Racin Gardner (born February 25, 1972 in

Buellton, California Buellton is a small city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. It is located in the Santa Ynez Valley, west of Solvang. The population was 5,161 at the 2020 census, up from 4,828 at the 2010 census. Located at the junction of U ...

), is a former professional

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific go ...

driver who most notably raced in the 1996

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 ...

for

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

Team Scandia Team Scandia was a team in the Indy Racing League owned by Andy Evans that fielded a record 7 cars in the 1996 Indianapolis 500. Evans bought the team from Dick Simon during the 1996 season and Simon was listed as the owners of some of Scandia's ...

. Previously, Gardner tested the

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land speed car at Bonneville for four years, becoming the youngest driver ever to top 500 mph in 1988 at the age of 16. He drove off-road vehicles in the High Desert Racing Association from 1991-93, and was eighth in points and the rookie of the year in the

American Indycar Series The American Indycar Series (AIS) was an American open wheel racing series founded in 1988 by Bill Tempero. It utilized used chassis and engines from the CART series and the Indy Racing League. CART and IRL drivers Buddy Lazier, Jaques Lazie ...

in 1993. After a second year in the series, he tested for the Project Indy team, which was competing in the

IndyCar World Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

. Gardner intended to debut in the new

Indy Racing League The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

in 1996 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 ...

. Despite failing to pass his rookie test in the "Test at the West" because of an engine failure, Gardner was entered at the last minute with Tempero/Giuffre Racing. However, further mechanical issues in practice left him unable to pass his test and compete. At the

, he competed for

, qualifying 25th on the second day of qualifiers. He retired after 76 laps with a suspension failure, being credited with a 25th place finish. After Indy, Gardner would compete in one

ARCA Racing Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three nationa ...

race, at

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing includin ...

, finishing 18th. After retiring from racing, he became a stunt driver for television and motion pictures.

Racing record

Complete IndyCar Series results

Indy 500 results

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Racin 1972 births American racing drivers Living people IndyCar Series drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers People from Santa Barbara County, California Racing drivers from California