Dempsey Cothrin Wilson (March 11, 1927 – April 23, 1971) was an American racecar driver. Wilson was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He began his racing career on Southern California short tracks, racing roadsters, then midgets and stock cars. He drove in the USAC

Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, generally and commonly known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2025, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar a ...

series, racing in the 1956, 1958–1965, and 1968–1969 seasons with 32 starts, including the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

races in 1958, 1960, 1961, and 1963. He finished in the top ten 4 times, with his best finish in 8th position in 1960 at Milwaukee. Outside of racing, Wilson owned a business called "Dempsey Wilson Racing Cams," which refurbished

camshaft A camshaft is a shaft that contains a row of pointed cams in order to convert rotational motion to reciprocating motion. Camshafts are used in piston engines (to operate the intake and exhaust valves), mechanically controlled ignition syst ...

s. He died in Duarte, California, at City of Hope after a long battle with

mesothelioma Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs (known as the mesothelium). The area most commonly affected is the lining of the lungs and chest wall. Less commonly the lini ...

Indianapolis 500 results

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. Dempsey Wilson participated in 2 World Championship races but scored no World Championship points.

References

1927 births 1971 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers Racing drivers from Los Angeles {{US-autoracing-bio-stub