Josele GarzaBiography
(born March 15, 1962 in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

, Mexico) is a Mexican professional race car driver. He started seven

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. Garza was the

1981 Indianapolis 500 The 65th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 24, 1981. The race is widely considered one of the most controversial races in Indy history. Bobby Unser took the checkered flag as the win ...

Rookie of the Year after starting sixth, leading 13 laps, and finishing 23rd at the age of 19. At 19 years, two months, and nine days, Garza is the second youngest driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and was not surpassed until 2003 by A. J. Foyt IV. USAC rules at the time required drivers to be 21 years of age, but Garza's racing license listed him as being 22 years old. Garza claims he does not know how the error occurred, but he did not notify officials of the error. He finished 10th in the

1984 Indianapolis 500 The 68th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 27, 1984. Rick Mears, who previously won in 1979, won his second (of four) Indy 500 victories driving for Penske. Contenders Tom Sneva and ...

. Garza was winless in 88 CART races. His best career finish was a second place at the 1986

Michigan 500 The Firestone Indy 400 was an IndyCar Series race held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. The event was most recently held in 2007. From 1981 to 2001, the event was better-known as the Michigan 500, and was held in high pre ...

. In 1986, he tested a Brabham Formula One car, during free practice of the

1986 Mexican Grand Prix The 1986 Mexican Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mexico City on October 12, 1986. The first Mexican Grand Prix since 1970 was held at the newly renamed Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, located in the Magdalena Mixhuca recreational ...

. After he finished his career in CART, he tested with Minardi in F1 during 1987-88 but never got the required sponsorship to be awarded a race seat and he never made his debut in F1. He came back to Mexico and later he became a team owner in Mexican F2 and F3000 and sometimes raced when his drivers were not up to standard, or absent for some reason.

Racing record

Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position / Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

CART

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Indianapolis 500 results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garza, Josele 1962 births Living people Mexican racing drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year Champ Car drivers Atlantic Championship drivers SCCA Formula Super Vee drivers Racing drivers from Mexico City Mexican Indianapolis 500 drivers