Jim McElreath (February 18, 1928 – May 18, 2017) was an American racing driver in the USAC and

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar. Competitive event ...

series.

Racing career

Jim began his racing career in 1945 at the age of 17. He raced stock cars in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Jim would race in the local Texas bullrings for the next fifteen years while working as a bricklayer. It was in 1960 when he and fellow Texan racer

Johnny Rutherford John Sherman "Johnny" Rutherford III (born March 12, 1938), also known as "Lone Star JR", is an American former automobile racing driver. During an Indy Car career that spanned more than three decades, he scored 27 wins and 23 pole positions in 3 ...

decided to race in the Midwest. Both would eventually find super modified rides in the

International Motor Contest Association The International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) was organized in 1915 by J. Alex Sloan, and is currently the oldest active auto racing sanctioning body in the United States. IMCA is currently headquartered in Vinton, Iowa, and features s ...

(IMCA). Jim did well enough that by late-summer 1961 that he was offered a ride by fame car owner Lindsey Hopkins in the Hoosier Hundred, a race 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 on the

United States Auto Club The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the List of USAC Championship Car seasons, United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the ...

(USAC) National Championship Trail. He finished third in this race, an impressive start to his Indy Car career. He raced in the 1961–1983 seasons, with 178 combined career starts, including 15 in 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 ...

in 1962–1970, 1973–1974, and 1977–1980. He finished 48 times in the top 5, with five victories. He was runner-up in the 1966 championship and third in 1963, 1965, and 1970. In 1962 he was named

Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year The Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year is an annual award "presented to the driver who has performed with the most distinction among first-year drivers in the Indianapolis 500." Criteria includes "on-track performance in practice, qualifying an ...

, a result of his 6th-place finish. Jim won the inaugural California 500 at Ontario, California on September 6, 1970, driving A.J. Foyt's team car. He battled with

Art Pollard Artle Lee Pollard, Jr. (May 5, 1927 – May 12, 1973), was an American racecar driver. Born in Dragon, Utah, and raised in the Portland, Oregon area, Pollard drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1965–1973 seasons, with 84 ...

for the last 10 laps after

Al Unser Alfred Unser (May 29, 1939 – December 9, 2021) was an American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser Jr. He was the second of four men ( A. J. Foyt, himself, Rick ...

and Cale Yarborough retired with mechanical issues.

Award

McElreath was a 2002 inductee to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Jim's son, James Jr., was killed in a

sprint car Sprint cars are high-powered open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia, New ...

crash at

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

in October 1977. James Jr. had attempted to qualify for the 1977 Indy 500 earlier that year. Alongside his father, they were attempting to become the first father and son combination to qualify for the same race. However, James Jr. was too slow to make the field.'' The Talk of Gasoline Alley'' - 1070-AM WIBC, May 2, 2007 Jim's daughter, Shirley, married racing driver Tony Bettenhausen Jr. The couple died when their private plane crashed in Kentucky in February 2000.

Complete USAC Championship Car results

Complete PPG Indy Car World Series results

Indianapolis 500 results

Notes

External links

Driver Database ProfileJim McElreath Wins Big In Ontario Motor Speedway DebutFlashback Friday: October 16, 1977. James McElreath Jr's Last Lap
{{DEFAULTSORT:McElreath, Jim 1928 births 2017 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees Racing drivers from Texas Sportspeople from Arlington, Texas USAC Silver Crown Series drivers Dale Coyne Racing drivers