jones car owner, argued with chief steward Harlan Fengler not to issue a black flag, insisting the oil level had dropped below the level of the crack, and that the leak had stopped. As Agajanian pleaded with Fengler, Lotus head man Colin Chapman rushed up to join the conversation, with the end of the race just minutes away, Fengler took no action, and Jones went on to win. The Lotus-Ford team, while unhappy with the favoritism displayed by race officials toward Jones and Agajanian
24.
A. J. Foyt
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Anthony Joseph A. J. Foyt, Jr. is a retired American automobile auto racing driver who has raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes United States Automobile Club Champ cars and he raced stock cars in NASCAR and USAC. He won several major sports car racing events and he holds the USAC career wins record with 159 victories, and the American championship racing career wins record with 67. He is the driver to win the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, the 24 Hours of Daytona. Foyt won the International Race of Champions all-star racing series in 1976 and 1977, in the NASCAR stock car circuit, he won the 1964 Firecracker 400 and the 1972 Daytona 500. Foyt survived three major crashes that caused injuries, and narrowly escaped a fourth. Foyts success has led to induction in numerous halls of fame. Since his retirement from racing, he has owned A. J. Foyt Enterprises, which has fielded teams in the CART, IRL. Foyt was born in Houston, Texas and he attended Pershing and Hamilton middle schools and Lamar, San Jacinto and St. Thomas Catholic high schools, but he dropped out to become a mechanic. Foyt began racing midgets in 1953 at age 18 in a car owned and maintained by his father and he started his USAC career in a midget car at the 1956 Night before the 500 in Anderson, Indiana. His first midget car win was at a 100 lap event at Kansas City in 1957 and he left midget cars after the 1957 season to drive in sprint cars and Championship Car. He did occasionally compete in midget car events and he won the 1960 and 1961 Turkey Night Grand Prix, the first two years that it was held at Ascot Park. He won the 1961 Hut Hundred after starting last, and finished seventh in National Midget points that year and he won the 1970 Astro Grand Prix, an event that he promoted in his hometown of Houston. He ended his career with 20 midget car feature wins, in 1975 and 1976, Foyt won the Australian Speedcar Grand Prix at the Liverpool International Speedway in Sydney when the speedway had an asphalt surface. Foyt began his sprint car career in 1956, at age 21, on June 16,1957, on the high banked asphalt track at Salem, Indiana, Foyt came out on top in a race long battle with Bob Cleberg. That victory put Foyt on the radar for USAC car owners, Foyt eventually won 28 USAC National sprint car feature races and the USAC Eastern Championship in 1960. Foyt continued to sprint cars long after he was firmly established as one of the top drivers at the Indy 500. In 1961, he became the first driver to successfully defend his points championship, late in the 500, Foyt made a pit stop for fuel, but a refueling malfunction meant that he returned to the race without enough fuel to finish
25.
Al Unser
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Alfred Al Unser is an American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser Jr. He is the person to have both a sibling and child as fellow Indy 500 winners. Als nephews Johnny and Robby Unser have also competed in that race, after his son Al Jr. joined the top circuit in 1983, Unser has generally been known by the retronymic name of Al Unser, Sr. or Big Al. Unser was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the youngest of four brothers and his father Jerry Unser and two uncles, Louis and Joe, were also drivers. Beginning in 1926 they competed in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, Joe Unser became the first member of the Unser clan to lose his life to the sport, killed while test-driving an FWD Coleman Special on the Denver highway in 1929. Als oldest brother Jerry became the first Unser to drive at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, qualifying 23rd, however, tragedy struck the next year when he was killed from injuries sustained in a fiery crash during a practice session. Middle brother Bobby drove in his first Indianapolis 500 in 1963, becoming in 1968 the first member of the family to win, Unser married Wanda Jesperson in 1958 and they had three children- Alfred Jr. Mary, and Deborah. Deborah died in a buggy accident in 1982. Al Unser and family own and operate the Unser Racing Museum in Albuquerque and he began racing in 1957, at age 18, initially competing primarily in modified roadsters, sprint cars and midgets. In 1965 he raced in the Indianapolis 500 for the first time and he won the Indy 500 in 1970, two years after his brother, Bobby. During the race, he led for all but 10 of the 200 laps and his quick pit stops were a factor in the victory. That season he won a record 10 times on oval, road, Unser competed in USACs Stock Car division in 1967, and was the series Rookie of the Year. In 1971 he won the Indy 500 again, starting from the position with an average speed of 157.735 mph. Unsers bid to become the first three-time consecutive Indy 500 champion was thwarted when he finished second to Mark Donohue in the 1972 Indianapolis 500. Unsers race average speed of 161.363 mph ranked as the then-second fastest ever run, in the 1983 season, Unser joined Team Penske and drove for 4 years in a Penske-owned car. Unser controlled the late stages of the 1983 Indianapolis 500, leading 61 laps, with less than 20 laps to go, Unser got challenges from Tom Sneva who led the most laps. With help from his son - who was laps down - Unser began pulling away from Sneva. However Sneva got by Al Jr. and set sail for Unser Sr. Sneva caught up to Unser within 1 lap of passing Al Jr. Sneva then easily pulled away to win the race by 11 seconds, avenging his firing from the team in 1978
26.
Bobby Unser
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Robert William Bobby Unser is an American former automobile racer. He is the brother of Al Unser, Jerry Unser and Louis Unser, the father of Robby Unser, and he is one of ten drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 three or more times, and one of only two to have won the 500 in three different decades. Bobby has also been a spokesman and advocate of many commercial products, Unser was born in Colorado Springs Colorado, the third oldest of 4 brothers. When he turned 1, his family moved to Albuquerque New Mexico, in 1950 at the age of 15, he won his first championship in Southwest Modified Stock Cars. From 1953 to 1955 he joined the Air Force and became a top competition sharp shooter in military matches, in 1955, Bobby, and brothers Jerry and Al Unser decided to pursue racing careers in USAC. In 1959, his brother Jerry Unser died in an accident at the Indianapolis 500. Bobby is the father of two sons, Bobby Jr. and Robby, and two daughters, Cindy and Jeri, Unser came from a family of racecar drivers. He won numerous racing championships throughout his career, including three Indianapolis 500 titles and he debuted in 1955 at Pikes Peak, dubbed Unsers Peak because of his familys history of success at the hill climb. He finished fifth that year, behind his two brothers, a year later he won his first of a record 13 championships at Pikes Peak. He won six titles from 1958 to 1963. His streak ended in 1964 when his younger brother Al won the race, Unser raced in his first Indianapolis 500 in 1963. He crashed early and placed thirty-third and his first Indy-car win came in 1967 at Mosport, Ontario. A year later, Unser won his first Indianapolis 500, setting the record as the first driver to race over 170 miles per hour at Indianapolis, in 1969 Unser won his first USAC National Driving Championship. In 1972, Unser set another Indianapolis 500 record for the fastest qualifying time at 195.94 miles per hour. In 1974, he won his second USAC National Driving Championship, from 1979 to 1981, Unser raced in the CART series for Team Penske winning ten races. In 1980 he became the first driver to win the California 500 four times and his career ended in 1981 following a debacle at Indianapolis. Bobby was the center of one of the most controversial finishes in Indy 500 history at the 1981 Indianapolis 500, Unser won the pole in the #3 Roger Penske-owned car and led the most laps. On lap 149, during a period, Bobby and Mario Andretti made their pit stop
27.
Mario Andretti
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Mario Gabriele Andretti is an Italian-born American former racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR. He also won races in cars, and sprint cars. During his career, Andretti won the 1978 Formula One World Championship, four IndyCar titles, No American has won a Formula One race since Andrettis victory at the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix. Andretti had 109 career wins on major circuits, Andretti had a long career in racing. He was the person to be named United States Driver of the Year in three decades. He was also one of three drivers to have won major races on road courses, paved ovals, and dirt tracks in one season. With his final IndyCar win in April 1993, Andretti became the first driver to have won IndyCar races in four different decades and the first to win automobile races of any kind in five. In American popular culture, his name has become synonymous with speed, as with Barney Oldfield in the twentieth century. Mario Andretti and his twin brother Aldo were born to Alvise Andretti, a farm administrator, Istria was then part of the Kingdom of Italy, but it was annexed by Yugoslavia at the end of World War II, as confirmed by the Treaty of Paris. The Andretti family left Montona in 1948, during the Istrian exodus, ending up in a camp in Lucca. They emigrated to the United States of America in 1955, settling in Nazareth in Pennsylvanias Lehigh Valley with just $125 to their name, Andretti became a naturalized United States citizen in 1964. In 1945, at the age of five, he and Aldo were racing their hand-crafted wooden cars through the streets of their hometown. It was a feeling I cant describe, I still get it every time I get into a race car. Andrettis first racing experience was in a new youth racing league called Formula Junior in Ancona, however, the Formula Junior story is likely apocryphal. In an interview during an RRDC Evening with Mario Andretti, Mr. Mario, the twins worked on a 1948 Hudson Commodore modified funded by money that they earned in their uncles garage in 1959. They took turns racing the old Hudson on oval dirt tracks near Nazareth in 1959 and they did not tell their parents that they were racing. The twins each had two wins after their first four races, Aldo was seriously hurt near the end of the season, and their parents were unhappy to find out that the twins were racing
28.
Bobby Rahal
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Robert Woodward Bobby Rahal is an American former auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500 and he also won the 2004 Indianapolis 500 as a team owner for the winning driver, Buddy Rice. After retiring as a driver, Rahal held managerial positions with the Jaguar Formula 1 team, Rahal was also a sports car driver during the 1980s, and made one NASCAR start for the Wood Brothers. Rahal began his career in SCCA feeder categories, eventually finishing second to Gilles Villeneuve in the 1977 Formula Atlantic championship, the following year, he competed in European Formula Three with Wolf Racing. Near the end of the season, Rahal raced for the Wolf Formula 1 team in the 1978 United States Grand Prix, the deal with Wolf did not continue into the 1979 season, as Wolf signed up James Hunt for the one and only car available. Rahal began the 1979 racing a Chevron in Formula Two, but returned to America mid-season, during the next few seasons, he competed in various sports car events, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the IMSA GT Championship. In 1982, Rahal entered the CART series with the Truesports team and he continued racing for Truesports through the 1988 season, winning at least one race every year. In 1986, Rahal dramatically passed Kevin Cogan on a restart two laps to go to win the Indianapolis 500, only days before his team owner. Later that year, Rahal won his first CART championship, in 1988, Rahal won the last race the Truesports team ever won, the Quaker State 500 at Pocono, the only victory for the Judd engine ever. By 1989, Rahal had ended his occasional forays into sports car racing and he moved over to the Kraco race team, but this association produced only two wins over three seasons. Rahal competed in one NASCAR race in his career, after losing the championship to Michael Andretti in 1991, Rahal acquired the assets to the former Pat Patrick Racing team, with Rahal becoming an owner-driver. In 1993, Rahal attempted to develop his own Rahal-Hogan chassis, in 1994 the team brought the Honda engine into the CART series. Except for a finish at Toronto, he and teammate Mike Groff struggled to show the full potential of an engine that would soon dominate the series. In 1995 at Long Beach Rahal became the 10th driver in Championship Car history to start 200 races in his career, despite no wins, Rahal finished a strong 3rd in the 1995 standings using the Mercedes engine. Rahal continued as a driver until his retirement in 1998. Meanwhile, Hogan left to form his own team and talk show host David Letterman became a minority owner in 1996, the team became known as Team Rahal in 1996 and Rahal Letterman Racing in 2004, when Rahal switched from CART to the IRL full-time. In 2000, Rahal joined the Jaguar Formula One team in a managerial capacity, during this time, Rahal attempted to hire championship-winning aerodynamicist Adrian Newey, briefly believing that the deal had been completed, but was unsuccessful. However, Rahal was fired after attempting to sell driver Eddie Irvine to rivals Jordan
29.
Jim Clark
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James Clark, Jr OBE, known as Jim Clark, was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland, who won two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965. Clark was a driver who competed in sports cars, touring cars and in the Indianapolis 500. He was particularly associated with the Lotus marque and he was killed in a Formula Two motor racing accident in Hockenheim, Germany in 1968. At the time of his death, he had won more Grand Prix races, in 2009, The Times placed Clark at the top of a list of the greatest-ever Formula One drivers. James Clark Jr was born into a family at Kilmany House Farm, Fife, the youngest child of five. In 1942 the family moved to Edington Mains Farm, near Duns, Berwickshire, on 16 June 1956, in his very first event, he was behind the wheel of a DKW sonderklasse at Crimond, Scotland. By 1958, Clark was driving for the local Border Reivers team, racing Jaguar D-types and Porsches in national events, then on Boxing Day 1958, Clark raced against the man who would launch him to superstardom. Driving a Lotus Elite, he finished second to Colin Chapman in a 10-lap GT race at Brands Hatch, in 1959 he drove a Lotus Elite, finishing tenth at Le Mans partnered with John Whitmore, and the ex-Bruce Halford Lister Jaguar, winning the Boness Hill Climb. Chapman was sufficiently impressed to give Clark a ride in one of his Formula Junior cars, in March 1960, the first race for the newly introduced Formula Junior took place at Goodwood. The winner was J. Clark, from J. Surtees with T. Taylor third. Clark had made an earlier FJ appearance in a race at Brands Hatch on Boxing Day,1959, driving a Gemini-B. M. C. for Graham Warner of the Chequered Flag garage. Jim Clark made his F1 Grand Prix debut, part-way through the season, Lotus had lost Surtees, as he had gone to the Isle of Man to do some serious motorcycle racing, so they had Ireland, Stacey and Clark, the last-named being an acceptable substitute. He retired on lap 49 with final drive failure, Clark was later quoted as saying in a 1964 interview, I was driving scared stiff pretty much all through the race, even though he finished 5th and scored his first points finish. The next year, Jim Clark was involved in one of the worst accidents in the history of Formula 1 racing, in the 1961 Italian Grand Prix on 10 September at Monza, Wolfgang von Trips in his Ferrari collided with Jim Clarks Lotus. Trips car became airborne and crashed into a barrier, fatally throwing von Trips out of the car. His first Drivers World Championship came driving the Lotus 25 in 1963, winning seven out of the ten races, Clarks record of seven wins in a season would not be equalled until 1984 when Frenchman Alain Prost won seven races for McLaren. The record would not be broken until Brazilian Ayrton Senna won eight races in the 1988 season, in 1963 he also competed in the Indianapolis 500 for the first time, and he finished in second position behind Parnelli Jones and won Rookie of the Year honours. The 1963 Indy 500 result remains controversial, before the race United States Auto Club officials had told the drivers that they would black flag any car that was seen to be leaking oil onto the track
30.
Darrell Waltrip
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Darrell Lee Waltrip is an American motorsports analyst, author, national television broadcaster, and former racing driver. He is also a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and a three-time NASCAR Cup Series runner-up and those victories tie him with Bobby Allison for fourth on the NASCARs all-time wins list in the Cup Series and place him second to Jeff Gordon for the most wins in NASCARs modern era. He is ranked second for all-time pole positions with 59, including all-time highs with 35 on short tracks, competing in 809 Cup starts over four decades and 29 years, he has scored 271 Top 5s and 390 Top 10s. Winning $19,886,666.00 in posted earnings, he became the first NASCAR driver to be awarded over $10 million in race winnings, more than $26 million in todays currency. Waltrip also holds the track record 67 wins the Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tennessee, including NASCAR, USAC, ASA. He still holds many NASCAR records, more than a decade after his retirement as an active driver and he competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona. He has also won awards in NASCAR. He has been inducted in numorous halls of fame, including the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America for 2003 the International Motorsports Hall of Fame for 2005, after being nominated for the inaugural 2010 and 2011 classes, he was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fames 2012 class. Waltrip currently serves as a color analyst for Fox Sports alongside Mike Joy, and Jeff Gordon, a columnist at Foxsports. com, and he is the older brother of NASCAR driver and MWR team owner Michael Waltrip. Waltrip was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, February 5,1947, starting his driving career in Go-karts at age 12, Waltrip entered his first stock car race just four years later. Waltrip and his father built a 1936 Chevrolet coupe and headed to a dirt track near their Owensboro home. The first night out was far from a success as the youngster, barely old enough to drive on the street, Waltrip slammed the wall and heavily damaged the coupe. Waltrip soon left the dirt and found his niche on asphalt where the smoothness he learned in the karts proved a valuable asset. C and his success gained the attention of Nashville owner/driver P. B. Crowell, who urged Waltrip to move to the area to race at the Fairgrounds Speedway, at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in Nashville, Waltrip drove the #48 P. B. Some of the notorious on air trash-talking included making fun of some of the local drivers such as Coo Coo Marlin and James Flookie Buford. It pleased track management that he was helping sell tickets, leading to packed grandstands and he became a Christian in 1983 but it was years later before God came first in his life. One of the charities he supports is the Motor Racing Outreach providing spiritual support to racers, Waltrip finished 38th in his first NASCAR Winston Cup race after retiring on lap 69 due to engine failure. Waltrip paid $12,500 for the car, an engine and some spare parts
31.
Alan Kulwicki
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Alan Dennis Kulwicki, nicknamed Special K and the Polish Prince, was an American NASCAR Winston Cup Series racecar driver. He started racing at short tracks in Wisconsin before moving up to regional stock car touring series. Kulwicki arrived at NASCAR, the highest and most expensive level of car racing in the United States, with no sponsor, a limited budget, and only a racecar. Despite starting with meager equipment and finances, he earned the 1986 NASCAR Rookie of the Year award over drivers racing for well-funded teams, after Kulwicki won his first race at Phoenix International Raceway, he debuted what would become his trademark Polish victory lap. Kulwicki won the 1992 Winston Cup Championship by what was then the closest margin in NASCAR history and he died early in 1993 in a light aircraft accident, and therefore never defended his championship. He has been inducted into numerous racing halls of fame and was named one of NASCARs 50 greatest drivers, Kulwicki was known for being a perfectionist and doing things his own way. An engineer by trade, his approach to NASCAR racing inspired the way teams are now run. Despite lucrative offers from top car owners, he insisted on driving for his own race team, described by his publicist as a real hard type of person to get to know, he remained a bachelor throughout his life. Kulwicki grew up in Greenfield, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee known for its Polish-American neighborhoods, after his mother died, his family moved in with his grandmother, who died when Kulwicki was in seventh grade. A year later, his brother died of a hemophilia-related illness. His knowledge of engineering has been cited as a factor to his success as a driver. He first raced on local tracks as an amateur while in college before becoming a professional racer in 1980. A devout Roman Catholic, Kulwicki always competed with a Saint Christopher devotional medal in his car, Kulwicki began his racing career as a 13-year-old kart racer. His father built engines as the chief for Norm Nelson. Even when Kulwicki asked his father for advice, he ended up doing most of the work himself. I showed him how, Gerry Kulwicki said, and he said, Why dont you do it. And I said, Well, if you do it for a while, many local-level American racetracks host their own season championships. In Wisconsin, numerous locations held dirt and asphalt short track racing, Kulwicki started racing stock cars at the local level at the Hales Corners Speedway and Cedarburg Speedway dirt oval tracks
32.
Emerson Fittipaldi
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Emerson Fittipaldi is a semi-retired Brazilian automobile racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the Indianapolis 500 twice each and the CART championship once. Moving up from Formula Two, Fittipaldi made his debut for Team Lotus as a third driver at the 1970 British Grand Prix. After Jochen Rindt was killed at the 1970 Italian Grand Prix and he enjoyed considerable success with Lotus, winning the World Drivers Championship in 1972 at the age of 25, a youngest F1 world champion record that he held for 33 years. He later moved to McLaren for 1974, winning the title once again and he surprised the paddock by moving to his brothers Fittipaldi Automotive team prior to the 1976 season, being replaced by James Hunt. Success eluded him during his years in Formula One, with the Fittipaldi cars not competitive enough to fight for victories. Fittipaldi took two podium finishes, before retiring in 1980. Following his Formula One career, Fittipaldi moved to the American CART series, achieving results, including the 1989 CART title. Since his retirement from Indy Car racing in 1996, Fittipaldi races only occasionally, at age 67, he entered the 20146 Hours of São Paulo. Emerson Fittipaldi was born in São Paulo, Brazil and his grandfather Ivan Wojciechowski was an officer in the Tsarist army. He was named after American author and philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emerson became a motorsports enthusiast at an early age. Fittipaldi is the brother of former Formula One driver and team owner Wilson Fittipaldi. He is the uncle of TUDOR United Sports Car Championship driver Christian Fittipaldi and he was married to Maria Helena from 1970 to 1982. They had three children together, Juliana, Jayson and Tatiana and he was married a second time, to Teresa, in the mid-1980s. They have one daughter, Joana, and a son, Luca, in early December 2012 he married economist Rossana Fanucchi in São Paulo after a partnership of eleven years. In his youth in Brazil, Emerson was known as Rato - mouse, by the end of his career he was most commonly known as Emmo in the United States and the UK. The plane lost power and plunged 300 feet to the ground, after recovering he became a born-again Christian. He was a friend of Beatles guitarist George Harrison and was with him shortly before Harrison died in November 2001, at age 14, Fittipaldi was racing motorcycles, and at 16, hydrofoils. While racing one day, his brother Wilson took off at 70 mph, afterwards, they both decided that although he had survived, they would no longer race hydrofoils, and moved onto racing karts
33.
Bobby Allison
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Robert Arthur Bobby Allison is a former American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Named one of NASCARs 50 greatest drivers, he was the 1983 Winston Cup champion and won the Daytona 500 three times in 1978,1982, and 1988. His two sons, Clifford and Davey Allison, followed him into racing, and both died within a year of each other, Allison was born December 3,1937 in Miami, FL. He entered his first race as a senior at Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School in Miami. Since he was only 17, he had to have his parents permission so he thought when his mother said ok, it was forever, but she thought it was for only one race. Unbeknownst to her, Carl Kiekhaefer was the owner of Mercury Outboard Motors, where Allison ended up working as a mechanic, while employed at Mercury Outboard Motors, Allison worked in the boat division for 10 months, then was transferred to the racecar division. During the 2 months he worked in the division for Carl Kiekhaefer, he went to 19 races—mostly Grand National. Every one of those races was won by a Carl Kiekhaefer car from the shop in which he worked, Kiekhaefer was a hard person to work for and several people got fired, so Allison decided to go back to Miami only after a little over 2 months. In 1956, having returned to Miami, Allison started his own racing again, in 1959, Allison took his brother, Donnie, Kenny Andrews—who owned a car and Gil Hearne went along as Kennys driver on a quest for more lucrative racing than was available in South Florida. Their searching led them to Montgomery Motor Speedway in Montgomery, Alabama, Allison entered and finished 5th in that race, which paid more than finishing 2nd in any big race in South Florida. He went to Montgomery the next night, won the preliminary races, the brothers returned home and Bobby talked his friend Red Farmer into coming back to Alabama with him. They had immediate success and soon they began answering to the name The Alabama Gang, Allison became a known driver and won the national championship in the modified special division in 1962. Allison moved full-time to the Grand National circuit in 1965 and got his first victory at Oxford Plains Speedway on July 12,1966. In 1972 he was voted national Driver of the Year for winning ten races and taking 11 poles and he was NASCAR Winston Cup Champion in 1983 driving for DiGard Racing. The 1982 Daytona 500 was fraught with controversy that became known as Bumpergate and he also won the Firecracker 400 in 1982, making Allison the fourth driver to sweep both Sprint Cup point races at Daytona in the same year. Of note, after Allison accomplished this, no driver repeated such a feat until Jimmie Johnson did it in 2013, Allison ran in the Indianapolis 500 twice, with a best finish of 25th in 1975. His NASCAR team owners included DiGard, Junior Johnson & Associates, the other AMC victory was accomplished by Mark Donohue also racing for Penske in 1973 at Riverside. He raced in NASCAR as a driver/owner of an AMC Matador, the impact, at over 200 miles per hour, tore out over 100 yards of fencing
34.
Davey Allison
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David Carl Davey Allison was a NASCAR driver. He was best known for driving the No.28 Texaco-Havoline Ford for Robert Yates Racing in the Winston Cup Series, born in Hollywood, Florida, he was the eldest of four children born to Bobby Allison and wife Judy. The family moved to Hueytown, Alabama, and along with Bobbys brother Donnie Allison, family friend Red Farmer, growing up, Allison participated in athletics, preferring football, but was destined, like many children of racers, to become a racer himself. He began his career in 1979 at Birmingham International Raceway and notched his first win in just his sixth start and he became a regular winner at BIR and by 1983, was racing in the Automobile Racing Club of America series. Allison won both ARCA events at his track, Talladega Superspeedway in 1983, and was named ARCA Rookie of the Year in 1984. That same year, he married his first wife, Deborah, Allison continued racing in the ARCA series in 1985 and eventually notched eight wins in the series, four at Talladega Superspeedway. He also began competing in some of NASCARs lower divisions and in July 1985, Allison qualified Ellingtons Chevrolet 22nd and finished 10th in his first Winston Cup start. This impressive showing earned Davey more Winston Cup opportunities in 1986 where he would sub for injured friend, prior to the 1987 season, car owner Harry Ranier tapped Davey to replace veteran driver Cale Yarborough in the Ranier-Lundy No.28 Ford Thunderbird. Yarborough was leaving the Ranier-Lundy team to start his own operation along with the teams sponsor, Ranier negotiated a sponsorship deal with Texacos Havoline motor oil brand, a deal that was signed during the NASCAR edition of Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway. A pit miscue which allowed a rear tire to fall off on the track ended his hopes of a finish in the race. May 3,1987 would become a day in NASCAR history. Earlier in the week, Bill Elliott had qualified his No.9 Coors-Melling Ford Thunderbird at a record 212.809 mph for the Winston 500 at the unlighted Talladega Superspeedway. Davey Allison would qualify third, while father Bobby would start second alongside Elliott in the Stavola Brothers No.22 Miller Buick, on lap 22 of the event, Bobby Allison ran over a piece of debris, cutting his right-rear tire. The car turned sideways, lifted into the air, became airboirne, the car landed back on the track and collected a number of other competitors. Davey was ahead of his father at the time and saw the crash unfold in his mirror, Bobby Allison was not injured, but the crash slightly injured several spectators and the race was red-flagged for two hours and thirty-eight minutes. It was this event that triggered the requirement of smaller carburetors, when the race resumed, Davey continued to run up front and when Elliott exited the race with engine failure, Daveys toughest competition was eliminated. With darkness falling on the Talladega Superspeedway during a caution flag. Running second on the restart, Davey passed leader Dale Earnhardt on the backstretch, in winning the race, Davey became the first rookie since Ron Bouchard in 1981 to win a Winston Cup event
35.
Nigel Mansell
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Nigel Ernest James Mansell, CBE is a British former racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the CART Indy Car World Series. His career in Formula One spanned 15 seasons, with his two full seasons of top-level racing being spent in the CART series. He held the record for the most number of set in a single season. He was rated in the top 10 Formula One drivers of all time by longtime Formula One commentator Murray Walker, in 2008, ESPN. com ranked him 24th on their Top 25 Drivers of All Time list. He was also ranked No.9 of the 50 greatest F1 drivers of all time by the Times Online on a list that included such drivers as Prost, Senna, Jackie Stewart. Mansell raced in the Grand Prix Masters series in 2005, and he later signed a one-off race deal for the Scuderia Ecosse GT race team to drive their number 63 Ferrari F430 GT2 car at Silverstone on 6 May 2007. He has since competed in sports car races with his sons Leo and Greg. Mansell was inducted to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2005 and he is the current president of one of the UKs largest Youth Work Charities, UK Youth. He is also President of the IAM, in September 2014, it was announced that Mansell would be opening a Mitsubishi franchise on Jersey later in the month. Defeated Erik Spaulding in semi-final 2017 Belleair Club Championship, Nigel Ernest James Mansell was born on 8 August 1953 in Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire, the son of Eric, an engineer and Joyce Mansell. Mansell spent 11 years of his life as a Special Constable on the Isle of Man during his driving career, during this period, he also developed a golf course in Devon. He had a slow start to his racing career, using his own money to help work his way up the ranks. After considerable success in racing, he moved to the Formula Ford series to the disapproval of his father. In 1976, Mansell won six of the nine races he took part in and he entered 42 races the following year and won 33 to become the 1977 British Formula Ford champion, despite suffering a broken neck in a qualifying session at Brands Hatch. Doctors told him he had been close to quadriplegia, that he would be confined for six months. Mansell discharged himself from the hospital and returned to racing, Three weeks before the accident he had resigned from his job as an aerospace engineer, having previously sold most of his personal belongings to finance his foray into Formula Ford. Later that year he was given the chance to race a Lola T570 Formula 3 car at Silverstone and he finished fourth and decided that he was ready to move into the higher formula. Mansell raced in Formula Three in 1978–1980, Mansells first season in Formula Three started with a pole position and a second-place finish
36.
Michael Andretti
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Michael Mario Andretti is a retired American racing driver, who won the 1991 CART PPG Indy Car World Series. A legend in CART, he drove in the series both before and after his time in Formula One with McLaren, becoming the third most successful driver in CART history with 42 race victories. Since retiring from the cockpit, he runs his own IndyCar team, Andretti is the son of Mario Andretti. He won the 1982 Robert Bosch US Formula Super Vee Championship, Michael Andretti was born to Dee Ann and racing legend Mario Andretti, who at that time was a struggling race car driver who had not yet made his name in racing. Michael began racing in 1980, living in the shadow of his father, who became a three-time IndyCar champion. Following a successful career racing karts, winning 50 of his 75 races over eight years and he obtained his SCCA National License in 1980, then won six races to claim the SCCA’s Northeast Division Formula Ford championship in 1981. He also drove in a number of Formula Vee races in regional SCCA events, in 1982, he won six of the 11 races on his way to winning the Robert Bosch US Formula Super Vee Championship. The father and son returned to the Circuit de la Sarthe the following year. Michael also raced alongside his father in the Riverside 6 Hours where they were joined by A. J. Foyt and Preston Henn, but the Porsche 935 failed to finish. The father and son duo paired up again the 1984 Daytona 24 Hours, this time in a full-works Porsche 962 and they took pole position, but during the race, the engine broke. He made his CART debut in 1983, racing for the Kraco Enterprises team, Andretti re-signed for Kraco to undertake the 1984 season, where he managed five third-place finishes and ended his rookie season in seventh overall. In the Indianapolis 500, he finished fifth and shared the Rookie of the Year award with Roberto Guerrero and he went on to win his first IndyCar race in 1986 in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The season became a battle for the championship title, between Michael and Bobby Rahal. Andretti would take the lead with his victory on the Milwaukee Mile. A week later, on Fathers Day, Michael was leading on the lap at Portland. It was one of the most shocking finishes in the history of IndyCar, with Rahal continuing to win races, Andrettis consistent finishing only allowed Rahal a nine-point lead in the standing with two races remaining. Andretti won a key victory in at Phoenix, going into the season finale at Tamiami Park, Andretti was just three point behind Rahal, but neither driver were a factor in the race, with Andretti retiring with a broken halfshalf. In a one-off race with Alfa Corse, he took part in the inaugural World Touring Car race,500 km di Monza, paired with Alessandro Nannini, they finished 16th overall, second in class
37.
Alex Zanardi
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Alessandro Alex Zanardi is an Italian professional racing driver and paracyclist. He won the CART championship in 1997 and 1998 in North America and he also had a less successful career as a Formula One driver. More recently, he has attracted praise for his return to competition in the aftermath of a crash in 2001 that resulted in the amputation of his legs. He returned to racing less than two years after the accident, competing in the FIA World Touring Car Championship for BMW Team Italy-Spain between 2003 and 2009. Switching sports, Zanardi took up competition in handcycling, a form of paralympic cycling, in September 2011, Zanardi won his first senior international handcycling medal, the silver medal in the H4 category time trial at the UCI World Road Para-Cycling Championships. Alex Zanardi was born in Bologna, Italy, son of Dino and his family moved to the town of Castel Maggiore on the citys outskirts when he was four. His sister Cristina was a promising swimmer prior her death in a collision in 1979. Zanardi began racing karts at age 13 and he built his kart from the wheels of a dustbin and pipes from his fathers work. In 1988, he joined the Italian Formula 3 series, with a place as his highest finish. In 1989, Zanardi took two pole positions and three podiums despite his teams switching to unleaded fuel, which reduced his cars engine power, in 1991, he moved up to the Formula 3000 series with the Il Barone Rampante team, themselves newcomers to the series. He won his F3000 debut race, scoring two wins that season and finishing second in the championship. 1991 Zanardi had his first taste of Formula One at a test session for Paul Ricard, by the end of that year, he had begun his career in Formula One. Three starts for Jordan were his reward for a strong F3000 campaign,1992 In 1992, however, Zanardi had to be content with guest drives for Minardi, replacing the injured Christian Fittipaldi. In the off-season, he tested for Benetton, but he contracted with Lotus for 1993,1993 Zanardi compared reasonably to teammate Johnny Herbert and was important in fine-tuning the teams active suspension system, scoring his only F1 point at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Zanardi was injured when an elderly motorist collided with his bicycle, knocking him down, despite suffering several broken bones, Zanardi raced in Germany, but he spun out and did not finish. Zanardis season ended prematurely after he sustained a concussion as a result of a crash in practice for the Belgian Grand Prix. 1994 Still recovering, Zanardi missed the beginning of the 1994 season, but he returned in the Spanish Grand Prix, replacing Pedro Lamy, however, that years Lotus lacked pace and reliability, and Zanardi failed to score a single point or qualify higher than 13th. With Lotus Formula One having folded, Zanardi took time to race in Sports car racing and his first meeting was at a Porsche Supercup event at Imola
38.
Harry Gant
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Harold Phil Gant, better known as Handsome Harry, is a retired American racecar driver best known for driving the No.33 Skoal Bandit car on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit during the 1980s and 1990s. A humble man, Gant often stated that he was a race car driver. The North Carolina native began his career at the old dirt track in Hickory. He built a hobby class car with his friends, and took turns behind the wheel, Gant became the full-time driver and won the track championship. Hickory Speedway was paved in 1967 after Ned Jarrett became the promoter, Gant excelled on the asphalt, and won his first race in the sportsman division. He won over 300 races with the car builder and crew chief Kenneth H. Sigmon and he finished second three times in the NASCAR Late Model Sportsman in 1969,1976, and 1977. He finished in the top 10 of the points standing in several other years. He sold half of his business in 1979 upon deciding to race full-time in the Winston Cup Series. Gant made his first Cup start in 1973 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and he made six starts over the next four years and had two top-ten finishes. His first full season in Winston Cup was in 1979 and he competed for the rookie of the year honors against Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte. He finished fourth in the rookie battle in the No.47 Race Hill Farm car for Jack Beebe. He split the season between the No.47 and the No.75 RahMoc Enterprises entry, finishing 21st in points. After starting out the 1981 season driving for various teams, he moved to the No.33 Skoal Bandit Pontiac, which was owned by Hal Needham and Burt Reynolds, and Leo Jackson after 1988. Gant debuted with the team by placing second at Darlington Raceway, followed by five more second-place finishes and he stayed with the team for the rest of his career. Gant finished second 10 times before winning his first Winston Cup race, at Martinsville April 25,1982 and he then went on to become runner up to Winston Cup season champion Terry Labonte in 1984. Gant won the International Race of Champions championship in 1985 and he tied on points with Darrell Waltrip but was awarded the title on tiebreak by finishing higher in the final race, a photo-finish win over Labonte at Michigan International Speedway. Gant drove the No.33 in the 1985 Talladega NASCAR race with the first telemetry data system ever installed on a race car, the data from the car was sent to the CBS television network and broadcast during the TV coverage of the race. Gant earned the nickname Mr. September in 1991 after winning all four September Cup races and his crew chief was Andy Petree
39.
Rusty Wallace
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Russell William Rusty Wallace, Jr. is a retired American racing driver, and a former NASCAR Winston Cup Champion. He also served as the 1984 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year, prior to joining the NASCAR circuit, Wallace made a name for himself racing around in Florida, by the late 1970s by winning a pair of local track championships. Wallace, a Missouri native, won more than 200 short track races, in 1979 he won United States Auto Clubs Stock Car Rookie of the Year honors, finishing third in points behind A. J. Foyt and Bay Darnell. He finished second USAC Stock Cars in 1981 behind Joe Ruttman, in 1983 he won the American Speed Association championship while competing against some of NASCARs future stars like Mark Martin,1992 NASCAR Champion Alan Kulwicki and Dick Trickle. Wallace finished second in his first NASCAR race in the 1980 Atlanta 500, in which he started 7th and he made 9 further NASCAR appearances over the next 3 years, although he did not score any further Top 10 finishes until he went full-time in 1984. He joined the Winston Cup circuit full-time that year, winning NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors and he drove the No.88 Gatorade-sponsored Pontiac for Cliff Stewart with the best finish of 4th in 30 races, along with two 5th-place finished and four further Top 10s. Wallace stayed with Cliff Stewart for 1985 but this time, he drove the No.2 Valugard Pontiac, in 29 races, Wallace had two Top 5s and eight Top 10s. For 1986, Wallace switched teams to the No.27 alugard Pontiac for Raymond Beadles Blue Max Racing team and his first win came at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 6,1986. He also won at Martinsville on September 21 and he finished the year with 2 wins, four Top 5s and sixteen Top 10s in 29 races. He finished 6th in the points, making this his first Top 10 finish in the standings, in 1987, Wallace gained sponsorship from Kodiak tobacco, establishing the No.27 Kodiak-sponsored Pontiac livery his early career is most remembered for. He scored victories at Watkins Glen and Riverside, as well as his first series pole at Michigan in June and these results were backed up with nine Top 5s and sixteen Top 10s in 29 races. He finished 5th in the points standings, Wallace developed his career further in 1988, scoring 6 victories. His wins were at Michigan, Charlotte, North Wilkesboro, Rockingham, the final ever at Riverside. With these 6 wins as well as nineteen Top 5s and four further Top 10s, Wallace also won The Winston in a controversial fashion, by spinning out Darrell Waltrip on the last lap. In 1990, Raymond Beadle switched sponsors, to Miller Genuine Draft, the 4-year sponsorship deal was tied specifically to Wallace, meaning it went where the 1989 championship went. The 1989 championship year was marked with acrimony between him and Beadle. However, Wallace was stuck with the team for 1990 due to his contract, Rusty had 18 wins for Beadle. In 1991, Wallace took the Miller sponsorship with him to Penske Racing and he also won the 1991 IROC championship
40.
Walker Evans (racing driver)
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Roger Walker Evans is an Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame driver. He was also a driver and owner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, nicknamed The Legend, he is the father of off-road racer Evan Evans. Evans began his career in cross-country events in SCORE International events, including the premier event. His first sample of racing was in 1969, when he drove a Rambler American for the American Motors and his first purpose built race truck was Ford F-100 donated by Marion Beaver at Parker Motor Company and built by Bill Stroppe. The truck won 16 of 17 races and he won the Baja 1000 five times in special built vehicles before he was the first driver to win the overall title in a Class 8 Trophy Truck. He added the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group Stadium Series events to his schedule to enhance his horizons, the series featured indoor races inside a stadium. The Walker Evans Racing Team won the MTEG Grand National Championship in 1999 He won his first SODA race in 1986 at the Lake Geneva Raceway in Lake Geneva and he won the 1994 and 1995 Class-8 championships in SODA. He became familiar with fellow competitor Brendan Gaughan during his SODA days and he moved to CORR when most of the SODA drivers switched series. He finished with his SODA career with three victories and 31 class wins. He was champion of CORRs highest division, Pro-4, in 1999 and he won three races and the CORR Pro-4 championship in 2000 in his final full-time season in CORR before retirement from short-track off-road racing. Around 1999 he began entering rock crawling events after a trip to Moab. He has 142 total victories and 21 championship titles in off-road desert and short course racing and he has multiple overall wins in the Baja 500, Baja 1000, Fireworks 250, Mint 400, and Parker 400. Evans decided to try his hand as a driver/owner in the newly formed NASCAR SuperTruck Series in 1995 and he had one Top 10 finish in 18 races, and he finished 14th in the final points standings. He had three Top 10 finishes in 23 events in 1996, and he finished 17th in the points standings. He continued his Walker Evans Racing team after his retirement and he hired former SODA and CORR competitor Brendan Gaughan to race for him in 2002. Gaughan won twice, on his way to the Rookie of the Year title, in 2003, Gaughan was the CTS points leader going into the final race, but was crashed out. Evans was inducted in the Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2004, in 2015, he was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. 1 Ineligible for series points Official team website Walker Evans driver statistics at Racing-Reference Biography at off-road. com
41.
Dario Franchitti
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George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE, known professionally as Dario Franchitti, is a retired British racing driver. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion, a winner of the Indianapolis 500 as well as a winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona. Franchitti started his career in his native United Kingdom in the early 1990s, competing in Formula Vauxhall and Formula Three and was also the winner of the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award in 1992. After Franchitti did not secure a drive in 1995, he was contracted by the AMG team to compete in touring cars in the DTM. Despite 2 seasons with relative success, the series folded at the end of the 1996 season, Mercedes placed Franchitti in CART in 1997 with the Hogan Racing team. Team Green moved to the IndyCar Series for the 2003 campaign, Franchittis first season for IndyCar was disrupted by an injury, but won his first races the following season. His breakout year came in 2007, when he won the rain-shortened Indianapolis 500 as one of 4 victories in his route to a first career title in a final-race title decider with Scott Dixon. At the end of the season, Franchitti was named as BBC Scotlands Sports Personality of the Year, after an ill-fated move to NASCAR in 2008 Franchitti returned to IndyCar in 2009, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. Franchitti won on his 2nd start back in the series, and eventually took 5 wins as he won a 2nd championship, again in a race championship decider against Dixon. A new car was introduced for the 2012 season, in which Franchitti only scored 1 victory – in the Indianapolis 500 – to become the 10th driver to win at least 3 Indianapolis 500s during a career. On 6 October 2013, Franchitti was involved in a crash in the Grand Prix of Houston. Franchitti suffered 2 fractured vertebrae, an ankle, and a concussion in the crash. Later he would learn that he had some of his past. Franchitti was born in Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland, while attending Stewarts Melville College in Edinburgh, he became interested in karting. Allan McNish credited a large part of the given to himself, Franchitti. Franchitti won the Karting Scottish Junior Championship in 1984, the British Junior Championships in 1985 and 1986 and he progressed to Formula Vauxhall Junior where he won the championship with four victories in 1991. He moved up to Formula Vauxhall Lotus in 1992, where he joined Paul Stewart Racing, in his first year, he finished fourth in the overall championship, and was named the McLaren/Autosport Young Driver of the Year. Staying with the team for the season, he won the championship in 1993
42.
Danica Patrick
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Danica Sue Patrick is an American professional stock car racing driver, model, and advertising spokeswoman. She competed in the series from 2005 to 2011, in 2012, she competed in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and occasionally in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. She currently competes full-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, in 2013, she became the first female NASCAR driver to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole, turning in the fastest qualifying lap since 1990—qualifying for the Daytona 500. Her eighth place in the 2013 Daytona 500 is the highest finish for a woman in the Daytona 500, Patrick started in kart racing and later raced in Formula Ford in the United Kingdom before returning to the United States and moving up to IndyCars. She was named the Rookie of the Year for both the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and the 2005 IndyCar Series season and she holds the IRL record for most consecutive races running at the finish, as of October 2,2011, she had completed 50 consecutive in the running. During her time in IndyCar, Patrick drove for Rahal Letterman Racing from 2005 to 2006, Patrick was born in Beloit, Wisconsin on March 25,1982, the daughter of Beverly Ann and Terry Jose Patrick, Jr. Her mothers family is of entirely Norwegian descent and she grew up in nearby Roscoe, Illinois. Her parents met on a date at a snowmobile event in the 1970s when Bev was a mechanic for a friends snowmobile. T. J. raced snowmobiles, motocross, and midget cars and they have owned a Java Hut and a plate glass company. Patrick has a sister named Brooke. Patrick was a cheerleader at Hononegah Community High School in Rockton, Illinois, in 1996 and she dropped out of high school and obtained a GED certification. Her father, T. J. helps his daughter by driving her motor coach and managing her Web site and merchandise trailer, while her mother, Bev, Patrick began go-karting in 1992 at the age of 10 at the Sugar River Raceway in Brodhead, Wisconsin. During a three-year period she raced in Formula Ford, Formula Vauxhall and earned a second-place in Britains Formula Ford Festival, in 2002 Patrick started driving for Rahal Letterman Racing in the United States. After making several starts in the Barber Dodge Pro Series, she moved to the Toyota Atlantic Championship for 2003, Patrick won one pole position and was a consistent podium finisher, however, she never won a race. In 2004 Patrick finished third in the Championship, after the 2004 racing season, Rahal Letterman Racing officially announced that Patrick would drive in the IRL IndyCar Series for 2005. On May 29,2005, Patrick became the woman to compete in the Indianapolis 500, following Janet Guthrie, Lyn St. James. As of 2012, Patrick joins Guthrie as one of two women to have competed in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500. Patricks fourth starting position, however, was the highest ever attained for the race by a female driver, Patrick overcame two crucial errors to finish fourth, the same position she started in
43.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
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Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. known professionally as Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Jr. or just Junior, is an American professional stock car racing driver and champion team owner. He is the son of NASCAR Hall of Fame member Dale Earnhardt Sr. Earnhardts success at Daytona International Speedway throughout his career has earned him the nickname Pied Piper of Daytona. He is a two-time Daytona 500 winner, having won the races exactly 10 years apart and he has an estimated net worth of $300 million. He had previously driven the No.8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt, Earnhardt was born and raised in Kannapolis, North Carolina, the son of Brenda Lorraine and Dale Earnhardt Sr. His maternal grandfather, Robert Gee Sr. was a NASCAR car builder and his first race car was a 1979 Monte Carlo that he co-owned with his older half-brother, Kerry Earnhardt. By age 19 after two seasons of driving Street Stock Division, Earnhardt had honed his abilities to the point of joining the Late Model Stock Car Division. He competed on the North and South Carolina short tracks driving a No.3 Chevrolet, there he developed an in-depth knowledge of chassis setup and car preparation, while racing against his older brother Kerry and his sister Kelley. He worked at his fathers dealership as a mechanic while he went to Mitchell Community College to earn a degree in automotive technology. Earnhardt ran nine Busch Series races between 1996 and 1997 for Dale Earnhardt, Inc, Earnhardt won consecutive NASCAR Busch Series Championships in 1998 and 1999 barely edging Matt Kenseth. In 1998, he made his first start in the Winston Cup Series, at the race held in Motegi. Also in 1999, he drove in 5 Winston Cup races in the No.8 Budweiser-sponsored Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and then in 2000,2000 was Earnhardts breakout year in the Cup Series. He competed for the Raybestos NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award in 2000 and his primary competitor for the award was Matt Kenseth. Kenseth outran Earnhardt in the season-opening Daytona 500 and he became the first rookie to win the All-Star exhibition race. Earnhardt played a part in recreating one Winston Cup milestone in 2000 when he competed with his father and half-brother Kerry in the Pepsi 400 at Michigan International Speedway. That occasion was only the time that a father had raced against two sons – Lee Petty and his two sons Richard and Maurice had previously accomplished the feat. Earnhardt ended the year with two wins, three top-5s, five top-10s, and two poles, in 2001, the major event of the season occurred on February 18, in the final corner of the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. As Earnhardt and his teammate Michael Waltrip raced to the finish line and his father had crashed in turn 4 after Sterling Marlin made contact with his left rear bumper. Earnhardt Sr. shot up the track into the wall behind Waltrip and his son
44.
Jeff Gordon
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Jeffery Michael Jeff Gordon is an American former professional stock car racing driver and currently an announcer for Fox NASCAR. He is a four-time Sprint Cup champion, having won the title in 1995,1997,1998 and he also won the Daytona 500 three times in 1997,1999, and 2005. He is third on the all-time Cup wins list with 93 career wins, Gordons 81 pole positions led all active drivers and is third all-time, Gordon won at least one pole in 23 consecutive seasons, making this a NASCAR record. He was also the iron man leader for consecutive races participated in with 797 through the 2015 season. In 1998, NASCAR named Gordon to its 50 Greatest Drivers list, in 2008, ten years later, ESPNs Terry Blount ranked him 10th in the 25 Greatest Drivers of All-Time. Foxsports. com named him as the fifth-best NASCAR driver of all time, Gordon, along with Rick Hendrick, co-owns the No.48 Chevrolet driven by Jimmie Johnson, who won seven Cup championships from 2006 to 2010,2013, and in 2016. Gordon also has an equity stake in the No.24 team, Gordon also owned a Busch Series team between 1999 and 2000, Gordon/Evernham Motorsports, winning twice. Gordon was born in Vallejo, California and raised in Pittsboro and he currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife, Ingrid Vandebosch and their two children Ella Sofia and Leo Benjamin. When he was four years old, Gordon rode a BMX bike that his stepfather bought for him, the Roy Hayer Memorial Race Track in Rio Linda, California is noted as the first track Gordon ever competed on. By the age of six Gordon had won 35 main events, in 1979 Gordon won 51 quarter midget races. When he was 11, Gordon won all 25 of the races he entered. At age 12, Gordon became bored with cars and decided to start a career in waterskiing before switching back to driving one year later, in 1986, Gordon began racing sprint cars, winning three races. The next year, Gordon was awarded a USAC license at age 16, during the 1980s, Gordon and his family had to overcome an insurance hurdle. The minimum age for driving the sprint cars was 16, supporting his career choice, Gordons family moved from Vallejo, California, to Pittsboro, Indiana, where there were more opportunities for younger racers. Before the age of 18, Gordon had already won three races and was awarded USAC Midget Car Racing Rookie of the Year in 1989. That season was highlighted by winning Night Before the 500 midget car race on the day before the Indianapolis 500, during the decade, Gordon also ran sprint cars in Australia and New Zealand. In 1990, Gordon won his second consecutive Night Before the 500, the Hut Hundred, in 1991, Gordon captured the USAC Silver Crown, and at the age of 20 became the youngest driver to win the season championship. He also won the 4 Crown Nationals midget car race that season, in his midget car career between 1989 and 1992, he finished in the Top 3 in 22 of 40 USAC midget car events
45.
Tony Kanaan
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Antoine Rizkallah Kanaan Filho, more commonly known as Tony Kanaan, is a Brazilian racing driver. Kanaan won the 2013 Indianapolis 500 and the 2004 Verizon IndyCar Series championship and that season, he completed 3,305 laps, making him the first IndyCar Series driver to complete every possible lap in a season. He also led 889 laps in 13 separate races to establish an IndyCar Series record and he is also the only driver to lead the Indianapolis 500 in each of his first seven starts, and won his first race on his 12th attempt. Kanaan has a total of 17 career race wins and 15 pole-positions in the Verizon IndyCar Series, Kanaan also won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2015, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. Kanaan was originally contracted to drive the #8 NTT Data/TNT Energy Drink-sponsored Dallara DW12-Ilmor Engineering|Ilmor-Chevrolet Indy V6 for Chip Ganassi Racing, Kanaan began driving for NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing in the #10 NTT Data-sponsored IndyCar in 2015. Kanaan would begin to compete in Formula Europa Boxer for the 1994 season, Kanaan would drive for Cram Competition in a Tatuus-Alfa Romeo. Kanaan would win the championship on the strength of 5 wins. Kanaan competed in Italian Formula Three in 1995 for Tatuus in a Dallara 395-Opel, Kanaan would win a race and get 9 podiums to finish 5th in points with 111 points. Kanaan began to compete in the PPG/Firestone Indy Lights Championship Powered By Buick in 1996 for Tasman Motorsports in the #37 Marlboro Lola T96/20-Buick V6, at the season-opening race at Homestead Motorsports Complex Kanaan started 9th and finished 10th. At the second race of the season on the Streets of Long Beach Kanaan would start 3rd, Kanaan moved from 10th to 3rd in points following the race. Kanaans results in the three races were 12th, 17th and 7th at Nazareth Speedway, Michigan International Speedway and the Milwaukee Mile. In those races Kanaan started 14th, 4th and 11th, at Michigan Kanaan led for 8 laps before retiring due to a mechanical problem. At the race at Belle Isle State Park Kanaan started 5th, at the next race at Portland International Raceway Kanaan qualified on the pole position and finished 5th after leading for 3 laps. Kanaan would get a pair of 2nd-place finishes at the races at Circuit Trois-Rivières, in the latter Kanaan led for a race high 22 of 44 laps. At the next and season-ending race at Laguna Seca Raceway Kanaan qualified on the pole position, Kanaan would finish 2nd in points with 113 points. In 1997 Kanaan returned with Tasman Motorsports to drive the #7 Marlboro/Davene/Brahma Lola T97/20-Buick V6, at the season-opening race at Homestead Motorsports Complex Kanaan started 10th and finished 6th. Kanaan would then get consecutive 5th-place finishes at the two races, on the Streets of Long Beach and at Nazareth Speedway. Kanaan would then finish 23rd and 10th at the Hutchinson Island Road Race Course, at the next race at Belle Isle State Park Kanaan qualified on the pole position and led all 36 laps of the race to win the race
46.
Scott Dixon
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Scott Ronald Dixon MNZM is a professional racing driver from New Zealand. Competing for Chip Ganassi Racing since joining IndyCar, Dixon has won the championship in 2003,2008,2013, and 2015, with 40 wins, Dixon is the leading non-U. S. Driver in American Championship Cars, and is the driver in the current IndyCar Series with 39 wins. He was selected in a poll among fans as one of the 33 greatest drivers in Indianapolis 500 history. Among other notable awards won by Dixon are the Jim Clark Trophy, in 2012 he was appointed Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit and was New Zealands Sportsman of the Year in 2008 and 2013. Dixon was born in Brisbane, Australia, to New Zealand parents Ron, the family returned to Auckland in New Zealand when Dixon was very young. At the time of incident, New Zealanders could not obtain a road licence until turning 15 years old. Dixon was competing at Pukekohe Park Raceway in a series featuring the Nissan Sentra when he rolled the car onto its roof. He caught national attention when TV showed him struggling from the car with a cushion strapped to his back to enable him to reach the pedals. Dixon went on to win in every series he competed in, in 1997 Dixon decided to race in Australia. In 1997 Dixon won Rookie of the Year and third overall in the Australian Formula Holden series driving the Ralt Australia prepared Reynard and this resulted in him being offered a drive with top team SH Racing. As the budgets were going to exceed $250,000, Wingate suggested a company be formed to fund Dixons career and that company was called Scott Dixon Motorsport, funded by shareholders who over the next two years invested more than $1m in Dixon. This allowed him to pursue his career without worrying about money, in 1998 Dixon won the Formula Holden series outright. With the backing of Scott Dixon Motorsport investors, Dixon moved to the United States in 1999 and he set a lap record when taking pole position for the Chicago oval race which he won. He was consistently fast throughout the year but had five DNFs, in 2000 Dixon remained in Indy Lights, moving to the PacWest team. He took the championship in resounding fashion, scoring six wins, PacWest Racing graduated Dixon to its full CART team in 2001. Dixon immediately out-paced his teammate, the former Formula One driver Maurício Gugelmin, Dixon led his first race in Mexico for 14 laps. Just two races later he won at Nazareth Speedway – his first oval race in the senior CART series, Dixon scored championship points in 11 of 20 starts, and led the FedEx Champ Car Series in laps completed with 2,521 out of a possible 2,610
David Ragan
Dario Franchitti
Patrick Carpentier
Juan Pablo Montoya
Esteban Guerrieri
