George Robson (; February 24, 1909 – September 2, 1946) was a British born, naturalized American racing driver active in the 1940s. Born in

Newcastle upon Tyne, England Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is a ...

, Robson later moved to the

Mount Dennis Mount Dennis is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is within the former suburb of York, now Ward 11 in Toronto. Primarily located along Eglinton Avenue between the Humber River and the Kitchener commuter rail line, the neighbourhoo ...

section of York, Ontario, Canada and finally to the United States in 1924, with his family settling in Huntington Park, California. Robson was the winner of the

1946 Indianapolis 500 The 30th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1946. This was the first Indianapolis 500 presided over by new track owner Tony Hulman. The track had closed in late 1941 due to World War ...

, the first edition following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, but died later that year with

George Barringer George Barringer (May 2, 1906 – September 2, 1946) was an American racecar driver, active during the 1930s and 1940s. Barringer made 17 Championship Car starts with a best finish of second at Springfield in August 1935 and Milwaukee in August ...

in an accident at

Lakewood Speedway Lakewood Speedway was a race track located south of Atlanta, Georgia, in Lakewood, just north of the eastern arm of Langford Parkway (formerly Lakewood Freeway). The track held many kinds of races between 1919 and 1979, including events sanctione ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

. He was very much at his peak at the time of his death. He had qualified for pole for that race and performed strongly since his surprise '500 victory. Robson's brother Hal also competed in the Indy 500. Robson was the last Indianapolis 500 winner to die in the same year as his victory until 2011 when fellow Englishman turned American citizen

Dan Wheldon Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011, and was co-winner ...

died in a crash at

Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is ...

Complete AAA Championship Car results

Indianapolis 500 results

References

Profile at Motorsport Memorial
1909 births 1946 deaths Racing drivers from Ontario Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 winners Sportspeople from Newcastle upon Tyne Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in Georgia (U.S. state) AAA Championship Car drivers {{Canada-autoracing-bio-stub