![Eddie Pullen - Mercer - San Francisco 1915](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Eddie_Pullen_-_Mercer_-_San_Francisco_1915.jpg)
Eddie Pullen (August 16, 1883 — October 6, 1940) was an American racing driver who worked for and primarily raced the
Mercer
Mercer may refer to:
Business
* Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925)
* Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City
* Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader, ...
marque.
Biography
He was born on August 16, 1883 in
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.[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 ...]
race on the road course at the
Tacoma Speedway
Tacoma Speedway (sometimes called Pacific Speedway or Tacoma-Pacific Speedway) was a (approximate) wooden board track for automobile racing that operated from 1914 to 1922 near Tacoma, Washington. In its time, the track was renowned nationwide a ...
in
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...
. He won the
1914 American Grand Prize at
Santa Monica
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
, but failed to qualify for 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 ...
as the
Mercer
Mercer may refer to:
Business
* Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925)
* Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City
* Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader, ...
he drove was better suited to road course racing than the open expanses of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was retroactively awarded 2nd place in the 1914 National Championship. Pullen raced for West Coast Mercer dealer
George R. Bentel in 1915 along with
Barney Oldfield
Berna Eli "Barney" Oldfield (January 29, 1878 – October 4, 1946) was an American pioneer automobile racer; his "name was synonymous with speed in the first two decades of the 20th century".
After success in bicycle racing, he began auto r ...
and
Eddie Rickenbacker
Edward Vernon Rickenbacker or Eddie Rickenbacker (October 8, 1890 – July 23, 1973) was an American fighter pilot in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient.[Hudson
Hudson may refer to:
People
* Hudson (given name)
* Hudson (surname)
* Henry Hudson, English explorer
* Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back
* Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudso ...]
in 1919 but struggled. In 1921 for his final season of racing he switched to a
Duesenberg
Duesenberg Automobile and 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 ...
and won a 20 lap race on the Beverly Hills
board oval. Later that year he surrendered his
1921 Indianapolis 500
The 9th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1921.
Ralph DePalma dominated another early running of the 500, but again failed to win. He led 109 laps, and had a two-lap lead at th ...
entry to
Joe Thomas but drove in relief for
Jimmy Murphy on raceday but crashed on lap 107.
In July 1932, Pullen worked on a
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
promotion demonstrating the endurance of the newly developed V-8 engine, with a demonstration, in the Mojave desert, near
Rosamond, California
Rosamond is a unincorporated community in Kern County, California, US, near the Los Angeles county line. Rosamond is part of Greater Los Angeles and is located in the Mojave Desert just north of Lancaster and Palmdale, two of the largest cities ...
.
He died on October 6, 1940.
References
External links
Eddie Pullenat ChampCarStats.com
1883 births
1940 deaths
Grand Prix drivers
Indianapolis 500 drivers
Sportspeople from Trenton, New Jersey
Racing drivers from New Jersey
AAA Championship Car drivers
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