Edward Francis O'Donnell (April 30, 1887 – November 26, 1920) was an American

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

. He gained fame competing for the

Duesenberg Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company, Inc. was an American race car, racing and luxury car, luxury automobile manufacturer founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, by brothers Fred Duesenberg, Fred and August Duesenberg in 1920. The company is kn ...

team.

Racing career

O'Donnell started his career as a

riding mechanic A riding mechanic was a mechanic that rode along with a race car during races, and who was tasked with maintaining, monitoring, and repairing the car during the race. The various duties included manually pumping oil and fuel, checking tire wear, ...

for

racing driver

Eddie Rickenbacker Edward Vernon Rickenbacker (born Edward Rickenbacher, October 8, 1890 – July 23, 1973) was an American fighter pilot in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient.Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...

team, O'Donnell took over as driver. He served as Captain of the Duesenberg team and was highly successful on the dirt tracks and board tracks around the United States, also having raced on the road circuits. He recorded three victories during the 1915 season. In

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored ...

he recorded two non-Championship victories, during only the second points championship season conducted in American history.

Death

O'Donnell was fatally injured when he and

Gaston Chevrolet Gaston Louis Chevrolet (October 4, 1892 – November 25, 1920) was an American racing driver and automobile manufacturer. He was the winner of both the Indianapolis 500 and the American National Championship in 1920. Early life Chevrolet ...

collided during the

Beverly Hills Speedway The Beverly Hills Speedway (also called the Los Angeles Speedway) was a Board track racing, wooden board track for Motorsport, automobile racing in Beverly Hills, California. It was built in 1919 on of land that includes the site of today's Bev ...

Classic race on

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

1920. Chevrolet was killed as well as O'Donnell's mechanic Lyall Jolls. O'Donnell died the next morning.

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:O'Donnell, Eddie 1887 births 1920 deaths People from Whitewater, Wisconsin Sportspeople from Jefferson County, Wisconsin Racing drivers from Wisconsin Indianapolis 500 drivers AAA Championship Car drivers 20th-century American sportsmen Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in California