Robert Pronger (January 22, 1922 – June 17, 1971) was an American stock car owner, driver and

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, tha ...

associate from

Blue Island Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois, located approximately south of Chicago's Loop. Blue Island is adjacent to the city of Chicago and shares its northern boundary with that city's Morgan Park neighborhood. The population was 22,558 ...

, Illinois. He competed in nine

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

and 14

NASCAR Convertible Division The NASCAR Convertible Division was a division of convertible cars early in NASCAR's history, from 1956 until 1959, although the signature race for convertibles remained a Convertible Division race until 1962. Two remnants of the Convertible Divi ...

events in his career.

Background

Born and raised in

Blue Island, Illinois Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois, located approximately south of Chicago's Loop. Blue Island is adjacent to the city of Chicago and shares its northern boundary with that city's Morgan Park neighborhood. The population was 22,558 ...

, Pronger would first become exposed to automobile racing through the city's local short track at the time, Raceway Park, in 1948. Pronger began entering stock car races at the track the following year.

Racing career

Starting in 1949, Pronger began his racing career at Raceway Park, where he would amass 148 race wins and two track championships from 1949 to 1971. His success on the local scene allowed him the opportunity to race on the national level, and would make his first

appearance in the 1951 Southern 500. Notably, Pronger competed in the inaugural

1959 Daytona 500 The 1959 First 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes at Daytona (now known as the 1959 Inaugural Daytona 500) was the second race of the 1959 NASCAR Grand National Series season. It was held on February 22, 1959, in front of 41,921 spectator ...

as one of his few starts in the division. In addition to the Cup Series, Pronger also raced in the

for three years, achieving two top-five finishes across 14 race starts. Outside of NASCAR, Pronger also competed in the

Midwest Association for Race Cars The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is an auto racing sanctioning body in the United States, founded in 1953 by John Marcum. The current president of ARCA is Ron Drager, who took over the position in 1996 following the death of Bob Loga ...

, a precursor to ARCA, and in the USAC Stock Car Series.

Criminal career

In concurrence with his racing career, Pronger also conducted an extensive criminal career alongside his brother, John Pronger. He was convicted twice on federal charges relating to stealing cars in Chicago that would then be resold across state lines in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, first coming to the attention of the

Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois, under the jurisdiction of the City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind t ...

when arrested for attempting to steal the car of local singer

Art Kassel Art Kassel (c. 1904 – February 3, 1965) was an American singer-songwriter and saxophonist. References External links Art Kassel recordingsat the Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings ...

. He would also become involved in automobile chop shop schemes with the

in the

Chicagoland The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hint ...

and

Northwest Indiana Northwest Indiana, nicknamed The Region after the Calumet Region, comprises Lake, Porter, LaPorte, Newton and Jasper counties in Indiana. This region neighbors Lake Michigan and is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. According to the 2020 Ce ...

regions, which would net Pronger earnings of $125,000 a year.

Disappearance and Death

On June 17, 1971, Pronger was last seen alive eating breakfast at the Rainbow Restaurant in

Calumet Park Calumet Park is a 198-acre (79-hectare) park in Chicago, Illinois. It provides access to Lake Michigan from the East Side neighborhood on the city's Southeast Side. The park contains approximately 0.9 miles (1.5 km) of lake frontage from ...

, driving a black

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...

. He was reported missing by his family shortly after, on June 22. Weeks after, a body, believed to be Pronger's, was found under a mattress near

Griffith, Indiana Griffith is a town in the Calumet and St. John townships in Lake County, Indiana, United States. It is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 16,331 in 2021. History The Griffith State Bank, E.J. and E. Griffith Interlock ...

. This came after Pronger had reported to police that someone had attempted to murder him in his apartment the previous month, and that shots had been fired at him on his way to Raceway Park on two separate occasions. A

government informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informan ...

later reported to a

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

subcommittee that he was murdered at the hands of William Dauber and Steve Ostrowsky.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pronger, Bob 1922 births 1971 deaths