Travis Webb (October 8, 1910January 27, 1990) was an American

racecar 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 organise ...

driver from

Joplin, Missouri Joplin is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, Jasper and Newton County, Missouri, Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. J ...

. He was the 1948

American Automobile Association American Automobile Association (AAA – commonly pronounced as "Triple A") is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 m ...

(AAA) Midwest Sprint Car champion. He raced in numerous AAA Champ Car races including six

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 ...

. Webb was known to his friends as "Webbie" and nicknamed "Spider". He had a portable bar in the trunk of his car at all times and was known for his free spirit and his humor.

Background

Webb was born in

. His father made cabinets. Webb's parents moved the family to Los Angeles in 1923.

Racing career

Webb began racing on the

Muroc Dry Lake Rogers Dry Lake is an endorheic desert salt pan in the Mojave Desert of Kern County, California. The lake derives its name from the Anglicization from the Spanish name, Rodriguez Dry Lake. It is the central part of Edwards Air Force Base as its ...

(now known as Rogers Dry Lake) in 1928. His car owner gave him the nickname "Spider". Webb decided to stop racing on the long straightaways and decided to focus on dirt oval racing of Southern California. One of the tracks that he raced was

Legion Ascot Speedway Legion Ascot Speedway was an American race track in Los Angeles, California that operated from 1924 to 1936. It hosted AAA Champ Car races. History Early success under Bentel ends with a scandal After the construction of a -mile dirt oval near ...

where he raced in the "B" class.

Sprint Car Racing

In 1936, Webb and

Jimmy Wilburn Jimmy Wilburn (November 25, 1908 - August 26, 1984) was an American racecar driver from Los Angeles. He won a non-points Championship Car race at Lakewood Speedway in March 1946 which is the first known Champ Car race to be held after the end of W ...

were offered rides in "Big Cars" in the Central States Racing Association (CSRA). Both accepted and moved to

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. Webb won the final CSRA race of the 1938 season at

Winchester Speedway Winchester Speedway is a half-mile paved oval motor racetrack in White River Township, Randolph County, just outside Winchester, Indiana, approximately northeast of Indianapolis. It seats 4000 spectators. It is also known as the "World's Faste ...

. Webb switched from the CSRA to the

(AAA) Midwest series in 1941 and finished fourth in the season points. Racing was halted during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In late 1947, he won three straight AAA Midwest races at

Dayton Speedway Dayton Speedway was a race track in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It has been called the "Fastest 1/2 mile (plus 210 feet) in the world". The track held events for NASCAR, AAA, MARC, ARCA, ASA, and USAC. History The track was opened in June 1 ...

Salem Speedway Salem Speedway is a long paved oval racetrack in Washington Township, Washington County, near Salem, Indiana, United States, approximately south of Indianapolis. The track has 33° degrees of banking in the corners. Major auto racing series ...

, and Winchester. He won another race at Salem and finished second in 1947 AAA Midwest points to Johnny Shackleford. Webb started the 1948 season by winning seven times and finishing second in the first eight races. He missed a few races that season while running a Champ Car but still won the AAA Midwest championship. Webb started the 1949 season with a new sprint car that he co-owned; by June he had moved back to a car owned by Johnny Vance. He had a second-place finish at

Michigan State Fairgrounds Speedway The Michigan State Fairgrounds Speedway was a dirt oval racing track located in Detroit, Michigan. The track was built in 1899 for horse racing, and it was part of the ground purchased to provide a permanent venue for the Michigan State Fair. Jos ...

in Detroit and a third at the

Syracuse Mile The Syracuse Mile was a dirt oval raceway located at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, New York. Originally built for harness racing in 1826, the first auto race was run in 1903, making it the second oldest auto racing facility in ...

; he finished third in the final AAA Midwest points. Webb finished fifth in the 1950 AAA Midwest points. After the racing season was over, he had a thumb injury at his friend's shop and had to sit out the entire 1951 season.

Champ Car Racing

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

, he made a one-off

(AAA) Champ Car start 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 spectator ...

; he started last in the 17 car field and finished seventh. Webb made two Champ Car starts in 1946; he finished tenth at the

Indiana State Fair The Indiana State Fair is an annual state fair that spans 18 days in July and August in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. The Indiana State Fair debuted in 1852 at Military Park in Indianapolis and is the sixth oldest state fair in the U.S. It is the ...

grounds and eighth at Milwaukee. Webb was offered a ride from Mutt Anderson into the

1948 Indianapolis 500 The 32nd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 31, 1948. For the second year in a row, the Blue Crown Spark Plug teammates Mauri Rose and Bill Holland finished 1st-2nd. Rose became the seco ...

but did not qualify. At the last minute, he was offered another ride and qualified the Bromme dirt champ car 30th. His race ended early after an oil line failure; he finished 27th after completing 27 of 200 laps. Webb qualified 26th for the

1949 Indianapolis 500 The 33rd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was an automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1949. After two years of failures to his teammate, Bill Holland finally won one for himself, giving car owner Lou Moore ...

but finished last (33rd) after he transmission broke before he could complete one lap. He switched to a car owned by Charles Bowes starting with the ninth race of the 1949 season after

Mel Hansen Melvin Lloyd Hansen (born July 11, 1911, Redfield, South Dakota – Died June 5, 1963, San Bernardino, California) was an American racecar driver. Hansen was nicknamed the "Firecracker Kid" because he loved to throw the explosive devices unde ...

was unable to race. Webb started on the pole position for Syracuse race before finishing third. He finished second at Detroit and eighth at

Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack is a one mile long clay oval motor racetrack on the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, the state capital. It is frequently nicknamed The Springfield Mile. Constructed in the late 19th century and reco ...

(Springfield Mile). Webb finished the

1950 Indianapolis 500 The 34th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 30, 1950. The event was part of the 1950 AAA National Championship Trail. It was also race 3 of 7 in the 1950 World Championship of Drivers ...

in 20th place after the race was shorted due to rain on lap 138. He did not qualify for four races and finished 18th in his only other Champ Car race at Springfield. Webb got bumped out of the field for the

1952 Indianapolis 500 The 36th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was a motor race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1952. It was the opening race of the 1952 AAA National Championship Trail and was also race 2 of 8 in the 1952 World Champions ...

but made the field in a last-minute qualifying attempt for Bromme. He finished 22nd after having to retire with an oil leak late in the race. In the

1953 Indianapolis 500 The 37th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1953. The event was part of the 1953 AAA National Championship Trail, and was race 2 of 9 in the 1953 World Championship of Drivers. Bi ...

, he started 29th and finished 22nd. He did not qualify for five events and finished 15th in the event that he did qualify (Springfield). Bromme called Webb in another last-minute deal for the

1954 Indianapolis 500 The 38th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 31, 1954. The event was part of the 1954 AAA National Championship Trail, and was also race 2 of 9 in the 1954 World Championship of Drivers. ...

; he qualified 29th and finishing 30th. Webb failed to qualify for the

1955 Indianapolis 500 The 39th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1955. The event was part of the 1955 AAA National Championship Trail and was race 3 of 7 in the 1955 World Championship of Drivers. The ra ...

Career award

*He was inducted in 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 ...

in 1997.

Life After Racing

After retiring from racing, Webb moved to

Norwalk, California Norwalk is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 105,549 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and an estimated 103,949 in 2019. It is the 58th most densely-populated ...

. He purchased earthmoving equipment and worked on the

Los Angeles Zoo The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens is a zoo founded in 1966 and located in Los Angeles, California. The city of Los Angeles owns the entire zoo, its land and facilities, and the animals. Animal care, grounds maintenance, construction, ed ...

construction. He died at the age of 79 in

McMinnville, Oregon McMinnville is the county seat of and largest city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. The city is named after McMinnville, Tennessee. As of the 2019 census, the city had a population estimate of 34,743. McMinnville is at the confluence of ...

Indianapolis 500 results

World Championship career summary

The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Spider Webb participated in 4 World Championship races but scored no World Championship points.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Spider 1910 births 1990 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Joplin, Missouri Racing drivers from Missouri AAA Championship Car drivers