Don Herr (August 31, 1889 – June 21, 1953) 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 ...

Biography

Don Herr was born in

Salona, Pennsylvania Salona is an unincorporated community in Lamar Township, Clinton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community is located along Pennsylvania Route 477, south of Lock Haven. It was named for the Greek city of Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; ...

on August 31, 1889. Herr won the 1911 Illinois Trophy Race held on the roads of

Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook and Kane counties in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. Elgin is located northwest of Chicago, along the Fox River. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 114,797, the seventh-large ...

driving a

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. In the

1912 Indianapolis 500 The 1912 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, or International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race, the second such race in history, was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1912. Indiana-born driver Joe Dawson won the race, leadin ...

he served as a relief driver for Joe Dawson from lap 108 to 144. Afterwards, Dawson returned to the car and drove on to victory. Unlike the 1924 race where both the starting and relief driver are listed as co-winners, Herr is not credited as an Indianapolis 500 winner because Dawson both started and finished the race. Herr drove his own car in the

1913 Indianapolis 500 The Third International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1913. Frenchman Jules Goux became the first foreign-born, and first European winner of the Indianapolis 500. His margin of victory of ...

and started fifth and completed only seven laps before being knocked out by a broken clutch shaft, driving a Wisconsin powered

Stutz The Stutz Motor Car Company, was an American producer of high-end sports and luxury cars based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Production began in 1911 and ended in 1935. Stutz was known as a producer of fast cars including America's first spo ...

. It would be his last

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 events ...

start. He died at his home on

Lake James Lake James is a large reservoir in the mountains of Western North Carolina which straddles the border between Burke and McDowell Counties. It is named for tobacco tycoon and benefactor of Duke University James Buchanan Duke. The lake, with su ...

, Indiana on June 21, 1953.

Indy 500 results

References

External links

Don Herr
profile at Old Racing Cars
Official Indianapolis 500 race and driver statistics: Don Herr
Indianapolis 500 drivers People from Marion, Indiana 1889 births 1953 deaths Racing drivers from Pennsylvania {{US-autoracing-bio-stub