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Robert Lazier (December 22, 1938 – April 18, 2020) was an American race car driver.
Biography
A native of
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
, he raced in the
CART
A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people.
It is different from the flatbed tr ...
series in 1981 and was CART's Rookie of the Year.
He had fourth-place finishes at
Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the hom ...
and Mexico. Lazier also competed in the
1981 Indianapolis 500
The 65th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 24, 1981. The race is widely considered one of the most controversial races in Indy history. Bobby Unser took the checkered flag as the winne ...
, finishing 19th after a blown engine caused him to retire the Penske PC-7 after 154 laps. He was married to wife Diane and was the father of both
1996 Indianapolis 500
The 80th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 26, 1996. This was the first Indy 500 contested by the Indy Racing League, under the overall sanctioning umbrella of USAC. It was the third ...
winner
Buddy Lazier
Robert Buddy Lazier (born October 31, 1967) is an American auto racing driver, best known for winning the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and the 2000 Indy Racing League season championship.
Lazier began his career in the 1980s by competing in such s ...
and
Indy Racing League
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...
driver
Jaques Lazier
Jaques Lazier (born January 25, 1971) is an American former race car driver. He is the younger brother of 1996 Indianapolis 500 champion Buddy Lazier and son of former Indy racer Bob Lazier.
Racing career
The younger Lazier ran in U.S. Formula ...
. And Current
Indy Lights
Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...
driver
Flinn Lazier
Flinn Lazier (born 4 April 1999 in Vail, Colorado) is an American racing driver. Lazier has raced in Formula Vee, Formula Enterprise, Formula Atlantic, Formula 4, and USF2000. Lazier was also a competitive skier with the Ski & Snowboard Clu ...
Lazier competed in
Formula 5000
Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars tha ...
in the 1970s. In 2015, Lazier won the
Indy Legends Charity Pro–Am race
The Indy Legends Charity Pro–Am race is a vintage sports car race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The race takes place on the combined road course at the Speedway as part of the SVRA Brickyard Vintage Racing Invit ...
with co-driver Jim Caudle.
He built the Tivoli Lodge in
Vail, Colorado
Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the num ...
, in 1968.
Lazier died on April 18, 2020, in
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, from
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
during the
COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado
The COVID-19 pandemic reached Colorado on March 5, 2020, when the state's first two cases were confirmed. Many of the early COVID-19 cases in Colorado occurred in mountain resort towns such as Crested Butte, Aspen, and Vail, apparently brought ...
. He was 81.
Racing record
SCCA National Championship Runoffs
American Open Wheel racing 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 ...
)
Formula Super Vee
Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results
CART
Indianapolis 500
References
External links
1938 births
2020 deaths
Champ Car drivers
Indianapolis 500 drivers
Trans-Am Series drivers
Racing drivers from Minneapolis
Racing drivers from Minnesota
Sportspeople from Minneapolis
People from Vail, Colorado
SCCA National Championship Runoffs winners
SCCA Formula Super Vee drivers
Formula Super Vee Champions
IndyCar Series team owners
Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado
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