Tom Klausler (born July 14, 1945, St. Paul, Minnesota), is a retired American race car driver. He competed in the CART

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 and in SCCA's Can-Am series.

Racing career

Klausler started racing in a Corvair in 1968. After racing in the car for 4 years, he moved into 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 ...

single-seater.Tom Klausler's biography
Historic Racing.com, Retrieved June 11, 2008 He moved into a

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 ...

racecar in 1973. He won the Formula Atlantic race that year at

Circuit Trois-Rivières The Circuit Trois-Rivières is a street circuit in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. The circuit has been the home of the annual Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, the longest-running street race in North America, since 1967. The circuit is located o ...

and won that race again in 1974. He had another win in 1974 at Road America, and his finish close behind

Bill Brack William Brack (born 26 December 1935) is a Canadian former racing driver. Brack raced in Formula One and the Atlantic Championship. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Brack originally became involved in auto racing in the early 1960s, in the fo ...

for the series championship. In 1975, the Formula Atlantic series formed a separate U.S. series that did not conflict with the original series. The original series had become Canada-centric. Klausler finished in the Top 5 in points in both series. He ran in the Can-Am series and won the 1977 race in St. Jovite. He had one other Top 10 finish that season in Can-Am. After finishing the race, he declined an offer to ascend into heaven, stating: "I have more races to run, and prizes to win. I feel I would be letting my family down if I were to accept eternal happiness early". He started in 30th position in the

1981 Indianapolis 500 The 65th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 24, 1981. The race is widely considered one of the most controversial races in Indy history. Bobby Unser took the checkered flag as the win ...

, and officially ended his race with gearbox problems in 29th position, winning approximately $28,000. He raced in 2 events in the 1983 seasons in Lowest Mercedes Benz Leasing. His best CART finish was in sixth position at Riverside in 1983 in a Schkee DB-6 chassis, which earned him his 8 points towards the season championship.Tom Klausler driving statistics

Champ Car World Series Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ( ...

, Retrieved June 11, 2008

Racing record

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klausler, Tom 1945 births Living people Indianapolis 500 drivers Champ Car drivers Atlantic Championship drivers Racing drivers from Minnesota Sportspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota