Art Cross (January 24, 1918 – April 15, 2005) 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 organis ...

. He was the first recipient of the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award in 1952.

Racing career

Cross began racing

midget cars Midget (from ''midge'', a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative due to its etymology. While not a medical term like "dwarfism", a medical condition with a number of ca ...

in 1938. He received a

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

for his wounds during the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

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 ...

.Biography
at the

National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame The National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame is an American Hall of Fame and museum for midget cars. The Hall of Fame is located at Angell Park Speedway Angell Park Speedway has a 1/3 mile () dirt racetrack located in Sun Prairie, Wiscons ...

He returned to midget cars after the war, and raced in one of

Pappy Hough {{wiktionary Pappy is another name for father. Pappy is a nickname of: People * Pappy Boyington (1912–1988), Flying Tiger and American fighter ace in World War II * Fred Coe (1914–1979), American television producer and director * Pappy Daily ...

's "Little Iron Pigs." Cross won the first Indy 500 Rookie of the Year award after a fifth-place finish in 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 ...

. Cross used his share of $27,000 from the race to purchase a farm near LaPorte, Indiana. He finished second 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 ...

behind

Bill Vukovich William John Vukovich Sr. (; December 13, 1918 – May 30, 1955) was an American automobile racing driver of Serbian descent. He won the 1953 and 1954 Indianapolis 500, plus two more American Automobile Association National Championship races, ...

. Despite it being one of the hottest Indy 500s on record, Vukovich and Cross completed the entire race without relief. Driver

Carl Scarborough Carl Scarborough (July 3, 1914 – May 30, 1953) was an American racecar driver. He died from heat exhaustion during the 1953 Indianapolis 500, a race in which several drivers experienced heat-related illness. The race was Scarborough's second ent ...

died from the heat. Cross' car was the "Springfield Welding Special", which was owned by

Bessie Lee Paoli Bessie is a feminine given name, often a diminutive form (hypocorism) of Elizabeth, Beatrice and other names since the 16th century. It is sometimes a name in its own right. Notable people with the name include: People * Bessie Abott (1878-19 ...

, who was the only female owner at the time. After retiring from racing, he turned his attention to running the farm in LaPorte, Indiana. He later became involved in a heavy equipment business and in construction. He was inducted in the

in 1992.

Indianapolis 500 results

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 ...

)

References

External links

Obituary
1918 births 2005 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year People from La Porte, Indiana Sportspeople from Jersey City, New Jersey Racing drivers from New Jersey United States Army personnel of World War II {{US-autoracing-bio-stub