Robert Elwood Carey (September 24, 1904 – April 16, 1933) was an American

racecar driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organis ...

Career

Carey's first

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 ...

race was the

1932 Indianapolis 500 The 20th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1932. Attrition was the story of the race, with 26 of the 40 cars dropping out due to crashes or mechanical failure. A record eight dif ...

. Having taken the lead after Billy Arnold had crashed out, Carey endured a blown right rear tire (causing him to spin three times without hitting the wall or another car), and later a damaged

shock absorber A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulic device designed to absorb and damp shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typically heat) which is then dissipated. Most sh ...

; in total he lost over twelve minutes to the leader and later winner, Fred Frame, but managed to erase four minutes of the interval and finished fourth. Carey went on to win rain-shortened races at the dirt tracks in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

and

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, and clinched the 1932 national title by finishing second in the season finale at Oakland Speedway with points leader Frame dropping out. No other

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

driver would win the national championship until reigning Formula One champion

Nigel Mansell Nigel Ernest James Mansell, (; born 8 August 1953) is a British retired racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship (1992) and the CART Indy Car World Series ( 1993). Mansell was the reigning F1 champion when he moved over ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. Carey was fatally injured in an accident at

Legion Ascot Speedway Legion Ascot Speedway was an American race track in Los Angeles, California that operated from 1924 to 1936. It hosted AAA Champ Car races. History Early success under Bentel ends with a scandal After the construction of a -mile dirt oval near ...

prior to the 1933 season. He crashed in practice after appearing to have a hung throttle.

Awards

Carey was inducted into the

National Sprint Car Hall of Fame The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum is a Hall of Fame and museum for sprint car drivers, owners, mechanics, builders, manufacturers, promoters, sanctioning officials and media members. The museum is located in Knoxville, Iowa, the ho ...

in 2005.

Indianapolis 500 results

References

External links

* 1904 births 1933 deaths Sportspeople from Anderson, Indiana Racing drivers from Indiana Champ Car champions Indianapolis 500 drivers AAA Championship Car drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in California National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees {{US-autoracing-bio-stub