Al Herman (March 15, 1926 – June 18, 1960) was an American racecar driver. Born in

Topton, Pennsylvania Topton is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,069 at the 2010 census. Geography Topton is located at (40.503049, -75.701764). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , all l ...

, Herman died in

West Haven, Connecticut West Haven is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. It is located on the coast of Long Island Sound. At the 2020 census, the population of the city was 55,584. History Settled in 1648, West Haven (then known as West Farms) ...

as a result of injuries sustained in a

midget car Midget cars, also speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on m ...

crash at the West Haven Speedway. Herman was involved in a multi-car crash on the first lap of the feature race and his car rolled. He drove in the American Automobile Association (AAA) and

United States Automobile Club The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapol ...

(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 1955-1957 and 1959-1960 seasons with 11 starts, including the

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 in each of those years. He finished in the top ten 3 times, with his best finish in 7th position, in the

1955 Indianapolis 500 The 39th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1955. The event was part of the 1955 AAA National Championship Trail and was race 3 of 7 in the 1955 World Championship of Drivers. The ra ...

, earning him Rookie of the Year.

Indianapolis 500 results

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. Al Herman participated in 5 World Championship races. He started on the pole 0 times, won 0 races, set 0 fastest laps, and finished on the podium 0 times. He accumulated a total of 0 championship points.

References

1926 births 1960 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year People from Berks County, Pennsylvania Racing drivers from Pennsylvania Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in Connecticut {{US-autoracing-bio-stub