John James McGrath (October 8, 1919 – November 6, 1955) 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 ...

. McGrath died in an accident at Bobby Ball Memorial, he lost control of his car at Turn 3, crashed and flipped, dying instantly.

Biography

McGrath was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, and grew up in

South Pasadena, California South Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,619, up from 24,292 at the 2000 census. It is located in the West San Gabriel Valley. It is 3.42 square miles in area an ...

. A major player in the "mighty midgets" at Los Angeles's Gilmore Speedway in the late 1940s, McGrath won the first CRA (California Roadster Association) championship in 1946 and was dubbed "King of the Hot Rods". His efforts, along with those of friend and teammate Manuel Ayulo, helped establish track roadsters as viable race cars. The west coast roadsters evolved into sprint cars in the early 1950s. Major wins at the AAA national level included the 1951 Syracuse and Langhorne 100 mile races, the 1952 Syracuse 100, and the 1953 Milwaukee 200. He finished the

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

and

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yugosl ...

AAA championship seasons in second place, and led the first 44 laps of 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. T ...

. McGrath's storied 26-lap duel with

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, a ...

in the ill-fated

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 ...

ended when the magneto on his Hinckle Special Kurtis 500C's

Offenhauser The Offenhauser Racing Engine, or Offy, is a racing engine design that dominated American open wheel racing for more than 50 years and is still popular among vintage sprint and midget car racers. History The Offenhauser engine, familiarly ...

( Meyer-Drake) engine failed on lap 54. Fellow Californian and two-time Indy winner Vukovich died three laps later in a chain-reaction crash while in the lead. The "Splendid Splinter" himself was killed in the final AAA dirt-track race of the 1955 season, the

Bobby Ball Memorial The Circle K/Fiesta Bowl 200 was the final name of a PPG IndyCar World Series race held annually at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, from 1979 though 1986; it was known as the Miller High Life 150 for five editions during tha ...

at the one-mile dirt oval at the

Arizona State Fairgrounds The Arizona State Fairgrounds is a permanent fairgrounds on McDowell Road, Encanto Village, within the city of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is currently used yearly to host the Arizona State Fair and the Maricopa County Fair, as well as ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

Complete AAA Championship Car results

Indy 500 results

*McGrath's starting positions from 1951 to 1955 represent the best 5-year starting position streak in the Roadster Era. *McGrath was the fastest overall qualifier of the Roadster Era. *Although McGrath twice posted the fastest qualifying speed, he started from the pole only once when he was the first driver ever to crack the 140-mile-per-hour mark. That was in 1954, with

Jimmy Daywalt Jimmy Daywalt (August 28, 1924 – April 4, 1966) was an American racecar driver. Born in Wabash, Indiana, he drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1950, 1953–1957, 1959, and 1961–1962 seasons with 20 starts. He f ...

and 1958 Indy 500 winner

Jimmy Bryan James Ernest Bryan (January 28, 1926 – June 19, 1960) was an American racecar driver who won the 1958 Indianapolis 500. Born in Phoenix, Arizona, Bryan died as a result of injuries sustained in a champ car race at Langhorne Speedway. Career ...

to his right. In 1955, he started on the outside of the first row behind pole-day qualifiers

Jerry Hoyt Gerald F. Hoyt (January 29, 1929 – July 11, 1955) was an American racing driver from Chicago, mainly competing in the National Championship. He died on July 11, 1955 after crashing in a sprint car race at Oklahoma City. Indy 500 In the 1955 In ...

and Tony Bettenhausen.

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. Jack McGrath participated in 6 World Championship races. He started on the pole once, set 1 fastest lap, and finished on the podium twice. He accumulated a total of 9 championship points.

Sources

*Ludvigsen, K.: ''Indy Cars of the 1950s''; Hudson, Wisconsin: Iconografix, 2000. *Popely, R.; Riggs, L. S.: ''Indianapolis 500 Chronicles''; Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International, 1998. *Scalzo, J.: City of Speed: ''Los Angeles and the Rise of American Racing''; St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing, 2007. *Vintage section of the Open Wheel Racers 3 website.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Jack 1919 births 1955 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 polesitters Racing drivers from Los Angeles Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in Arizona AAA Championship Car drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Carrera Panamericana drivers