Henry Banks (June 14, 1913 – December 18, 1994) was an American
midget car
Midget cars, also speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on most ...
and "big car" driver.
"Married Roseanne Eisamann, two children, John Allen Banks, and Kathryn Roseanne Banks, three grandchildren Allen Edwin Banks, Jeffrey Henry Banks and Gavin Working "
Background
Henry Banks was born in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, but brought up in
Royal Oak, Michigan
Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Royal Oak is about north of Detroit's city limits. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 57,236.
Royal Oak is located along th ...
.
[Biography at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame](_blank)
He was the son of an early European race-driver. Henry began competing in 1932, when he was 19 years old, and became successful in the midget cars.
Racing career
He was the first driver to pass the qualifying "rookie test" at 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 ...
in 1936.
He also drove as a relief driver in 1937, 1939, and 1940, with a 21st-place finish in 1938.
He won the 1941
American Racing Drivers Club The American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) is an open-wheel midget car racing sanctioning body that operates primarily in the Mid-Atlantic area of the United States.
History
The American Racing Drivers Club was organized in 1939, making it one of the ...
(ARDC) championship in New England.
After a break during the war, when he worked at
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 ...
’s aero-engine division, Banks’ career took off. In 1947 he won 30 midget car races. In 1950, he was 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 ...
National Champion and, in the same year, came second in the National Midget points.
Banks later retired from racing and became
USAC Director of Competitions, and was also inducted in the
National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame
The National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame is an American Hall of Fame and museum for midget cars. The Hall of Fame is located at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin
Sun Prairie is a city in Dane County in the U.S. state of Wi ...
. He died at
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
in 1994.
Actor
Also at this time, Banks appeared in two films. The first wa
To Please A Lady starring
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
. The second wa
Roar of the Crowd starring
Howard Duff
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
.
Racing record
Indianapolis 500 results
Complete AAA Championship Car results
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
)
References
1913 births
1994 deaths
Champ Car champions
Indianapolis 500 drivers
Racing drivers from Detroit
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