Ray Harroun (January 12, 1879 – January 19, 1968) was an American racecar driver and pioneering constructor most famous for winning the inaugural

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 1911. He is the inventer of the

open-wheel car An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have th ...

Biography

He was born on January 12, 1879, in

Spartansburg, Pennsylvania Spartansburg is a borough in Crawford County, in northwestern Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 281 at the 2020 census, down from 305 at the 2010 census. Geography Spartansburg is located near the northeast corner of Crawford Count ...

to Russell LaFayette Harroun and Lucy A. Halliday. His father was a carpenter. Ray was their youngest child. He participated in the original setting of the land speed record driving from Chicago to New York in 1903, and the re-taking of that record in 1904. He and four others drove in shifts non-stop to establish the record of 76 hours at the end of September, 1903. That time was bested by another team nearly a year later, and in October 1904, the Columbia team re-set the record at 58 hrs, 35 min. That record stood for nearly two years. Other drivers in both years included Bert Holcomb (who was in charge of the runs), Lawrence Duffie (Demonstrator of the Gasoline Dept of

Electric Vehicle Company Electric Vehicle Company was an American automobile holding company and early pioneering manufacturer of automobiles. History The Electric Vehicle Company was founded September 27, 1897 as a holding company of battery-powered electric vehicle ...

, which manufactured

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

cars), and Harry Sandol. In 1903, the fifth driver was David R. Adams; in 1904 it was Eddie Bald.

Racing career

Nicknamed the "Little Professor" for his pioneering work of creating, with Howard Marmon, the Marmon Wasp, which was a revolutionary design being the first open-wheel single-seater racecar. Harroun is best known for winning the first running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on May 30, 1911. He is known to have started at least 60 AAA-sanctioned races, during the years 1905–1911 (statistics on some of the shorter races document only the top three finishers, so some starts resulting in lower finishes may not be known). From 1909 to 1911, Harroun drove primarily for the team operated by

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

-based auto maker, Marmon. However, at least one 1909 race result shows him driving a

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

. Also, statistics from 1905 through 1908 show him driving cars described as "Harroun Custom" and "Harroun Sneezer."

Race wins

. Harroun's race wins included: a 1910 100-mile race at the

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Motordrome; the 1910 200-mile Wheeler-Schebler Trophy Race (at the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United Sta ...

); the May 1910, 50-mile Remy Grand Brassard Race (also at IMS); three races at

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was p ...

(home of the

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); three races at the original Latonia Race Track; and races at tracks in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

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and Memphis. He is best known for winning the first

, driving a Marmon. Harroun won a total of 8 races at the

, the second-most of any driver in the 100-year history of the track (the only driver with more victories at IMS is

Johnny Aitken Johnny Aitken (May 3, 1885 – October 15, 1918) was an American racecar driver from Indianapolis, who was active in the years prior to World War I. Aitken competed in the Indianapolis 500 three times. He started the race twice, in 1911 and 191 ...

, with 15 wins in 1909–1916).

Retroactive champion designation

During the years that Harroun was driving, the AAA designated some races each year as "championship" events. However, there was no actual year-long championship, and no points were awarded. In 1927, points were assigned retroactively, and champions were designated for those years. At that time, Harroun was designated the champion for the 1910 season.

The first Indianapolis 500

At the first

in 1911, his use of what would now be called a rear-view mirror, rather than the riding mechanic specified in the rules, created controversy, but was ultimately allowed. Harroun went on to win at an average speed of . Harroun, who came out of retirement to race in the first 500, would not race after 1911. Harroun's historic Firestone-shod yellow #32 Marmon "Wasp," in which he won the Indianapolis 500, is on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. The 50th Anniversary race in 1961 was won by A. J. Foyt, and both Harroun and Foyt appeared together on the television program ''

I've Got a Secret ''I've Got a Secret'' is an American panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show, ''What's My Li ...

''—their secret being their respective wins at Indianapolis.

Later career

After retiring from racing, Harroun continued engineering work for Marmon, and later for the Maxwell racing team. In 1916, Harroun started his own automobile company in Wayne, Michigan, called the Harroun Motor Car Company. The venture folded after World War I, and today a street in Wayne is named for him. In 1927 he joined Lincoln Products. He continued to work in the automotive industry until his retirement at age 89. He died on January 19, 1968.

Indianapolis 500 results

Legacy

He was inducted in the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 1952 and the

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycle ...

Ray Harroun
at the

in 2000.

References

External links

*
Ray Harroun discussed in interview with his son Dick Harroun - on RaceRewind.com
*

The Greatest 33
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harroun, Ray 1879 births 1968 deaths People from Spartansburg, Pennsylvania American founders of automobile manufacturers Racing drivers from Pennsylvania Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 winners American automotive engineers Automotive businesspeople