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
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 ...
.
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
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 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
In
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
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) 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