Walt Faulkner (February 16, 1918 – April 22, 1956) was an American

racing 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 organise ...

from

Tell, Texas Tell is an unincorporated community in southwestern Childress County, Texas, United States, to the southwest of the city of Childress, the county seat of Childress County. Its elevation is 1,903 feet (580 m). It has a post office with ...

. He moved to

Milledgeville, Georgia Milledgeville is a city in and the county seat of Baldwin County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is northeast of Macon and bordered on the east by the Oconee River. The rapid current of the river here made this an attractive location to buil ...

at the age of two-and-a-half, and to

Lake Wales, Florida Lake Wales is a city in Polk County, Florida. The population was 14,225 at the 2010 census. , the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 16,759. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lake Wales is ...

at the age of eight. He then moved to

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

in 1936. Faulkner competed mainly in the

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

and in stock car races. In 1950 Faulkner became the first rookie to win

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...

at the

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 ...

. He died in 1956 after a qualifying crash at a

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 ...

event in

Vallejo, California Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California and the second largest city in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the city had a population of 126,090 at the 2020 census. Vallejo is home to the ...

. Earlier in his career, Faulkner raced motorcycles, then switched to

midget car Midget cars, also speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small with a very high power-to-weight ratio and typically use four cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on m ...

s, later driving for the

Edelbrock Edelbrock, LLC is an American manufacturer of specialty automotive and motorcycle parts. The company is headquartered in Olive Branch, Mississippi, with a Southern California R&D Tech Center located in Cerritos, CA. The Edelbrock Sand Cast and ...

dirt track racing Dirt track racing is a form of motorsport held on clay or dirt surfaced oval race tracks often used for thoroughbred horse racing. Dirt track racing started in the United States before World War I and became widespread during the 1920s and 1930s ...

team. He had great success in

racing and was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2007. Faulkner was also inducted into the

West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame The West Coast Stock Car Hall Of Fame is a Hall of Fame for people associated with late-model stock car racing on the West Coast of the United States. Many NASCAR Grand National Division, West Series champions are inducted in the Hall of Fame. The ...

in 2006.

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. Walt Faulkner participated in 5 World Championship races. He started on the pole 1 time, and accumulated a total of 1 championship point.

Racing record

Complete AAA Championship Car results

Indy 500 results

* Shared drive with

Chuck Stevenson Charles Stevenson (October 15, 1919 – August 21, 1995) was an American racecar driver. AAA and USAC Championship Car series Stevenson drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1949–1954, 1960–1961, and 1963–1965 ...

** Shared drive with Bill Homeier. Each driver scored 1 World Championship point

Complete Formula One World Championship 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; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

1918 births 1956 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 polesitters Racing drivers who died while racing American racing drivers Sports deaths in California People from Childress County, Texas People from Milledgeville, Georgia People from Lake Wales, Florida Racing drivers from Los Angeles AAA Championship Car drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers {{US-autoracing-bio-stub Carrera Panamericana drivers