Arnold A. "Arnie" Knepper (October 10, 1930 – June 6, 1992), was an American racecar driver. Born in

Belleville, Illinois Belleville is a city and the county seat of St. Clair County, Illinois, coterminous with the now defunct Belleville Township. It is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. The p ...

, Knepper also died there as from cancer. He drove in the USAC

Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar. Competitive event ...

series, racing in the 1963-1972 seasons, with 75 career starts, including the 1965-1969

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

races. He finished in the top ten 21 times, with his best finish in 3rd position twice in 1966. Knepper earned a small place in Indianapolis lore when he crashed on the 87th lap of the 1969 Indianapolis 500, and instead of making the typical dash to trackside safety, stood up on his car and, facing 180-mph oncoming traffic, frantically waved his arms to warn oncoming drivers of the danger.

Indianapolis 500 results

External links

Arnie Knepper on Champ Car Stats
* 1930 births 1992 deaths Burials in Illinois Deaths from cancer in Illinois Indianapolis 500 drivers Sportspeople from Belleville, Illinois Racing drivers from Illinois {{US-autoracing-bio-stub