Thane Houser (27 July 1891

Honey Creek, Indiana Honey Creek is an unincorporated community in Fall Creek Township, Henry County, Indiana, United States. History Honey Creek was founded in 1858 near the stream from which it took its name. Geography Honey Creek is located at . Notable people ...

–23 November 1967 Columbus, Indiana) was an American

racecar driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organi ...

. He was the father of fellow driver

Norm Houser Norm Houser (1915–1996) was an American racecar driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the i ...

. Primarily a car builder and mechanic as well as a

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, ...

, Houser served as a relief driver in the

1923 Indianapolis 500 The 11th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday, May 30, 1923. After winning previously in 1921, Tommy Milton became the first multiple winner of the Indianapolis 500. Howdy Wilcox (the ...

and

1924 Indianapolis 500 The 12th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1924. Lora Lawrence Corum started the race in the #15 entry, and was relieved during the race by Joe Boyer. Boyer proceeded to driv ...

races for

Wade Morton Wade Morton (born Ward Day March 19, 1889 Franklinville, New York – March 1935 Lakeland, Florida) was an American racecar driver. Morton competed in 17 American Championship Car races from 1922 to 1927 including 7 Indianapolis 500 The ...

and Joe Boyer, respectively. He drove a

Miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalent ...

in the 1926 race and finished 13th in the rain-shortened event. In July of that year he made his only other

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 ...

start at

Rockingham Speedway Rockingham Speedway, formerly North Carolina Motor Speedway and later North Carolina Speedway is a racetrack located near Rockingham, North Carolina. It is also known as The Rock and previously hosted NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Serie ...

in New Hampshire and finished 18th after being black-flagged 15 laps in. His attempt to qualify for the

1929 Indianapolis 500 The 17th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1929. Ray Keech, who finished fourth a year earlier, took the lead for the final time on lap 158 and won his first Indianapolis 500. Kee ...

was thwarted by a broken supercharger on his Duesenberg, but he served as relief driver for Jimmy Gleason for eleven laps. Gleason would go on to finish third in the race. In 1931, Houser had the honor of being the Riding Mechanic for Dave Evans in the Clessie Cummins Diesel #8 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (see photo, below). 1931 was the first year for the Diesel at Indianapolis. The Diesel was the slowest qualifier, but started 17th on the grid of 40 cars. They completed the race with no pit stops and finished in 13th position.
''Official Box Score, 19th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, Saturday, May 30, 1931'', Retrieved 2012-11-22

Indy 500 results

References

1891 births 1967 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers People from Henry County, Indiana Racing drivers from Indiana {{US-autoracing-bio-stub