However, johnny didnt do much as he ended up in the middle of a 37 car pile up right at the start of the race. Morrison retiring funny car driver johnny gray is an oilman from artesia, n. Born this day in 1922, johnny thomson raced against his familys wishes starting in 1938. Click on the site to see johnny thomsons career results at that track glossary. Janet guthrie was the first woman to qualify and compete in the indianapolis 500. Retired in 1966, but continued to race until 1990 in midget vintages.
He has twice been champion of the british touring car championship btcc, and was third in the 2007 world touring car championship. Johnny thompson september 9, 1922 is a former nascar driver from jacksonville, fl. American stock car racer and threetime winner of the indianapolis 500. Thomson was the 1958 usac sprint car series champion. He won the eastern sprint car championship in 1954. On the opening lap of the main event, thomsons stearly motor freight special crashed through the inside fence on the backstretch, not a hundred feet from where bill schindler disappeared through the outside fence.
James thompson born 26 april 1974 in york, england is a british auto racing driver. Johnny thomson racing career profile driver database. Unable to recover at over 100mph, musselmans car flipped and tossed the driver high into the air. Johnny even raced the beach course from 53 until the super speedway came into existence. History vintage cageless midget picture thread page 129. Get the latest race results, news, videos, pictures, win record and more for johnny thompson on. Empa hall of famejohnny thomson eastern motorsport.
Johnny gray is retiring from racing, but not from helping. May 24, 2016 driver pat oconnor sits helpless as his car flips over the car driven by jimmy reece after they crashed in the 15car pileup on the first turn of the 500mile memorial day race at indianapolis. Johnny thompson born september 9, 1924 inverness, ala. Baldwin gave valuable feedback about the ferrari v12 engined car. Known as the flying scot, johnny thomson april 9, 1922 september 24. When the indianapolis motor speedway opened in 1909, race cars had no seat. Sonny thompson racing career profile driver database. Driver pat oconnor sits helpless as his car flips over the car driven by jimmy reece after they crashed in the 15car pileup on the first turn of the 500mile memorial day race at indianapolis. Profile for racing driver johnny thomson from united states. Now the race was on, with johnny thomson sprinting into the lead, and still.
Unforunately, he was unable to improve upon that at macon, crashing to. Johnny started racing in 1938 as a 16 year old at his home track of lowell, massachusetts before joining the us air force as a crew chief, fighting in italy and corsica with. Life and family edit thomson is the younger son of the late kenneth thomson, 2nd baron thomson of fleet of the thomson corporation, and the younger brother of david thomson, 3rd baron thomson of fleet. Peter john thomson born 25 april 1965 is a canadian rally race car driver with thomson motorsport, and a venture capitalist. Connections between pennsylvania race car drivers and the. Includes how it started and a new angle of the crash never seen on youtube. Johnny roberts maryland stock car racing hall of fame. The driver, johnny thomson one of the best in the era at first did not like the car, since the inside front wheel did not lift off the ground as he was used to in all other cars he had driven. During the 1956 triple ace race at langhorne speedway, johnny thompson has this amazing crash. Bill wild bill schindler, johnny thomson and frank beeder were not born in. Teamates, johnny thomson and al keller had the fastest times during time trials, with clockings of 33. He won a pair of point titles at both hagerstown and port royal, and won the biggest race on.
In 1964, he was the chief mechanic for owner lee glessner on the car in which mario andretti drove his first u. The following numbers are a summary of the more detailed information available in the career details further below on the page. Original caption driver johnny roberts pokes his head out the window as his car falls to pieces thats the hood and front fenders at right during a 250 mile stock car race in daytona beach. He spent a few laps on the track, but came back only to tell thompson that if he went over 145 mph, the cars front end lifted in the air. Race car driver and indy 500 winner johnny rutherford shakes hands with a fan during the ims green flag celebration on monument circle, friday, may. Jerry hoyt, duane carter, larry crockett, bob sweikert and pat oconnor were on hand, along with imca stars, bob slater and bobby grim. The driver gets points if he finishes in the first six positions of every race 2. Pennsylvania drivers dot the history of the previous 99 years. Langhorne usually drew quite a few cars from the midwest. Accidents count as a driver mistake,so the driver loses points when heshe has an accident,collision or spin. This race marked the retirement of tommy hinnershitz and the accident which claimed the life of the much admired johnny thomson. Empa hall of famejohnny thomson eastern motorsport press. Inside ten laps to go, rodger ward seemed to have the faster car, and took the lead on. Click on the number of races to see individual races for that year.
Seasons spanning over two years for example 2014 championships have their race results accounted for in the year the championship ends. Click on the year to see the standings for that year. Pennsylvania drivers dot the history of the previous 99 years of the. Johnny thompson racing career profile driver database. Pennsylvania drivers dot the history of the previous 99. Latest news video drivers teams schedule standings. He considers bandimere speedway his home track, and childrens.
Jun 19, 2017 8 initial 2017 usac hall of fame inductees announced. Johnny thomson was one of the best and most popular race drivers of all time. Jimmy reece was a 6 time veteran of the indianapolis 500, with top ten finishes in 1952, 1956 and 1958. He was the first driver to win a 100mile 160 km dirt track race in less than an hour at langhorne, pennsylvania. Johnny thomson the champ car and indy car online stats. The car was involved in the first lap crash that killed pat oconner. Built in 1940, the pines was a famed track and became a launching platform for many racing careers.
Johnny thomson known as the flying scot, johnny thomson april 9, 1922 september 24, 1960 of lowell, massachusetts, was an outstanding openwheel racer and one of the most likeable drivers that ever slipped into a racing car. Thomson was killed during the allentown fair race in 1960, when he was 38. Baldwins only indianapolis attempt saw him assist former formula 1 world champion, giuseppe farina. From the time he ventured into the local area, johnny grum won 108 feature races. He competed in five nextel cup series events in his career. He is one of ten drivers to win the indianapolis 500 at least three times, winning in 1974, 1976, and 1980 rutherford began racing modified stock cars in 1959 and he also dabbled in stock car racing, making 35 nascar monster energy cup series starts from. The initial eight 2017 inductees into the usac hall of fame have been announced and four more, selected by popular vote from a list of 16 eligibles distributed through social mediums, will be announced tomorrow. Starting positions in the field of twentynine are unknown, but thompson drove well in the race and finished 14th. Oh, and a week ago, nema had a race in oswego, ny the only full midget race in n. Aug 15, 2011 during the 1956 triple ace race at langhorne speedway, johnny thompson has this amazing crash.
John sherman johnny rutherford iii born march 12, 1938, also known as lone star jr, is an american former automobile racing driver. Johnny started his career in the midgets in new england and rapidly became a top sprint car driver where he won two eastern sprint car titles, one in aaa in 1954 and one in usac in 1958. Johnny thomson grand prix date car race position pts. May 19, 2000 johnny baldwin born 30 mar 1922 fresno, california. Johnny thomson april 9, 1922 in lowell, massachusetts september 24, 1960 in allentown, pennsylvania was an american racecar driver. Adolph bonini ray bussell john shanoian jimmy sills sr. Scot also passed his rookie test at the subbed for the flying. Johnny baldwin born 30 mar 1922 fresno, california.
Click on the site to see johnny thomson s career results at that track. One of my dads cousins was a race car driver back in the 1950s. The race is remembered historically as a moment of firsts for the event. Langhorne march 20 and may 1, 1955 and june 24, 1956.
Later in the day he was fatally injured on the backstretch in this ride. He became a midget standout, following in the footsteps of seventime ardc champ bronco bill schindler. Driver johnny thomson career statistics racingreference. Johnny was decorated with five battle stars and the distinguished air force medal for bravery for his service on a b25 bomber in world war ii. Midget legend with many race wins and titles to his name. Everyone knew him to be a highly skilled driver, but his main prior. Thomson, part of the fair exhibit, drove the car to backtoback wins in 1957 and 1958. Reece was dueling johnny thomson for second place on the last lap and got into an awkward position in a turn. Charlie musselmans amazing ride at the big left turn.
Thompsons debut came in 1951, when he competed at columbia. Meanwhile, thomson s engine lost power, and he slowed to a 5thplace finish. He currently competes in the world touring car championship. After getting comfortable with the car, he qualified at 142. Baldwin gave valuable feedback about the ferrari v12 engined car when he. Albert buddy taylor, dean thompson, johnny thomson, ray tilley, dick toby tobias. The killer car mickey thompsons sears allstate special.
Hall of fame inductees national sprint car hall of fame. Johnny thomson born 09 apr 1922 lowell, massachusetts. Former indy 500 drivers johnny thomson, bentley warren, bill schindler and bill randall all won. Official jimmie johnson nascar driver page with latest stats, race results, videos, news, photo galleries, team information, bio and more. Driver johnny thomson 1958 usac champ car series results. The race was slowed for 11 laps by yellow lights due to minor mishaps. With thomson closing in on the leaders, ward and rathmann started charging again, racing each other hard, swapping the lead between themselves. Pancho carter spun and hit the fence on lap 34 but continued around to the pits for a tire change and stayed in the race. Thomson won the 1948 ucoa new england title after winning 32 midget events. But he cut his sprint car racing in 1959 to concentrate on the national driving.
Johnny rutherford bio, facts, family famous birthdays. Like new york giants hero bobby thomson, race driver johnny thomson was. Roberts auto flipped over five times, but he was not seriously injured. Johnny thomson nationality american born april 9, 1922 hometown lowell, massachusetts died september 24, 1960 place of death allentown, pennsylvania racing highlights. On the opening lap of the main event, thomson s stearly motor freight special crashed through the inside fence on the backstretch, not a hundred feet from where bill schindler disappeared through the outside fence. Tommy hinnershitz, johnny thomson, johnny mackison sr. If the championship is more important, the driver gets more points 3. Jimmie johnson nascar driver page stats, results, bio.
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