John Maxwell McDowell (January 29, 1915 – June 8, 1952) 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 ...

from

Delavan, Illinois Delavan is a city in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. Its population was 1,689 in the 2010 census. It is a part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Delavan was founded by a group of settlers from New England. T ...

. He died in a qualifying crash at the

Milwaukee Mile The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectator ...

the week after the 1952 Indy 500.

Racing career

McDowell was raised in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

. He began racing cars at

Legion Ascot Speedway Legion Ascot Speedway was an American race track in Los Angeles, California that operated from 1924 to 1936. It hosted AAA Champ Car races. History Early success under Bentel ends with a scandal After the construction of a -mile dirt oval near ...

in 1934. He later moved on to the independent circuits in the Northwestern United States. He then moved to the CSRA circuit based in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. He had his first experience 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 ...

as a riding mechanic for

Frank Wearne Frank Wearne (May 27, 1913, Belle Plaine, Iowa – February 21, 1985 Los Angeles, California) was an American racecar driver. He grew up in Altadena, California and began his racing career in roadsters on the Jeffries Ranch track in Burbank. He m ...

in 1937. McDowell raced against top

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 ...

drivers at Gilmore Stadium in 1939. He held the points lead until September, and he finished second in the points behind

Bob Swanson Robert John Swanson (August 20, 1912 – June 13, 1940) was an American racecar driver. Swanson won the first Turkey Night Grand Prix midget car racing, midget-car race in 1934. At the 1939 Indianapolis 500, he was involved in the accident ...

. He won thirteen features at the track, and is ninth on the track's all-time win list. McDowell finished second 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 ...

West Coast midget car points standings in 1947. He also won the 1947 Turkey Night Grand Prix. McDowell moved to the Midwestern United States in 1948. He won at least eight AAA midget car features, and won the 1948

Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) since 1 ...

title. McDowell competed in the 1949 to 1952 Indianapolis 500 races. He was killed at the

Champ Car Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ( ...

race at the

on June 8, 1952 at age 37.

Career awards

*He was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2003.

Indianapolis 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. Johnny McDowell participated in 3 World Championship races but scored no World Championship points.

References

External links

* 1915 births 1952 deaths People from Delavan, Illinois Sportspeople from Pasadena, California Racing drivers from Illinois Racing drivers from California Indianapolis 500 drivers AAA Championship Car drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in Wisconsin {{US-autoracing-bio-stub