Elmer Vernon Jack Tower (1886-1950) 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 ...

and

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, ...

from

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...

. Tower was the fastest qualifier at 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 ...

, but started from the back row as the grid was determined by a blind draw. Tower was a manager at

Studebaker Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers M ...

, who also ran a cyclecar company. He remained involved in the car industry and had many patents to his name regarding the automotive industry. These included a clutch disk, a clutch construction device, a transmission device, a clutch plate and a steering wheel invention.

Indy 500 results

References

External links

Jack Tower statistics
at ChampCarStats.com * 1886 births 1950 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers {{US-autoracing-bio-stub Racing drivers from Michigan Sportspeople from Flint, Michigan People from Escanaba, Michigan