Ralph Beardsley... Born ... AAA driver from the early 1900's
1923
Andy Granatelli... Born ... The entrepreneur of STP oil and gasoline treatment products and along with his brothers Vince and Joe fielded Indy cars from the 1960's until 1991. He clad his pit crews in white coveralls with the oval STP logo scattered all over them, and once wore a suit jacket with the same STP-laden design. His cars became a significant presence at the Indianapolis 500. While he first gained notoriety by re-introducing the legendary Novi, his most famous entries were his turbine-powered cars in 1967 and 1968. In both years, he endured the excruciating frustration of seeing probable race-winners fail near the end; Joe Leonard's breakdown with 10 laps remaining in 1968 had been topped the previous year when Parnelli Jones, leading comfortably with just three laps to go, suffered the failure of an inexpensive transmission bearing and retired, handing a sure victory to A.J. Foyt. He was finally rewarded with an Indianapolis 500 winner in 1969. After his innovative Lotus 4-wheel-drive car was destroyed in practice after establishing itself as one of the most dominants cars to date, his driver Mario Andretti, nursing the burns from the Lotus crash, won at the wheel of a year-old backup car. Before Andretti could be traditionally kissed in 'Victory Lane' by the Queen of the "500 Festival," Granatelli got there first, and his joyful kiss on Andretti's cheek is one of the 500's most memorable images. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2001.
1937
Mark Donohue... Born ... Known for his ability to set up his own race car and drive it consistently on the absolute limit. Donohue is probably best-known as the driver of the 1500+ bhp “Can-Am Killer” Porsche 917-30, and as winner of the 1972 Indianapolis 500. Ran USAC INDY cars from 1968 to 1973.
1942
Jochen Rindt ... Born ... F1 World Champion
1972
Bobby Unser led most of the way to win the 150 mile USAC Championship race at Phoenix International Raceway. Unser pulled away from Mario Andretti following a restart with 3 laps to go, crossing the line 4 seconds ahead of Andretti's Parnelli Jones Colt-Offy. In qualifying, Unser's new Eagle-Offy shattered the lap record with a speed of 141.966 mph, seven mph above the previous mark.
1974
Wally Booth drove his AMC Hornet to victory over Jack Roush's Mustang in the Gatornationals Pro Stock finals. This was the first NHRA Pro Stock win for AMC.
1978
Gordon Johncock won the USAC Championship 'Jimmy Bryan 150' at Phoenix International Raceway. Johncock and Danny Ongais dueled for the win until the clutch began slipping on Ongais' Interscope Parnelli/Cosworth. Pat Patrick's Wildcat/DGS entries finished 1-2 with Steve Krisiloff a career best second. Ongais won the pole with a 24.76 lap (145.396 mph). In the preliminary Mini Indy (Super Vee) race, future NASCAR star Tim Richmond won in his first start in the class.
1979
Buddy Baker broke a long dry spell, winning the NASCAR Grand National 'Atlanta 500' in Harry Ranier's Olds. It was Baker's first GN win since May 2, 1976. Baker took the lead from a sputtering Bobby Allison with 24 laps left, taking the checkered 18 seconds ahead of Allison's Bud Moore Ford that had lost a cylinder. The race was marred by the death of Dennis Wade, jackman for rookie Dave Watson. Wade died when struck on pit road by Watson's out of control car. Watson was leading the race at the time of the accident. The Wisconsin short track ace withdrew immediately and never made another GN start.
1984
Benny Parsons outdueled Dale Earnhardt and Cale Yarborough to win the 500 mile NASCAR GN race at Atlanta International Raceway. It was Parsons first GN win in nearly 3 years, the 21st of his career, and would be the final of his career.
1990
Dale Earnhardt wins the Motorcraft 500 over Morgan Shepherd at the Atlanta Motor Speedway , Atlanta, GA.
1991
Ken Schrader wins the Motorcraft 500 over Bill Elliott at the Atlanta Motor Speedway , Atlanta, GA.
2001
Dale Jarrett wins the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 over Steve Park at the Darlington Raceway , Darlington, SC.
2007
Jimmie Johnson wins the Kobalt Tools 500 over Tony Stewart at the Atlanta Motor Speedway , Atlanta, GA.
ONE DAY
To report wrong information, click here to send E-Mail to webmaster@wheelsofspeed.com 
Back to the Wheels of Speed home page