Cliff Durant
Cliff Durant | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Champ Car career | |||||||
34 races run over 14 years | |||||||
Best finish | 14th (1923) | ||||||
First race | 1915 American Grand Prize (Panama–Pacific) | ||||||
Last race | 1928 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis) | ||||||
First win | 1918 24-mile Sprint (Tacoma) | ||||||
Last win | 1919 Santa Monica Race (Santa Monica) | ||||||
|
Russell Clifford Durant (November 26, 1890 – October 31, 1937)
Early life
Durant was born in
Personal life
Durant had four marriages and was rumored to treat his wives poorly through extramarital affairs and physical abuse.[6] Durant's four wives were Lena Pearl McFarland, Adelaide Pearl Frost, Lea Gapsky, and Charlotte Phillips. His second wife, Adelaide Pearl Frost (1885–1977), whom he married on September 1, 1911, was a singing star who later married fellow racer, and World War I flying ace, Eddie Rickenbacker.
Racing activities
Santa Monica 1919
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fd/Chevrolet_Special_driven_by_Cliff_Durant_in_1919_Santa_Monica_Race.png/220px-Chevrolet_Special_driven_by_Cliff_Durant_in_1919_Santa_Monica_Race.png)
In 1919 Durant was named the "Pacific Coast Champion," when he drove a blue Chevrolet-sponsored "Special" to victory in the Santa Monica Road Race. He averaged 81.28 miles per hour (130.81 km/h) in the open topped machine for a total of 3 hours and 4 minutes. His teammate, Eddie Hearne, finished only 7 minutes behind Durant. Throughout the run, neither Durant nor Hearne were lapped by any other drivers in all of the 250 miles (400 km) on the course. Durant only pitted twice, for tire changes. One of those pit stops was for a tire that blew while he was running almost 100 miles per hour (160 km/h).[7][8]
Beverly Hills Speedway ownership
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Beverly_Hills_Speedway%2C_1922.png/220px-Beverly_Hills_Speedway%2C_1922.png)
Durant was a co-owner of the
In its day, it rivaled the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for speed.[11] In May 1923, Durant shattered eight world speed records for events 75 miles (121 km) and under at the Beverly Hills Speedway.
Detroit Special
Early in 1927, Durant financed the design and construction of an 8-cylinder
Other racing accomplishments
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/1922_Tacoma_Speedway_Cliff_Durant_Marvin_D_Boland_Collection_G521089.jpg/220px-1922_Tacoma_Speedway_Cliff_Durant_Marvin_D_Boland_Collection_G521089.jpg)
Durant competed at many tracks and events around the country, including: Santa Monica and
In the 1923 Indianapolis 500, Durant had the largest stable of cars (6) ever to participate in the Indianapolis 500 until modern times. He finished in seventh that year.
Durant was the financial backer of the famous Harry Miller racing engines, which dominated the racing world in the 1920s–30s.
Other activities
Durant had his own flight school, airplanes for sale, and a 72-acre (290,000 m2) field, "Durant Field" in Oakland, California in 1919.[citation needed] It was located between 80th Ave., 83rd Ave., and Snell Street. He also had Air Mail contracts for mail delivery with the government and his airport was the terminus for the first transcontinental air mail flight in August 1920.[15]
In 1921 Durant was a partner with Thomas O'Brian in the
Durant had a large estate in Roscommon, Michigan on the South Branch of the Au Sable River, where "The Castle," a 54-room mansion, burned to the ground February 6, 1931. On the estate was his own private air strip, with several planes. On April 25, 1930, test pilot Herbert J. Fahy died two days after an airplane he had been showing Durant had crashed on takeoff at this airstrip. Fahy and his wife Claire, both prominent pilots, acted as sales agents for Lockheed. Durant agreed to buy the airplane if the Fahys could prove that the Sirius could land and take off safely from Durant's personal strip. Herb and Claire Fahy landed the plane without incident, but as they took off, one of the wheels hit a partially hidden stump, which flipped the plane over. Herb Fahy, at age 33, sustained a fractured skull and a severe concussion from which he never recovered.[16]
The community airport in Roscommon, Michigan, was named Durant Field in his honor on July 16, 1933.[citation needed]
At various times in his career he presided over the West Coast division of Durant Motors, and had been vice president of sales for Chevrolet in Oakland, California. He left Chevrolet in 1921, after his father, W.C. "Billy" Durant, left General Motors.[4]
Durant was an accomplished musician as well, playing the violin. He owned the
In addition to being a businessman, race car driver, aviator and musician, he was also a yachtsman who owned the sailing yacht "Aurora."
Death
Durant died of a
Motorsports career results
Indianapolis 500 results
|
|
References
- ^ a b "California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994". FamilySearch.
- RootsWeb. Flint Genealogical Society. Archivedfrom the original on 2022-02-28.
- ^ "R Clifford Durant", United States census, 1900; Flint, Genesee, Michigan; page 12A, line 28, enumeration district 10, Family History film 1240710, National Archives film number T623.
- ^ a b c d "Cliff Durant Dies Suddenly". Los Angeles Times. November 1, 1937. Archived from the original on 2023-05-16.
- ISBN 978-0-472-03302-7.
- ISBN 978-0-8018-8244-9.
- The Los Angeles Times.
- Westways. Vol. 11. Automobile Club of Southern California. 1919. p. 11.
- ISBN 978-0-7385-3068-0.
- ^ King, Susan (December 25, 2014). "Speedway Put Beverly Hills in Fast Lane". Los Angeles Times.
- ISBN 978-0-7680-0023-8.
- ISBN 978-0-9711468-7-7.
- ^ "Cadillac President, with La Salle, Will Pace First Lap of Indianapolis Race". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York. May 15, 1927.
- ^ a b "Multimillionaire Makes Sixth Bid for Speed Honors". The Indianapolis Star. May 30, 1924. Archived from the original on 2023-05-16.
- ^ http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt909nd5zq
- Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. Archivedfrom the original on 2022-02-28.
- ^ "Cliff Durant Indianapolis 500 Stats". IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com. Archived from the original on 2019-08-01.