George R. Souders (September 11, 1900 - July 26, 1976) was an American race car driver who won the

1927 Indianapolis 500 The 15th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 30, 1927. First-time starter George Souders won by eight laps, the largest margin since 1913. Souders became the first driver to win the ...

. Born in

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...

, George Souders led the last 51 laps of the 1927 race after starting in 22nd position as a race rookie. For a book on the history of the "500", Souders offered this succinct summation of his career: "I quit Purdue when my father died. I worked in a garage and rode on dirt tracks. That car I rode on 1927, it was smooth handling. And the engine was the smallest to ever win at Indianapolis. The piston displacement was just under 90 (cubic inches). The car was the most expensive the Duesenbergs ever built for racing. It cost around $50,000, I was told. A year later (1928) I finished third at Indianapolis. In the summer of '28 I raced in Detroit--a $1000 race, nothing much, and was guaranteed $750 just for showing up--but...you want to win. Anyway, I had an awful spill. I was unconscious six months and never raced after that."

Indianapolis 500 results

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* 1900 births 1976 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 winners Sportspeople from Lafayette, Indiana Racing drivers from Indiana Burials in Indiana AAA Championship Car drivers {{US-autoracing-bio-stub