Jack Turner (February 12, 1920
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
– September 12, 2004
Renton, Washington
Renton is a city in King County, Washington, and an inner-ring suburb of Seattle. Situated southeast of downtown Seattle, Renton straddles the southeast shore of Lake Washington, at the mouth of the Cedar River. As of the 2020 census, the ...
) 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 ...
. He was nicknamed "Cactus Jack."
Midget car career
![1955 AAA National Midget Trophy Jack Turner](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/1955_AAA_National_Midget_Trophy_Jack_Turner.jpg)
Turner became the first two-time
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 Midget champion when he won the 1954 and 1955 championships. Turner scored no wins in 1954 despite competing at the entire circuit, and won the championship on consistent high finishes.
[Biography]
at 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
Angell Park Speedway has a 1/3 mile () dirt racetrack located in Sun Prairie, Wiscons ...
He won six features in 1955. He also had 14 National
USAC wins in his career.
Champ car
He drove in 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 ...
and
USAC 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 events ...
series, racing in the 1955-1962 seasons with 35 starts, including 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 ...
races in 1956-1959 and 1961–1962. He finished in the top ten 35 times, with his best finish in 2nd position in 1956 at Darlington. He retired from racing after flipping his car during a practice run at Indy in 1963.
Jack Turner 1963 Indy 500 practice crash
/ref> It was his third flip in three years at the track: first down the main straightaway in 1961, second he broke his pelvis
The pelvis (plural pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of the trunk, between the abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also called bony pelvis, or pelvic skeleton).
The ...
at the head of the frontstretch, and third he crushed a vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates,Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristic ...
.
Career award
He was inducted into 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
Angell Park Speedway has a 1/3 mile () dirt racetrack located in Sun Prairie, Wiscons ...
in the inaugural 1984 class.
Indy 500 results
World Championship career summary
The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Jack Turner participated in 4 World Championship races but scored no World Championship points.
References
1920 births
2004 deaths
Indianapolis 500 drivers
Racing drivers from Seattle
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