Tom Bagley (born December 3, 1939,

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

), is a former driver in the USAC,

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 ...

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 ...

, IMSA,

Formula Atlantic Formula Atlantic is a specification of open-wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club o ...

, and

Trans-Am Series The Trans-Am Series is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of track types includ ...

. He raced Indycars in the 1978-1980 and 1983 seasons, with 42 combined career starts, including the 1978-1980

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 ...

,Utterback, Bill (1989)
His career ran out of gas, but memories keep going
, ''

Pittsburgh Press ''The Pittsburgh Press'' (formerly ''The Pittsburg Press'' and originally ''The Evening Penny Press'') was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1884 to 1992. At one time, the ''Press'' was the second larg ...

'', October 16, 1989, retrieved 2010-10-03 finishing in the top ten 23 times, with a best finish, three times, of 4th position. He was USAC Rookie of the Year in 1978, and did not finish worse than 11th in points during his three full-time seasons. He did not begin wheel-to-wheel racing until age 31, after earning a master's degree in Physics from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...

. While in college, Bagley became interested in fuel mileage competitions and then

autocross Autocross (also called "Solo", "Auto-x" or "Autoslalom") is a timed competition in which drivers navigate one at a time through a defined course on either a sealed or an unsealed surface. It is a form of motorsports that emphasizes safe competitio ...

, rising to the attention of Bill Scott, operator of the racing school at

Summit Point Motorsports Park Summit Point Motorsports Park is a road racing and driver training facility located in Jefferson County, West Virginia about two hours west of Washington, D.C. in the state's Eastern Panhandle. Current status Owned and operated by Xator Corp ...

. Scott lent Bagley a

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...

car to begin his career. Bagley and Janet Guthrie were the only physicists to compete in Indycar in the 1970s. Bagley rose to fame driving

Formula Super Vee Formula Super Vee was an open-wheel racing series that took place in Europe and the United States from 1970 to 1990. The formula was created as an extension of Formula Vee, a racing class that was introduced in 1959. Formula Super Vee in Europe wa ...

cars, winning the SCCA championship in 1976, and was USAC co-champion in 1977. Bagley owned and maintained his own race cars in this part of his career. He next joined the Indycar ranks with sponsorship from Kent Oil, driving for Longhorn Racing and

Patrick Racing Patrick Racing was an auto racing team in both Champ Car and the Indy Racing League. Patrick Racing was started by Pat Patrick in the 1970s. The team is best known for winning the Indianapolis 500 on three occasions (1973, 1982, 1989), and the I ...

. After retiring from racing full-time, Bagley worked as a physicist for longtime series sponsor

PPG Industries PPG Industries, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 company and global supplier of paints, coatings, and specialty materials. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, PPG operates in more than 70 countries around the globe. By revenue it is ...

, developing new methods for creating powder paints. From 2004 to 2020 he worked at Autobahn Country Club as the Director of Racing Instruction, responsible for designing the safety features at the track and overseeing the instruction, licensing, and racing activities. Bagley still competes in club and endurance races in his Spec Miata and vintage events including the Indy Legends Charity Pro–Am race on occasion. Bagley was described by the SVRA in 2019 as a "driver who accomplished much with limited resources" and "the driver to beat in

Racing record

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Formula Super Vee

Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results

Complete USAC Championship Car results

Indy 500 results

References

External links

1939 births Atlantic Championship drivers Champ Car drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Living people Racing drivers from Pittsburgh Trans-Am Series drivers SCCA Formula Super Vee drivers Formula Super Vee Champions SCCA National Championship Runoffs participants Can Am drivers Formula Ford drivers IMSA GT Championship drivers Eberly College of Science alumni American physicists {{US-autoracing-bio-stub