Leon Sirois
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Leon Duray "Jigger" Sirois (born April 16, 1935) is an American former racing driver from the small town of Shelby in northern
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
. He raced in a variety of racing genres, most notably
midget Midget (from ''midge'', a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative due to its etymology. While not a medical term like "dwarfism", a medical condition with a number of ca ...
,
stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...
and Indy "Big" cars.


Racing career


Midget cars

Sirois won four championships in 1961 including UARA midget title. Some of his major victories include a 100-mile race 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 spectato ...
and a race at the
Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County near the Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. Daytona Beach is approximately nort ...
in a midget.


USAC Indy car

Though he never qualified for 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 ...
, Sirois is most known in racing circles for circumstances surrounding his qualifying attempt in 1969. On Pole Day, Sirois drew first in line to qualify, and after a lengthy rain delay, took to the track late in the afternoon to make the first attempt of the day. He completed his first three laps at: *Lap 1 – 161.783 mph *Lap 2 – 162.279 mph *Lap 3 – 160.542 mph However, on his fourth and final lap, his crew waved off the run with the yellow flag, and it was negated. The crew felt the speed was inadequate to the make the field, and presumably intended to make another attempt later on. Moments later,
Arnie Knepper Arnold A. "Arnie" Knepper (October 10, 1930 – June 6, 1992), was an American racecar driver. Born in Belleville, Illinois, Knepper also died there as from cancer. He drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1963-1972 season ...
went out to qualify, but rain began to fall during his warm up laps, and washed out the remainder of the weekend. It was quickly noticed by media and fans that had the crew not waved off his final lap on Saturday, Sirois would have been the lone qualifier of the weekend and sat on the coveted provisional pole position for an entire week - and likely would have started on the pole for race day. During the second weekend of time trials, Jigger Sirois waved off his second attempt, and also waved off his third and final attempt when his speed was not fast enough. As it ended up, Sirois's first attempt would have been fast enough to qualify for the race. The qualification rules were changed in 1971 to guarantee all cars in line on the first day of qualifying at least one chance to qualify during the pole position round. After 1969, Jigger came back to attempt to make the field every year up until 1975, failing to make the field every time. Outside of the Indy 500, he made ten other starts in 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 event ...
racing. His best finish was 5th place at
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
in 1969.


Awards

Sirois was named to 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 ...
in 2013.


Personal life

Sirois is the son of former Indy 500 mechanic Earl "Frenchy" Sirois, who worked on the winning cars of
Lee Wallard Lee Wallard (September 7, 1910 Schenectady, New York – November 29, 1963 St. Petersburg, Florida ) was an American race car driver. In the 1951 Indianapolis 500 Wallard drove the Number 99 Belanger Special to victory, at age 40. Tony Bett ...
,
Sam Hanks Samuel Dwight "Sam" Hanks (July 13, 1914 – June 27, 1994) was an American race car driver who won the 1957 Indianapolis 500. He was a barnstormer, and raced midget and Championship cars. Racing career Hanks was born in Columbus, Ohio and l ...
, and
Jimmy Bryan James Ernest Bryan (January 28, 1926 – June 19, 1960) was an American racecar driver who won the 1958 Indianapolis 500. Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Bryan died as a result of injuries sustained in a champ car race at Langhorne Speedway. Career ...
. Sirois is named after driver
Leon Duray Leon Duray (April 30, 1894 Cleveland, Ohio - May 12, 1956 Twentynine Palms, California) was an American racecar driver active in the 1920s. Born George Stewart,1996 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast - Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network ( Do ...
. The nickname "Jigger" is in reference to two-time Indy-winning
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, ...
Jigger Johnson (1931, 1937), as well as a nickname given to him by his older sister. Sirois graduated from Lowell High School and did various jobs in between races such as truck driver and construction worker. Sirois is married and his wife's name is Juanita. Sirois started
stuttering Stuttering, also known as stammering, is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the ...
after a
tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...
scare when he was three years old while living near
Shelby, Indiana Shelby is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Cedar Creek Township, Lake County, Indiana. Shelby had a population of 539 at the 2010 census. History Shelby was laid out and platted in 1886 by William R. Shelby, when the r ...
. He was able to learn to manage his stutter with professional help when he was 65. He lends his time to promote the awareness and treatment of stuttering disorders in youth.


Indianapolis 500 results


The Jigger Award

In reflection of Sirois' infamous 1969 hard-luck qualifying gaffe, the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association (AARWBA) created an annual award for 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 ...
. The plaque consists of a gold-colored metal
whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden cask ...
jigger attached to a base, awarded to the year's "hard-luck" driver during qualifying. Selection criteria are very loose, and "blanket" awards for the entire month have been selected on more than one occasion. The recipient is usually one of the last drivers bumped from the field, or a driver who fails to qualify (especially if he/she made several unsuccessful attempts). Drivers that fail to qualify under unusual circumstances are a common theme. In 1991, car owner
Roger Penske Roger Searle Penske (born February 20, 1937) is an American businessman and entrepreneur involved in professional auto racing and a retired professional auto racing driver. He is most famous for his ownership of Team Penske, DJR Team Penske, t ...
was voted the winner, after pulling
Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi (; born 12 December 1946) is a Brazilian former automobile racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the Indianapolis 500 twice each and the CART championship once. Moving up from Formula Two, Fittip ...
from the qualifying line on pole day. Shortly thereafter, it began to rain, and Fittipaldi lost his chance to qualify for the pole position. Fittipaldi would have to be second day qualifier. In 2012 the recipient was
Jean Alesi Jean Alesi (born Giovanni Alesi, 11 June 1964) is a French professional racing driver of Italian origin. After successes in minor categories, notably winning the 1989 Formula 3000 Championship, his Formula One career included spells at Tyrrell, ...
, who qualified 33rd. The criteria were based on Alesi's publicized struggles with the Lotus entry, making him the slowest car by over 4 mph, and more than 16 mph slower than the pole position winner. In recent years, the award has garnered less and less attention, and some years have not had a winner formally named. *1969 Jigger Sirois *1970
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*1971 John Mahler *1972
Art Pollard Artle Lee Pollard, Jr. (May 5, 1927 – May 12, 1973), was an American racecar driver. Born in Dragon, Utah, and raised in the Portland, Oregon area, Pollard drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1965–1973 seasons, with 84 ...
*1973
Johnny Parsons John Wayne Parsons1975 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast - Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network (May 25, 1975) (born August 26, 1944 in Van Nuys, California) is an American race car driver. He is the son of 1950 Indianapolis 500 winner John ...
*1974 Al Loquasto *1975 AARWBA (for losing the trophy) *1976
Salt Walther David "Salt" Walther (November 22, 1947 – December 27, 2012) was a driver in the USAC and CART Championship Car series. He also drove NASCAR stock cars and unlimited hydroplane boats, and was a car owner in USAC. Walther is best remembere ...
*1977
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*1978 Larry Cannon & Roger Rager *1979 USAC ( race controversies) *1980
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*1981
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*1982
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(crew failed to display the green flag to start his first attempt) *1983
Johnny Rutherford John Sherman "Johnny" Rutherford III (born March 12, 1938), also known as "Lone Star JR", is an American former automobile racing driver. During an Indy Car career that spanned more than three decades, he scored 27 wins and 23 pole positions in 3 ...
*1984 Bill Alsup *1985
Chet Fillip Chet Fillip (born April 4, 1957), is an American former racing driver best known for driving in the Championship Auto Racing Teams, CART series. Fillip raced stock cars and a modified during his teens and early twenties at Arena Park Raceway in L ...
*1986 Mike Nish *1987
Phil Krueger Phillip Eugene Krueger (born June 22, 1951 in Milwaukee, WisconsinESPN coverage of the 1983 CART Indycar Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix) is a former driver in the CART Championship Car series. He raced in 9 seasons (1981–1986, 1988–1989, and ...
*1988
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*1989
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*1990
Salt Walther David "Salt" Walther (November 22, 1947 – December 27, 2012) was a driver in the USAC and CART Championship Car series. He also drove NASCAR stock cars and unlimited hydroplane boats, and was a car owner in USAC. Walther is best remembere ...
*1991
Roger Penske Roger Searle Penske (born February 20, 1937) is an American businessman and entrepreneur involved in professional auto racing and a retired professional auto racing driver. He is most famous for his ownership of Team Penske, DJR Team Penske, t ...
(owner of
Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi (; born 12 December 1946) is a Brazilian former automobile racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the Indianapolis 500 twice each and the CART championship once. Moving up from Formula Two, Fittip ...
's car) *1992
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*1993
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(for causing
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's retirement) *1994 Mark Smith (" Curse of the Smiths") *1995
Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi (; born 12 December 1946) is a Brazilian former automobile racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the Indianapolis 500 twice each and the CART championship once. Moving up from Formula Two, Fittip ...
*1996 Two 500 miles races (
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&
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) *1997 25/8 rule *1998 Scott Harrington *1999
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*2000
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*2001
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*2002
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*2003 Jeff Ward *2004
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&
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(for being "trouble makers") *2005
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*2006
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*2007
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*2008
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*2009
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*2010
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*2011 *2012
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*2013
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*2014
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(for skipping
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and
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to race) *2015 Not Awarded *2016
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*2017 *2018
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References


External links


Jigger Sirois at ChampCarStats.comHard-Luck 'Jigger' Has No Regrets, Enjoys New Qualifying Format
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sirois, Leon 1935 births American Speed Association drivers Living people People from Lake County, Indiana Racing drivers from Indiana USAC Silver Crown Series drivers