Jack McGrath (racing driver)

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.

Jack McGrath
McGrath, circa 1951
Born	John James McGrath (1919-10-08)October 8, 1919 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	November 6, 1955(1955-11-06) (aged 36) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
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)
Wins Podiums Poles 4 13 9
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

Biography

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]

Complete AAA Championship Car results

Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Pos	Points
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

Indy 500 results

Year[5] Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1948 52 13 124.580 16 21 70 0 Stalled 1949 33 3 128.884 8 26 39 0 Oil pump 1950 49 6 131.868 10 14 131 0 Spun T2 1951 9 3 134.303 8 3rd 200 11 Running 1952 4 3 136.664 5 11 200 6 Running 1953 5 3 136.602 13 5 200 0 Running 1954 2 1 141.033 1 3rd 200 47 Running 1955 3 3 142.580 1 26 54 6 Magneto Totals 1094 70

Starts 8 Poles 1 Front Row 6 Wins 0 Top 5 3 Top 10 3 Retired 4

• McGrath's starting positions from 1951 to 1955 represent the best 5-year starting position streak in the Roadster Era.
• McGrath was the fastest overall qualifier of the Roadster Era.
• Although McGrath twice posted the fastest qualifying speed, he started from the pole only once when he was the first driver ever to crack the 140-mile-per-hour mark. That was in 1954, with Jimmy Daywalt and 1958 Indy 500 winner Jimmy Bryan to his right. In 1955, he started on the outside of the first row behind pole-day qualifiers Jerry Hoyt and Tony Bettenhausen.

World Championship career summary

The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Jack McGrath participated in 6 World Championship races. He started on the pole once, set 1 fastest lap, and finished on the podium twice. He accumulated a total of 9 championship points.

Sources

• Ludvigsen, K.: Indy Cars of the 1950s; Hudson, Wisconsin: Iconografix, 2000.
• Popely, R.; Riggs, L. S.: Indianapolis 500 Chronicles; Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International, 1998.
• Scalzo, J.: City of Speed: Los Angeles and the Rise of American Racing; St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing, 2007.
• Vintage section of the Open Wheel Racers 3 website.

References

1. "Jack McGrath". www.champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
2. "Jack McGrath". www.oldracingcars.com. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
3. "Phoenix Race Finale For AAA". The Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona. October 10, 1955. p. 4. Retrieved May 30, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
4. "Many Greats Gone Since Last '500'". Indianapolis News. May 29, 1956. p. 43. Retrieved May 30, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
5. "Jack McGrath Indy 500 Race Stats". Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2007-01-04.

External links

• Jack McGrath at Find a Grave