Roger Rager (September 3, 1948 – February 16, 2022) was an American racing driver in the USAC and

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

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 events ...

series.

Early life

Rager was born on September 3, 1948 in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

. When he was four years old he ran a "space ship" go-kart around a track during an intermission for a race program that included his dad, Bob, at the Nebraska State Fair in Lincoln. At age 14, Rager purchased a stock car for $35 and raced at a local track. He later moved to Lincoln and raced on weekends. His first sprint win was at Jefferson County Speedway in Nebraska.

Career

Rager enjoyed numerous milestones as a

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 ...

racer in the early 1970s. He won many races all over the country and also was the United States captain for a sprint car team competing in South Africa in 1973. He returned to North America and moved to the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in statu ...

in the mid-1970s. It was about that time that Rager also set a world record for the fastest lap on a one-mile dirt track, piloting a spring car without a wing. He also won the points championship at the famed Knoxville track. He would become the only driver to win at Knoxville in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Roger Rager

Rager had many accomplishments as a sprint car racer, but he changed his race focus to the

Indy Car 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 ...

series in the late 1970s. Rager started running some USAC events in 1976 and made his first

Indy 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 India ...

qualifying attempt in 1977. His qualifying run ended in a crash at 190 mph. Despite running on a small budget against some million dollar race teams, Rager just missed qualifying at the Brickyard by one spot in 1979. He did make the Indy 500 field in 1980 with the 10th fastest qualifying time. "I had A. J. Foyt on the outside of my (fourth) row, so I thought I would follow him and he actually was slowing me down," Rager said of the legendary racer. Rager not only was leading Foyt, but the entire Indy 500 field for two laps. Rager finished his Indy Car career with six top 10 finishes in 23 starts in USAC or CART events. He was also a USAC Rookie of the Year in 1980. Rager's focus returned to sprint car racing in the mid-1980s when he was asked to drive for a guy at the speedway in Jackson, Minn. He also left the Twin Cities and purchased a resort on Loon Lake, just west of Pequot Lakes, in 1988. Rager's time in a sprint car started to dwindle as he focused much of his time on building up the resort. He eventually took time off from racing. Shortly before turning 50, he received an offer to drive a sprint car at

Cedar Lake Speedway Cedar Lake Speedway is a 3/8 mile dirt clay oval race track located near New Richmond / Somerset, Wisconsin. Named after the nearby Cedar Lake, it hosts a weekly NASCAR racing program consisting of Late Models, Modifieds, Super Stocks, and Mi ...

in Wisconsin. "I finally said I would drive one time, but I finished second in the heat and feature," he recalled. "I figured if it's still this easy, maybe I should start driving again." Rager continued racing for the next ten years and continued to enjoy success by winning an additional 30 features, including four at

Knoxville Raceway Knoxville Raceway is a semi-banked 1/2 mile dirt oval raceway (zook clay) located at the Marion County Fairgrounds in Knoxville, Iowa, United States. Races at the "Sprint Car Capital of the World" are held on Saturday nights from April through ...

. One of those races was a national qualifier in the 360 class. He also was a Masters Champion three times in six years at Knoxville. In 1990 Roger was inducted into Knoxville Hall of Fame.

Retirement and death

Roger retired after being inaugurated into the

National Sprint Car Hall of Fame The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum is a Hall of Fame and museum for sprint car drivers, owners, mechanics, builders, manufacturers, promoters, sanctioning officials and media members. The museum is located in Knoxville, Iowa, the ho ...

May 29, 2009. Living in

Pequot Lakes, Minnesota Pequot Lakes ( ) is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,162 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Brainerd Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Pequot Lakes was platted in March 1900. It was named by ...

, he owned Rager's Acres Seasonal RV Park on Loon Lake. On June 22, 2011, Roger was inducted into the Big Car Racing Association (BCRA) Hall of Fame. He died on February 16, 2022, at the age of 73.

Awards and honors

United States Auto Club (USAC) Rookie of the Year, "Action Track" Driver of the Year, Captain of the United States Sprint Car Team in South Africa, Track Championship at Knoxville, IA and Minneapolis (North Star Speedway), Washington State Championship, NSS - National Champion 2000 and 2001, Knoxville, IA Masters Champion 2 out of 3 years, Knoxville Hall of Fame, Member of the elite "Leaders Circle Club",

and BCRA Hall of Fame.

Racing record

Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results

USAC Championship Car results

(

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 ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

CART results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Indianapolis 500

References

Sources

1980 Indy 500 stats
Roger Rager
at ChampCarStats.com

Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame

National Sprint Car Hall of Fame *Bill Carlson, MN 22:52, 7 October 2010 (UTC) added/edited content

Rager's Acres Seasonal RV Park {{DEFAULTSORT:Rager, Roger 1948 births 2022 deaths Champ Car drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees Racing drivers from Nebraska Sportspeople from Lincoln, Nebraska USAC Silver Crown Series drivers