Roger McCluskey (August 24, 1930 – August 29, 1993) was an American

IndyCar INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapolis ...

driver. He was from

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. He won championship titles in three divisions of the

United States Auto Club The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the List of USAC Championship Car seasons, United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the ...

: Sprints, Stocks, and Champ Cars. He won the USAC

Sprint Car Sprint cars are high-powered open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia, New ...

title in 1963 and 1966, the

USAC Stock Car The USAC Stock Car division was the stock car racing class sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC). The division raced nationally; drivers from USAC's open wheel classes like Indy cars, Silver Crown, sprints, and midgets frequently comp ...

title in 1969 and 1970. The Champ Car title in 1973. His first USAC Stock Car start resulted in a runner-up finish in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

in January 1968, when he drove as a substitute driver for

Norm Nelson Norm Nelson (January 30, 1923 – November 8, 1988) was an American stock car racer. He competed in the United States Auto Club (USAC) Stock Cars in the 1950s through 1970s. He won the season championship in 1960, 1965, and 1966 as a driver. N ...

. McCluskey earned four USAC Midget Car wins, 23 USAC Sprint Car wins, 23 USAC Stock Car wins and five 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 ...

(national championship) wins (including his last start at Milwaukee in 1979, which is a rarity since most drivers don't win their last race in their career). He was the USAC national champion in 1973. He started every

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 ...

race from 1961 to 1979 except 1964, with a best finish of 3rd in 1973. He also made four

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

Grand National Series The name NASCAR Grand National Series refers to former names of the following NASCAR series: *National-level stock car series: **NASCAR Cup Series (known as NASCAR Grand National Series between 1950 to 1970, then the NASCAR Winston Cup Grand Nation ...

starts from 1969 to 1977 with a best finish of second in 1970 at

Riverside International Raceway Riverside International Raceway (sometimes known as Riverside, RIR, or Riverside Raceway) was a motorsports race track and road course established in the Edgemont area of Riverside County, California, just east of the city limits of Rivers ...

. He represented the USAC series in the 1974

International Race of Champions International Race of Champions (IROC) was a North American auto racing competition, created by Les Richter, Roger Penske and Mike Phelps, promoted as an equivalent of an American motorsports All-Star Game. Despite its name, the IROC was primar ...

. McCluskey raced for the Holman and Moody team in a Ford GT40 Mk.IIB at the 1967 LeMans 24hrs of Endurance, France. During this event, McCluskey is credited with pulling

Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, t ...

to safety-and thus saving his life-after Andretti had seriously crashed his Ford GT40 Mk.IV when a front brake locked. McCluskey died of cancer on August 29, 1993, just five days after his 63rd birthday. In 2004 the local

United Sports Arizona Race Park United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

hosted the

Roger McCluskey Sprint Car Classic Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ...

in his honor.

Award

He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1993. He was also inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 2002. He was inducted into the

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, Sp ...

in 2011.Roger McCluskey
at the

Racing record

Complete USAC Championship Car results

Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results

Complete PPG Indy Car World Series results

Indy 500 results

NASCAR

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series

Winston Cup Series

International Race of Champions

(

) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

References

Other references

*Patrick Finley;
McCluskey memorial race at local dirt track gaining momentum each year
; December 30, 2006;

Arizona Daily Star The ''Arizona Daily Star'' is the major morning daily newspaper that serves Tucson and surrounding districts of southern Arizona in the United States. History L. C. Hughes was the Arizona Territory governor and founder of the ''Arizona Star'', ...

; Retrieved January 15, 2007
NASCAR and IROC statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCluskey, Roger 1930 births 1993 deaths Racing drivers from Arizona Champ Car champions Champ Car drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers International Race of Champions drivers NASCAR drivers National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Tucson, Arizona 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers USAC Silver Crown Series drivers USAC Stock Car drivers A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers