HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Willard Holland (December 18, 1907 – May 19, 1984)) was an American race car driver from
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, who won 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 ...
in 1949 and finished second in 1947, 1948 and 1950. He also was runner up in the 1947
American Automobile Association American Automobile Association (AAA – commonly pronounced as "Triple A") is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 m ...
(AAA)
National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
.


Background

Holland was born on December 18, 1907, the son of major league baseball player Willard Holland. He was excellent at skating and tried out for the 1932 Olympics.


Racing career

Holland was getting better results in big car (now
sprint car Sprint cars are high-powered open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia, New ...
) in 1937. He recorded his first win on July 30, 1938 at
Mineola, New York Mineola is a village in and the county seat of Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from an Algonquin Chief, Miniolagamika, which means "pleasant village". ...
. He won three times in 1939 and nine times in 1940. Holland finished second to
Joie Chitwood George Rice Chitwood (April 14, 1912 – January 3, 1988), nicknamed "Joie", was an American racecar driver and businessman. He is best known as a daredevil in the Joie Chitwood Thrill Show. Background Chitwood was born in Denison, Texas; he was ...
in the 1940 AAA Eastern championship and he won the championship in 1941. No racing happened in the United States between 1942 and 1945 due to
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. In 1946, Holland won 15 Eastern and 1 Midwestern "big car" (now
sprint car Sprint cars are high-powered open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia, New ...
) races to finish fourth in the AAA national championship. On July 20, 1946, Holland won the first race at
Selinsgrove Speedway Selinsgrove Speedway (nicknamed The Fastest Half-Mile on The East Coast, Auto Racing's Showcase since 1946) is a high-banked clay dirt oval south of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.
in an
American Automobile Association American Automobile Association (AAA – commonly pronounced as "Triple A") is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 m ...
-sanctioned event. He nearly won the 1947 Indianapolis 500 as a rookie, but slowed and allowed teammate
Mauri Rose Maurice "Mauri" Rose (May 26, 1906 – January 1, 1981) was an American racecar driver. He started from the pole position driving a Maserati in the 1941 Indianapolis 500, but spark plug problems put him out of the race after sixty laps. He then ...
to pass him seven laps from the end, mistakenly believing that Rose was a lap down. In 1949 Holland led late in the race when Rose (still teammate to Holland on Lou Moore's Blue Crown Spark Plug team) began to slowly close on Holland. Moore saw what was happening out on the track and hung out a pit board ordering both drivers to hold their respective positions to the finish. Rose picked up the pace, closing on Holland. But with 8 laps to go, Rose suffered a magneto failure and Holland cruised to the victory. When Rose returned to the pits, Moore fired Rose on the spot. On November 14, 1951, Holland was suspended from AAA Indy Car racing for one year after competing in a three-lap Lion's Charity race at
Opa-locka, Florida Opa-locka is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,463, up from 15,219 in 2010. The city was developed by Glenn Curtiss. Developed based on a ''One Thousand and One Nights'' theme, Op ...
which was a
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
event. The
American Automobile Association American Automobile Association (AAA – commonly pronounced as "Triple A") is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 m ...
, at the time the sanctioning body for Indycar races, had a strict rule forbidding its drivers from participating in any races other than their own and would
blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...
violators. He returned to Indycar racing in 1953. Holland raced until 1965. He is believed to have got over 40 sprint car feature wins and 150 podiums.Bill Holland at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame
/ref>


Life after racing and death

Holland and his wife Myra ran skating rinks in
Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...
. They lived briefly in
Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
before moving to
Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...
in the early 1970s. Holland was diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
in November 1983 and died from complications of the disease on May 19, 1984. He had remained active throughout his life and would regularly ride a bicycle for 50 miles per day until a year before his death.


Legacy

He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2005. When Selinsgrove Speedway held its first
United States Auto 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 List of USAC Championship Car seasons, United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the ...
(USAC) Silver Crown race in 2020, it was named the Bill Holland Classic. The race was 74 laps long as it was the 74th year after Holland's win to open the track.


Complete AAA Championship Car results


Indianapolis 500 results

*Although Holland started the 1947 race from the middle of the third row, he posted the fastest qualifying time.


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. Bill Holland participated in 2 World Championship races, finishing on the podium once and scoring 6 World Championship points.


Complete Formula One World Championship results

(
key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...
)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Bill 1907 births 1984 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 winners National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees AAA Championship Car drivers Racing drivers from Philadelphia