Charles Stevenson (October 15, 1919 – August 21, 1995) 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 organi ...

AAA and USAC Championship Car series

Stevenson drove in the

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

and 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 1949–1954, 1960–1961, and 1963–1965 seasons with 54 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 1951–1954, 1960–1961, and 1963–1965. He finished in the top ten 37 times, with four victories, two of them coming in the 1952 season when he won the AAA National Championship.

Panamericana race

In 1951 Stevenson drove a

Nash-Healey The Nash-Healey is a three-seat luxury sports car or grand tourer produced from 1951 to 1954. It was marketed by the Nash-Kelvinator conglomerate in North America as a halo car to promote sales of its Nash Motors division. The car was the resul ...

course (pace) car that was supplied by the Mexican Nash automobile importer in the grueling

Carrera Panamericana The Carrera Panamericana was a border-to-border sedan ( stock and touring and sports car) rally racing event on open roads in Mexico similar to the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio in Italy. Running for five consecutive years from 1950 to 1954, i ...

race. This

endurance Endurance (also related to sufferance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from a ...

event is described as one of the most dangerous automobile races of any type in the world, and Stevenson had to be ahead of the racers to ensure the way was clear. In both 1952 and 1953 Stevenson won the sedan class driving a "well-prepared"

Lincoln Capri The Lincoln Capri is an automobile that was sold by the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company from 1952 until 1959. A full-size luxury car, the Lincoln Capri derives its name from an Italian island in the Gulf of Naples. Introduced as a pre ...

. He is the only two-time winner in the history of the Carrera Panamericana.

NASCAR

Stevenson also raced in two

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 ...

events: one in 1955 and one in 1956, picking up a win at

Willow Springs Raceway Willow Springs International Motorsports Park (commonly referred to as Willow Springs) is located in Willow Springs near Rosamond, California, about north of Los Angeles. It is the oldest permanent road course in the United States. Constructi ...

in 1956 driving a

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

. In the 1955 race, he was driving a car owned by Indy winner

Pete DePaolo Pete DePaolo (April 6, 1898 – November 26, 1980) was an American race car driver who won the 1925 Indianapolis 500. Biography Peter DePaolo was born on April 6, 1898, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pete saw his first race in 1919, where he w ...

Complete AAA/USAC Championship Car results

Indy 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. Chuck Stevenson participated in five World Championship races but scored no World Championship points.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevenson, Chuck 1919 births 1995 deaths Champ Car champions Indianapolis 500 drivers NASCAR drivers People from Sidney, Montana Racing drivers from Montana AAA Championship Car drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers People from Benson, Arizona Carrera Panamericana drivers