Happy Birthday!

[Vic Mackey]

Hopefully this will be a fun way to pass some time during the offseason and through the rest of the year. Each day I'll post the past and present Indy Car drivers who were born that day, along with a short writeup and (hopefully) a picture. It's a slow start with there being only one New Year's baby, but it will pick up real soon. Birthdates all come from www.champcarstats.com.

January 1:

Phil Caliva (67)

Born in Sicily, he spent a couple of years in Super Vee before moving up to Indy Cars in 1979. His best result was at the inaugural Michigan 500 in 1981. He was the last driver in the field through a 10 lap last chance race, but kept running all day and moved from 37th to 8th at the finish. Here he is at Mid-Ohio, 1980:


caliva.jpg

[indybail]

Sound like fun. Looking forward to it.

[ZOOOM]

The only guys with a birthday tomorrow is me and Robby Gordon, oh yes, and that singer Aurthur Godfry fired on the air...

ZOOOM

[Josh Knight]

We used to do that on the indycar.com (until they closed it down)forum. but we ran out of drivers on some days so sometimes it was some stupid

[Vic Mackey]

January 2:

Robby Gordon (43)

Looked like the next big thing coming up, but never quite got there. He led Indy as late as lap 198 before a splash and go in 1999. Here he is on his way to the first of his two Indy Car wins, 1995 Phoenix:



Jules Moriceau (b. 1887)

Moriceau came over from France to make one run at Indy. He crashed out early and finished 29th in 1929.



Bill Krause (79)

Krause's only Indy Car experience came at Indy in 1963, where he crashed a rear-engined Thompson car in practice. Masten Gregory eventually DNQed in the car. Krause was much more successful in sports cars, with his biggest win coming in 1960 at the LA Times Grand Prix at Riverside, a World Sportscar Championship event. Here he is on his way to victory in the "birdcage" Maserati. This car currently resides at the IMS Museum.



No picture for these last two I'm afraid:

Bill Lindau (b. 1903)

Lindau's lone Indy start came in odd fashion. In 1929 he became the first driver to get into the field as an alternate, as Phil Pardee had crashed after qualifying. That wouldn't happen again until Chris Kneifel replaced the elder Jacques Villeneuve in 1984. Lindau finished 19th. His only other start came the next month on the boards of Altoona, where he finished 14th.

Frank Beardsley (b. 1926)

Not much to report here. Beardsley's only appearance was a DNQ at Indy in 1949.

[Josh Knight]

Are we just doing Indycar drivers?

Because there is this German driver's Birthday today. He has won at Indy before in that memorable 2005 race

[Vic Mackey]

Busy day today

January 3:

J. R. Hildebrand (24)

If only he could've held on for one more turn.



Willy T. Ribbs (56)

Tempting as it was to use a photo after his Lights adventure this year, I'll go with a younger Willy after his historic qualifying run in 1991:



Allen Heath (b. 1918)

Heath was a rising star in the short track ranks until he lost his left hand in an accident in 1953. The accident didn't stop him though. Equipped with a hook, he kept racing and winning, eventually earning induction into both the Midget and Sprint Car Halls of Fame. In three Indy Car starts his best result was a runner-up finish to Rodger Ward at Detroit in 1953. Heath has the distinction of being the only Indy Car driver born in Saskatchewan.



Mike McGreevy (86)

McGreevy was the 1965 and 1966 USAC National Midget Champion. He made 11 appearances at Indy Car races throughout the '60s, but only made two starting fields, with a best finish of 17th at Springfield in 1965. Here he is in a midget race in Australia in early 1967 wearing the champion's #1, with Bob Tattersall to his inside:



Joe Sostilio (b. 1915)

Sostilio was a star sprint/midget/stock driver in the Northeast, and the 1953 AAA Eastern Sprint Car Champion. That success didn't translate to Indy Cars, where he started his career with five straight DNQs, and ended it with 10 straight, sandwiching three starts in between those streaks. One was memorable however, as he took pole position for the race at Langhorne in 1954. He went on to finish 7th. Here he is in a midget at Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 1951:



Evan Noyes (69)

Noyes was an SCCA veteran who brought his F5000 car to the fall 1974 Phoenix race. His Indy Car career didn't even last a lap, as he started last and finished last, retiring on lap 1 with an engine failure. Here he and the car are in a more natural habitat, the F5000 race at Mid-Ohio in 1975:



Russell Spence (52)

Spence, a three time Formula Atlantic winner in 1992, didn't even get to the track before his Indy Car career ended. He was entered in the 1994 Indy 500 with Project Indy, but was replaced by Didier Theys before he could even make it to rookie orientation. Here he is in an Atlantic at Mid-Ohio in 1992:

[Vic Mackey]

January 4:

Graham Rahal (23)

Hard to think of someone that young as a five year veteran already. Here he is on the way to his only win thus far, St. Petersburg 2008:



Richie Hearn (41)

The 1995 Formula Atlantic champion was a very promising driver who never really found his footing in an Indy Car. He did manage to win one of the very first IRL races however, 1996 Las Vegas, in a year where he ran a split schedule between the two series. Here he is at Indy that year:



Tristan Gommendy (32)

Gommendy's one season (2007) racing for KV was mostly unremarkable, but he did pull off a surprise pole position at Mont-Tremblant. Unfortunately mechanical problems meant he didn't even get to take that pole start, starting from the pit lane a couple of laps after the race start instead. Here he is on that weekend:



Roscoe Sarles (b. 1892)

Sarles was a very good board track racer in the late '10s and early '20s. He picked up six Indy Car victories, which to this day ranks him as having the second-most Indy Car wins by an Indiana-born driver. His best year was 1921, when three wins and nine second place finishes propelled him to second in the points standings behind Tommy Milton. Sarles would die in an Indy Car at Kansas City in the fall of 1922. Here he is during his impressive 1921 season:



Dee Toran (b. 1910)

Here's the first of the true oddballs in the birthday list. Toran's two AAA National Championship starts came in the strange 1946 season. In that year, with fears that there wouldn't be enough equipment or tracks available coming off of the World War II shutdown to run a proper Indy Car season, the AAA combined the Indy Cars and sprint cars together for that National Championship season. The fears proved unfounded, as there were enough Indy Cars available and, while six races seems weak now, it was the largest Indy Car schedule since 1935. But throw in 71 sprint car races, and it made for a monster 77 race National Championship schedule. Stats from that year are far from complete, but Toran is known to have at least raced a pair of sprint car races at Williams Grove that year. He also does have some experience at Indy, as the riding mechanic for future winner Floyd Davis in 1937. One other note about Toran, in 1947 he was involved in an accident in a midget race that killed Jeep Colkitt, a driver he had been feuding with. Toran was prosecuted after the accident, and became one of the very few racers ever convicted of manslaughter as the result of a racing accident. Here he is in a midget he ran late in his career:

[goldie19]

Vic aka Donald Davidson! Nice work here!

[Vic Mackey]

^^Glad you're enjoying it.

January 5:

Franck Montagny (34)

Tried to break in here after F1, but seems to have found a home in sports cars. Here is his debut, a 2nd place finish at the Champ Car finale at Long Beach, 2008:



Ernest Delaney (b. 1889)

The first Indy 500 was the first and only Indy Car race for Delaney. He started 24th and finished 23rd.



Al Theisen (b. 1906)

Theisen made two appearances at Indy, failing to qualify in 1932 and 1934. Theisen spent about a decade in sprints and midgets, and was the 1934 AAA Midwest Sprint Car Champion. He died in a midget crash in Detroit early the next year.

[dog-ring]

This thread is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay cool............

[11rowsof3]

This thread is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay cool............

Was getting ready to say the same thing.

PS Robby Gordon. With the right equipment, sticking with Indycar, he could have honestly been one of the all-star veterans right now. If he raced for Penske - 4-time Indy winner? 6 Championships? Who knows... Lots of repairs to cars, but still.

[DavidM]

I didn't know I shared a B-day with Graham!

[Sea Fury]

Was getting ready to say the same thing.

PS Robby Gordon. With the right equipment, sticking with Indycar, he could have honestly been one of the all-star veterans right now. If he raced for Penske - 4-time Indy winner? 6 Championships? Who knows... Lots of repairs to cars, but still.

I always liked Robby, and no question he knows how to drive....but frankly he's his own worst enemy when it comes to his career.

[9rows]

Busy day today

January 3:

J. R. Hildebrand (24)

If only he could've held on for one more turn.

That's a great pic. Never seen that one before.

[Seadog]

I guess most of you know this site http://www.wheelsofspeed.com/history.html . I thought I would post the link for those who don't. It's a pretty good reference for driver's birth dates, death dates, and also noteable racing event dates and a brief history of each.

[Indy500Dude]

Great thread Vic! Tks. Guess we al lknow who's comng in a few more days!

[mattf765]

Very cool! Keep it up!

[Liz]

Vic, I absolutely love this thread. I really appreciate the variety of drivers and series that you have featured. Many, many thanks!

[Vic Mackey]

We get our first Indy winner in the thread today.

January 6:

Pat Flaherty (b. 1926)

Flaherty only had a half dozen starts in an Indy Car before the 1956 500, but he did have one win under his belt at Milwaukee the previous year. Flaherty started on pole and led 128 laps on his way to victory, which he followed up the next race with another win at Milwaukee. A crash at Springfield later that year put him on the sidelines for two years and effectively ruined his career. Fun note: he was the last driver to win Indy while wearing just a t-shirt.



Dick Rathmann (b. 1926)

Older brother of Indy winner Jim, Dick was a solid Indy Car driver in his own right, with a pole at Indy in 1958, but really made his mark in a stock car. From 1952-54 he picked up 13 wins in what today is NASCAR's Sprint Cup division. Here he is at the ill-fated Daytona race in 1959, where he started on pole for the only Indy Car event held there:



Jean-Pierre Frey (57)

Frey made four starts in the late '80s, with a best result of 13th on his debut at Laguna Seca in 1988. Here he is in that race. Fun note: the next year he shared a car with Marty Roth at the 24 Hours of Daytona.



Barney Kleopfer (b. 1897)

Kleopfer's only appearance came in 1929, when he drove the second half of the Indy 500 in relief of Lou Moore, a future Indy winner as a car owner. The engine broke with two laps left, dropping the duo to a 13th place finish. Kleopfer came up through the California dirt tracks. Here's a pic of the restored sprint car he built and raced there:



Mike Johnson (b. 1935)

Here we get the first of our USAC Gold Crown dirt car drivers. The Gold Crown came about during The Split v1.0. USAC created the championship in 1981 with the intention of it being dirt and paved ovals and road courses. In effect it was Indy, one race at Pocono and a few Silver Crown races that were designated Gold Crown events and gave out points. By 1984 the Gold Crown was down to Indy only.

Johnson made one Gold Crown dirt start, finishing 20th at DuQuoin in 1983. That was the final dirt race to count toward the championship. He later became promoter at Paragon Speedway in Indiana. Here he is in a sprint car, getting ready to take part in the 1965 Oswego Classic, a supermodified event:

[Vic Mackey]

Slow day today, just one driver

January 7:

Barry Ruble (60)

Ruble is a long time sprint car veteran, with a little bit of sports car racing in his background as well. He made four entries in Indy Car races in 1983-84, but never made the field. Oddly enough, considering his extensive sprint car background, all of his attempts came on road courses. I don't have a picture of that car, so here's a more recent shot, from the All Star Sprint Series race at Pennsylvania's Lincoln Speedway in 2006:

[Vic Mackey]

January 8:

L. L. Corum (b. 1899)

Corum is one of two drivers to win at Indy despite never leading a lap. In 1924 Corum ran the first 111 laps before being replaced by teammate Joe Boyer during a pit stop. Boyer drove the car to victory from there, making Corum a winner in the process. Corum rarely appeared in an Indy car outside of Indianapolis, and this would be his only win.



Charles Basle (b. 1885)

Basle came over from France to run a few races in Indy Car's early days, making a handful of starts from 1909-11, and one last appearance in 1921. His best result came in his first race, a 5th place finish on the roads of Lowell, MA. Here he is at the first Indy 500, where a broken crankshaft would leave him with a 34th place finish.



Hal Minyard (b. 1925)

Minyard was a west coast sprint car star who came to the Midwest in the mid-'60s. He showed up for Indy and Milwaukee in 1966, but didn't make either field. Minyard would eventually earn induction into the Sprint Car Hall of Fame. He also helped make the sport safer through the introduction of his "McHal" helmet, which was a leap forward over helmets available at the time. Here he is in the last chance race at Milwaukee, driving the red #44:

[Vic Mackey]

January 9:

Karl Busson (74)

After a handful of DNQs in 1968-69, Busson made his Indy Car debut in 1970. He made 13 starts in the early '70s, with his best results a pair of 8th place finishes, both at MIS. Here he is prior to the 1968 Little 500, a race he would go on to win:



Phil Pardee (b. 1906)

Pardee made a couple of starts in 1930, finishing 9th at both Altoona and Syracuse, and made the field for Indy the next year. He only drove the first 26 laps before turning the car over to relief driver Wilbur Shaw, who crashed the car out at the 60 lap mark.



Russ Gamester (47)

Gamester's lone Indy Car action came in 2000, when he started Rookie Orientation at Indy with Dreyer & Reinbold, but didn't finish it. Gamester was the USAC Midget National Champion in 1989, and twice was the Silver Crown runner up. Here he is competing in the 2008 Little 500:



George Bradbeer (b. 1881)

No picture of George I'm afraid. His lone Indy Car start came on the road course at Santa Monica in 1909, where he finished 10th.

[TJ Halsema]

Hal passed away two years ago. He used to own the house on Speedway property outside of turn 4, between the gate and the credentials entry.

He had some great stories about driving sprint cars in the 40s.

[Formula Indy]

Great thread! Thanks!

[Vic Mackey]

Change of format, folks. Since there's questions about copyrights and permissions and such I'm just going to post a link to pictures instead of showing them in the thread.

January 10:

Rodger Ward (b. 1921)

The first (that's right, there's multiple) of our Indy winners born today, Ward won the race in 1959 and 1962, also winning the season titles both years. Only 12 drivers have more Indy Car wins than Ward's 26. Here he is in Indy's Victory Lane the first time, holding up the newspaper with the headline "Ward Wins The 500":

http://www.roadandtrack.com/var/ezfl...mage_large.jpg

Bobby Rahal (59)

Rahal took an emotional Indy win in 1986 for car owner Jim Trueman, who died of cancer just 11 days after that race. Rahal would go on to win the championship, and the next one, and again in 1992, finishing with 24 race wins total. Here he is on the pace lap in 1986, on the inside of row 2 with Al Unser and eventual runner up Kevin Cogan alongside:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/...e9a9a01dc2.jpg

Eddie Cheever (54)

That's right, three Indy winners are all celebrating birthdays today. The last full-time American in F1 before Michael Andretti's experiment, Cheever came back to the US, and in his 8th season picked up his first Indy Car win. The next year he took the 1998 500 driving for his own team. Here he is on the way to victory:

http://i.usatoday.net/sports/gallery...horizontal.jpg

Last and, well, least in this case...

Homer Trussell (b. 1894)

Trussell made just one start in an Indy Car, coming home 3rd in a six car field at Elgin, IL in 1912. No photo available on this one.

[Vic Mackey]

We're moving into a slow stretch for the next few days.

January 11:

Ray Yeager (b. 1900)

Yeager is today's only birthday. He made only one appearance behind the wheel of an Indy Car, failing to qualify at Indy in 1937. He did take part in five of the previous six 500s as a riding mechanic. Here he is pictured riding with Harry Butcher in 1931, Yeager's first 500:

http://ims.cdn.racersites.com/prod/p...94040/FULL.jpg

[Vic Mackey]

Whoops! Missed one earlier, and a pretty big name at that...

Carroll Shelby (89)

Shelby's lone appearance came at Indy in 1958. He was preparing to take his rookie test when USAC stopped him. Jack Ensley had taken his rookie test in that car, and USAC had a nonsensical rule that two drivers couldn't take their rookie tests in the same car. Shelby let the officials know what he thought of that rule, left Indianapolis, and that was the end of his Indy Car career. Suffice it to say, he landed on his feet afterward. Here he is on his way to victory in the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he teamed with Roy Salvadori:

http://images.forum-auto.com/mesimag...LeMans1959.jpg

[Vic Mackey]

January 12:

Ray Harroun (b. 1879)

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess everyone here knows this fellow and this picture:

http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/mult...ay-Harroun.jpg

Lloyd Ruby (b. 1928)

Ruby won in just about everything he drove. Not only did he pick up seven Indy Car wins, he was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame, and he was also a sports car star, winning both the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1966. Here he is at Hanford Motor Speedway in California, leading Bobby Unser on his way to a runner up finish in 1969:

http://www.loganmolen.com/storage/Du...=1306294954055

Robby Unser (44)

Son of Bobby, Robby Unser made 21 starts between 1998-2000, with a pair of 2nd place finishes his best results. And like virtually all Unsers, he's been successful at Pikes Peak. Unser still owns the Open Wheel division record, charging up the Peak in a time of 10:05.85 back in 1994. Here he is on the way to that mark:

http://vintageracecar.com/mag/magi/d...f_magi_grs.jpg

[3Paige14]

Whoops! Missed one earlier, and a pretty big name at that...

Carroll Shelby (89)

Shelby's lone appearance came at Indy in 1958. He was preparing to take his rookie test when USAC stopped him. Jack Ensley had taken his rookie test in that car, and USAC had a nonsensical rule that two drivers couldn't take their rookie tests in the same car. Shelby let the officials know what he thought of that rule, left Indianapolis, and that was the end of his Indy Car career. Suffice it to say, he landed on his feet afterward. Here he is on his way to victory in the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he teamed with Roy Salvadori:

http://images.forum-auto.com/mesimag...LeMans1959.jpg

A happy belated birthday to the great Carroll Shelby. Major respect.