Jim McElreath

Jimmie Earl McElreath^[1] (February 18, 1928 – May 18, 2017) was an American open-wheel racing driver, known for competing in the USAC Championship car series.^[2][3] He won the inaugural California 500 in 1970, driving a spare car owned by A. J. Foyt.

Jim McElreath
Born	Jimmie Earl McElreath (1928-02-18)February 18, 1928 Arlington, Texas, U.S.
Died	May 18, 2017(2017-05-18) (aged 89) Arlington, Texas, U.S.
Championship titles
Major victories California 500 (1970)
Champ Car career
181 races run over 24 years
Best finish	2nd (1966)
First race	1961 Hoosier Hundred (ISF)
Last race	1983 Ted Horn Memorial (DuQuoin)
First win	1965 Trenton 100 (Trenton)
Last win	1970 California 500 (Ontario)
Wins Podiums Poles 5 22 2
NASCAR Cup Series career
4 races run over 2 years
First race	1964 Daytona Qualifier #2 (Daytona)
Last race	1971 Miller High Life 500 (Ontario)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0

Racing career

Jim began his racing career in 1945 at the age of 17. He raced stock cars in Dallas, Texas. Jim would race in the local Texas bullrings for the next fifteen years while working as a bricklayer. It was in 1960 when he and fellow Texan racer Johnny Rutherford decided to race in the Midwest. Both would eventually find super modified rides in the International Motor Contest Association (IMCA). Jim did well enough that by late-summer 1961 that he was offered a ride by fame car owner Lindsey Hopkins in the Hoosier Hundred, a race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on the United States Auto Club (USAC) National Championship Trail. He finished third in this race, an impressive start to his Indy Car career.

He raced in the 1961–1983 seasons, with 178 combined career starts, including 15 in the Indianapolis 500 in 1962–1970, 1973–1974, and 1977–1980. He finished 48 times in the top 5, with five victories. He was runner-up in the 1966 championship and third in 1963, 1965, and 1970. In 1962 he was named Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year, a result of his 6th-place finish.^[4]

Jim won the inaugural California 500 at Ontario, California on September 6, 1970, driving A.J. Foyt's team car. He battled with Art Pollard for the last 10 laps after Al Unser and Cale Yarborough retired with mechanical issues.^{[citation needed]}

Award

McElreath was a 2002 inductee to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.^[5]

Personal life

Jim's son, James Jr., was killed in a sprint car crash at Winchester in October 1977. James Jr. had attempted to qualify for the 1977 Indy 500 earlier that year. Alongside his father, they were attempting to become the first father and son combination to qualify for the same race. However, James Jr. was too slow to make the field.^[6]

Jim's daughter, Shirley, married racing driver Tony Bettenhausen Jr. The couple died when their private plane crashed in Kentucky in February 2000.

Complete USAC Championship Car results

Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	Pos	Points
1961	TRE	INDY	MIL	LAN	MIL	SPR	DUQ	SYR	ISF 3	TRE 21	SAC 10	PHX 4																	18th	290
1962	TRE 16	INDY 6	MIL 14	LAN 7	TRE 6	SPR 5	MIL 5	LAN 7	SYR 10	ISF 3	TRE 8	SAC 14	PHX DNQ																8th	1,210
1963	TRE 4	INDY 6	MIL 5	LAN 2	TRE 8	SPR 6	MIL 11	DUQ 7	ISF 5	TRE 4	SAC 3	PHX 3																	3rd	1,655
1964	PHX 11	TRE DNQ	INDY 21	MIL 9	LAN 4	TRE 14	SPR DNQ	MIL 12	DUQ 5	ISF DNQ	TRE 12	SAC	PHX 25																18th	320
1965	PHX 2	TRE 1	INDY 20	MIL 3	LAN 1	PPR	TRE 11	IRP 5	ATL 10	LAN 1	MIL 14	ISF 5	MIL 6	DSF 2	INF DNQ	TRE 3	SAC 8	PHX 23											3rd	2,035
1966	PHX 1	TRE 3	INDY 3	MIL 21	LAN 2	ATL 12	PIP	IRP 3	LAN 22	SPR 11	MIL 4	DUQ 10	ISF 10	TRE 6	SAC 7	PHX 3													2nd	2,430
1967	PHX 15	TRE 4	INDY 5	MIL 4	LAN 11	PIP	MOS Wth	MOS	IRP 4	LAN 5	MTR 12	MTR 16	SPR 12	MIL 6	DUQ 15	ISF 5	TRE 4	SAC DNS	HAN 12	PHX 20	RIV DNS								7th	1,750
1968	HAN	LVG	PHX	TRE	INDY 14	MIL DNQ	MOS	MOS	LAN	PIP	CDR 22	NAZ	IRP 10	IRP 11	LAN 7	LAN 17	MTR 7	MTR 10	SPR	MIL 9	DUQ	ISF	TRE 15	SAC	MCH DNQ	HAN 5	PHX 6	RIV 28	21st	771
1969	PHX DNP	HAN	INDY 28	MIL	LAN	PIP	CDR	NAZ	TRE 7	IRP 13	IRP 20	MIL 8	SPR DNQ	DOV 18	DUQ 9	ISF 13	BRN DNQ	BRN	TRE 11	SAC 16	KEN	KEN	PHX 9	RIV					23rd	400
1970	PHX 6	SON	TRE 7	INDY 5	MIL DNS	LAN	CDR	MCH	IRP	SPR 3	MIL	ONT 1	DUQ Wth	ISF 10	SED 13	TRE DNP	SAC 16	PHX 5											3rd	2,060
1971	RAF	RAF	PHX	TRE	INDY DNQ	MIL	POC 27	MCH	MIL	ONT 8	TRE 27	PHX 6																	21st	370
1972	PHX	TRE DNQ	INDY DNQ	MIL 10	MCH	POC DNQ	MIL	ONT DNS	TRE	PHX																			39th	45
1973	TWS	TRE	TRE	INDY 23	MIL 11	POC 11	MCH	MIL 4	ONT 6	ONT	ONT 20	MCH	MCH	TRE 5	TWS	PHX 16													19th	650
1974	ONT 4	ONT	ONT 15	PHX 10	TRE 18	INDY 6	MIL 7	POC 23	MCH	MIL	MCH	TRE	TRE	PHX 10															13th	700
1975	ONT	ONT	ONT 18	PHX	TRE DNS	INDY	MIL	POC	MCH	MIL	MCH	TRE	PHX 7																30th	90
1976	PHX 10	TRE	INDY DNQ	MIL	POC	MCH	TWS	TRE	MIL	ONT DNQ	MCH	TWS	PHX																36th	45
1977	ONT	PHX	TWS	TRE	INDY 23	MIL	POC 24	MOS	MCH 12	TWS 6	MIL	ONT 9	MCH 5	PHX															21st	530
1978	PHX	ONT	TWS 6	TRE 7	INDY 20	MOS	MIL	POC 25	MCH 7	ATL 13	TWS 12	MIL 12	ONT 20	MCH 9	TRE DNQ	SIL	BRH	PHX 12											19th	573
1979	ONT 9	TWS 14	INDY 35	MIL	POC 2	TWS 9	MIL DNQ																						6th	975
1980	ONT	INDY 24	MIL	POC 27	MDO																								45th	25
1981-82	INDY DNQ	POC 7	ILL 3	DUQ 17	ISF 24	INDY DNQ																							12th	594
1983-84	DUQ 29	INDY																											-	0

Complete PPG Indy Car World Series results

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pos.	Pts	Ref
1979	McElreath Racing	PHX	ATL	ATL	INDY 35	TRE	TRE	MCH	MCH	WGL	TRE	ONT	MCH	ATL	PHX			-	0	[7]
1980	McElreath Racing	ONT	INDY 24	MIL				WGL 12	MIL 9	ONT	MCH	MEX 6	PHX					28th	240	[8]
	Grant King Racing				POC 27	MDO	MCH
1981	McElreath Racing	PHX 19	MIL	ATL	ATL	MCH	RIV	MIL	MCH 11	WGL DNQ	MEX 13	PHX DNQ						36th	4	[9]
1982		PHX DNQ	ATL	MIL	CLE	MCH	MIL	POC 18	RIV DNQ	ROA	MCH	PHX						39th	3	[10]
1983		ATL 11	INDY	MIL	CLE	MCH 13	ROA	POC 23	RIV	MDO DNP	MCH	CPL	LAG	PHX				30th	2	[11]
1984	Dale Coyne Racing	LBH	PHX DNQ	INDY	MIL	POR	MEA	CLE	MCH	ROA	POC	MDO	SAN	MCH	PHX	LAG	CPL	-	0	[12]

Indianapolis 500 results

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish
1962	Kurtis Kraft	Offenhauser	7th	6th
1963	Watson	Offenhauser	6th	6th
1964	Kurtis Kraft	Novi	26th	21st
1965	Brabham	Offenhauser	16th	20th
1966	Brabham	Ford	7th	3rd
1967	Moore	Ford	11th	5th
1968	Coyote	Ford	13th	14th
1969	Brawner Hawk	Offenhauser	7th	28th
1970	Coyote	Ford	33rd	5th
1971	Coyote	Ford	Did not qualify
1972	Coyote	Foyt	Did not qualify
1973	Eagle	Offenhauser	33rd	23rd
1974	Eagle	Offenhauser	30th	6th
1976	Eagle	Offenhauser	Did not qualify
1977	Eagle	AMC	20th	23rd
1978	Eagle	Offenhauser	26th	20th
1979	Penske Racing	Cosworth	19th	35th
1980	Penske Racing	Cosworth	11th	24th
1981	Penske Racing	Cosworth	Sold Car
1982	King	Chevrolet	Did not qualify

Notes

1. "Jim McElreath". www.champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
2. Miller, Robin (18 May 2017). "Jim McElreath, 1928-2017". racer.com. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
3. "Indianapolis 500 fixture Jim McElreath dies at 89". foxnews.com. 19 May 2017. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
4. Cadou Jr., Jep (June 1, 1962). "Rookie-Of-Year Honor Goes To Jim McElreath". The Indianapolis Star. p. 1. Retrieved December 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
5. "Sprint Car HOF". Archived from the original on 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
6. The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 2, 2007
7. "Jim McElreath – 1979 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
8. "Jim McElreath – 1980 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
9. "Jim McElreath – 1981 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
10. "Jim McElreath – 1982 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
11. "Jim McElreath – 1983 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
12. "Jim McElreath – 1984 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.

External links

• Jim McElreath career summary at DriverDB.com
• Jim McElreath Wins Big In Ontario Motor Speedway Debut
• Flashback Friday: October 16, 1977. James McElreath Jr's Last Lap
• Race car drivers reunite to celebrate Jim McElreath's 85th birthday

Sporting positions
Preceded by Bobby Marshman Parnelli Jones	Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year 1962	Succeeded by Jim Clark