Ray Harroun
| Ray Harroun | |||||||
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Atlanta) | |||||||
| Last win | 1911 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis) | ||||||
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Ray Wade Harroun (January 12, 1879 – January 19, 1968) was an American
Biography
Harroun was born on January 12, 1879, in Spartansburg, Pennsylvania to Russell LaFayette Harroun and Lucy A. Halliday. His father was a carpenter. Ray was their youngest child.[1]
Harroun served on a U.S. Navy coaler during the Spanish American War.[2]
He participated in the original setting of the land speed record driving from
Racing career
Nicknamed the "Little Professor" for his pioneering work of creating, with Howard Marmon, the Marmon Wasp, which was a revolutionary design being the first open-wheel single-seater racecar. Harroun is best known for winning the first running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on May 30, 1911. He is known to have started at least 60 AAA-sanctioned races, during the years 1905–1911 (statistics on some of the shorter races document only the top three finishers, so some starts resulting in lower finishes may not be known), winning 19. From 1909 to 1911, Harroun drove primarily for the team operated by Indianapolis-based auto maker, Marmon. However, at least one 1909 race result shows him driving a Buick. Also, statistics from 1905 through 1908 show him driving cars described as "Harroun Custom" and "Harroun Sneezer."
Race wins
Harroun's race wins included: a 1910 100-mile race at the
Harroun won a total of 8 races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the second-most of any driver in the 100-year history of the track (the only driver with more victories at IMS is Johnny Aitken, with 15 wins in 1909–1916).
Revisionist champion designation
During the years that Harroun was driving, the
The inaugural Indianapolis 500
At the
The 50th Anniversary race in 1961 was won by A. J. Foyt, and both Harroun and Foyt appeared together on the television program I've Got a Secret—their secret being their respective wins at Indianapolis.
Later career
After retiring from racing, Harroun continued engineering work for Marmon, and later for the Maxwell racing team.
In 1916, Harroun started his own automobile company in Wayne, Michigan, called the Harroun Motor Car Company. The venture folded after World War I, and today a street in Wayne is named for him.[5]
In 1927 he joined Lincoln Products.[6]
He continued to work in the automotive industry until his retirement at age 89. He died on January 19, 1968.[7]
Legacy
Harroun was inducted in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 1952, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America[8] in 2000, and the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame(www.mmshof.org) in 2010.
Motorsports career results
Indianapolis 500 results
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References
- ^ "Ray Harroun". spartansburghistory.org. 1879-01-12. Retrieved 2023-07-05.
- ^ "Ray Harroun". indyencyclopedia.org. 2022-12-15. Retrieved 2023-07-05.
- ^ As noted in the Columbia Car webpages, Harroun
- ^ Capps, H. Donald (February–March 2010). "John Glenn Printz and the Struggle for the Past: The A.A.A. Catastrophe - Arthur Means, Val Haresnape, Russ Catlin, and Bob Russo" (PDF). Rear View Mirror. 7 (6): 21–38.
- ^ History. "Ray Harroun". Saginaw County Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2023-07-05.
- New York Times. April 22, 1923. Archived from the originalon February 2, 2013. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
The Lincoln Products Company of Chicago, manufacturers of Lincoln shock absorbers has announced the appointment of Ray Harroun as manager of ...
- New York Times. Associated Press. January 20, 1968. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
Ray Harroun, who wanted to be remembered as an engineer and inventor, but who was more famous as the winner of the first Indianapolis 500 mile ...
- ^ Ray Harroun at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
External links
- Ray Harroun driver statistics at Racing-Reference
- Ray Harroun discussed in interview with his son Dick Harroun – on RaceRewind.com
- Ray Harroun at Find a Grave
- Columbia Car webpages
- The Greatest 33