Jack McGrath | |||||||
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![]() McGrath, circa 1951 | |||||||
Born | John James McGrath October 8, 1919 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | ||||||
Died | November 6, 1955 36) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. | (aged||||||
Awards | |||||||
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame (1987) | |||||||
Champ Car career | |||||||
67 races run over 8 years | |||||||
Years active | 1948–1955 | ||||||
Best finish | 2nd – 1953 | ||||||
First race | 1948 H. H. Wheler Memorial Cup (Arlington) | ||||||
Last race | 1955 Bobby Ball Memorial (Phoenix) | ||||||
First win | 1950 Langhorne 100 (Langhorne) | ||||||
Last win | 1953 Rex Mays Classic (Milwaukee) | ||||||
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Formula One World Championship career | |||||||
Active years | 1950–1955 | ||||||
Teams | Kurtis Kraft | ||||||
Entries | 6 | ||||||
Championships | 0 | ||||||
Wins | 0 | ||||||
Podiums | 2 | ||||||
Career points | 9 | ||||||
Pole positions | 1 | ||||||
Fastest laps | 1 | ||||||
First entry | 1950 Indianapolis 500 | ||||||
Last entry | 1955 Indianapolis 500 |
John James McGrath [1] (October 8, 1919 – November 6, 1955) was an American racecar driver. [2] McGrath died in an accident at Bobby Ball Memorial, he lost control of his car at Turn 3, crashed and flipped, dying instantly.
McGrath was born in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in South Pasadena, California.
A major player in the "mighty midgets" at Los Angeles's Gilmore Speedway in the late 1940s, McGrath won the first CRA (California Roadster Association) championship in 1946 and was dubbed "King of the Hot Rods". His efforts, along with those of friend and teammate Manuel Ayulo, helped establish track roadsters as viable race cars. The west coast roadsters evolved into sprint cars in the early 1950s.
Major wins at the AAA national level included the 1951 Syracuse and Langhorne 100 mile races, the 1952 Syracuse 100, and the 1953 Milwaukee 200. He finished the 1952 and 1953 AAA championship seasons in second place, and led the first 44 laps of the 1954 Indianapolis 500.
McGrath's storied 26-lap duel with Bill Vukovich in the ill-fated 1955 Indianapolis 500 ended when the magneto on his Hinckle Special Kurtis 500C's Offenhauser (Meyer-Drake) engine failed on lap 54. Fellow Californian and two-time Indy winner Vukovich died three laps later in a chain-reaction crash while in the lead.
The "Splendid Splinter" himself was killed in the final AAA dirt-track race of the 1955 season, the Bobby Ball Memorial at the one-mile dirt oval at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix, Arizona. [3] [4]
Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Pos | Points |
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1948 | ARL 9 | INDY 21 | MIL | LAN DNQ | MIL | SPR | MIL | DUQ | ATL | PIK | SPR | DUQ | 54th | 5.2 | |||
1949 | ARL | INDY 26 | MIL 8 | TRE 14 | SPR | MIL | DUQ | PIK | SYR | DET | SPR | LAN | SAC | DMR | 44th | 50 | |
1950 | INDY 14 | MIL 9 | LAN 1 | SPR 14 | MIL DNS | PIK | SYR 1 | DET 17 | SPR 14 | SAC 14 | PHX 9 | BAY 5 | DAR 9 | 9th | 736.5 | ||
1951 | INDY 3 | MIL 18 | LAN 7 | DAR 5 | SPR 2 | MIL 2 | DUQ 16 | DUQ 11 | PIK | SYR 7 | DET | DNC 3 | SJS 4 | PHX 14 | BAY 18 | 4th | 1.460,4 |
1952 | INDY 11 | MIL 13 | RAL 2 | SPR 2 | MIL 15 | DET 4 | DUQ 5 | PIK | SYR 1 | DNC 6 | SJS 4 | PHX 16 | 5th | 1.200 | |||
1953 | INDY 5 | MIL 1 | SPR 4 | DET 16 | SPR 13 | MIL 4 | DUQ 4 | PIK | SYR 9 | ISF DNQ | SAC 10 | PHX 13 | 2nd | 1.250 | |||
1954 | INDY 3 | MIL 4 | LAN DNQ | DAR 21 | SPR 8 | MIL DNQ | DUQ 9 | PIK | SYR 10 | ISF 4 | SAC 2 | PHX DNQ | LVG | 3rd | 1.220 | ||
1955 | INDY 26 | MIL 8 | LAN | SPR 10 | MIL 21 | DUQ 2 | PIK | SYR 17 | ISF 15 | SAC 18 | PHX 13 | 18th | 240 |
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