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ONE DAY

MAY 31

1902
Walter Baker becomes the first man to unofficially exceed 100 mph over 1 km in his electric powered "Torpedo", at the South Shore Boulevard in Staten Island, NY. Unfortunately, a wreck at the end of his run prevented it from becoming an official record.

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1915
Ralph DePalma won the Indianapolis 500

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1919
Louis LeCocq ... Died ... AAA driver from the early 1900's. LeCocq and his riding mechanic Robert Bandini were killed in the 1919 Indianapolis 500 after their "Roamer" had its fuel tank ruptured, and exploded.
Howdy Wilcox won the Indianapolis 500

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1920
Gaston Chevrolet won the Indianapolis 500

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1926
Frank Lockhart won the Indianapolis 500 (Called after 400 miles due to rain)

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1937
Wilbur Shaw won the Indianapolis 500 in a Miller powered car of his own design.

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1948
Mauri Rose won the Indianapolis 500 in an Offenhauser powered Deidt.

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1953
Ernie McCoy won the Eastern AAA Sprint Car race at the Hatfield Speedway, Hatfield, PA
Steve Yanigan won the URC Sprint Car race at the Tioga Motorsports Park, Owego, NY
Pat O'Connor won the AAA Sprint Car race at the Winchester Speedway, Winchester, IN
Bill Eldridge won the NEMA Midget race at the Waterford Speedbowl, Waterford, CT

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1954
Bill Vukovich won the Indianapolis 500
Wally Campbell won the Eastern AAA Sprint Car race over Tommy Hinnershitz at the Altamont Fairgrounds,Altamont, NY

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1957
Al Alpern won the USAC Midget race at the Berlin Raceway, Grand Rapids,MI

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1958
Tony Bonadies won the ARDC Midget race at the Hatfield Speedway, Hatfield,PA

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1959
Pete Folse won the IMCA Sprint Car race at the Belleville High Banks, Belleville,KS
Leroy Felty won the Super Modified race over Frankie Thompson, Dick Tobias, Earl Hoffman and Roger Sowers at the Williams Grove Speedway, Williams Grove,PA

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1962
Sal Moschella won the URC Sprint Car race over Bobby Courtwright at the Lancaster Motorsports Park, Lancaster,NY

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1963
Jim Maguire won the URC Sprint Car race over Chuck Yost at the Georgetown Speedway, Georgetown,DE
Bobby Hersh won the Super Modified race over Neil Haight, Leroy Felty, Bobby Gerhart and Bobby Abel at the Williams Grove Speedway, Williams Grove,PA

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1964
Jud Larson, in A.J. Foyt's TRACO Chevy, won the USAC Sprint Car race over Mario Andretti, Don Branson, Chuck Engel and Mickey Shaw at the New Bremen Speedway (1/2d), New Bremen, OH

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1965
Jimmy Clark won the Indianapolis 500

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1967
A.J. Foyt won the Indianapolis 500 in a Foyt Coyote.

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1970
Larry Dickson won the USAC Sprint car race over Gary Bettenhausen, Rollie Beale, Todd Gibson and Johnny Parsons at the New Bremen Speedway , New Bremen,OH

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1973
Gerry Chamberlain won the Modified Stock car race over Kenny Brightbill, Larry Taylor, Buzzie Reutimann and Jim Kirk at the Bridgeport Speedway , Bridgeport, NJ ( Click here for the race report. )

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1976
Elmer George... Died ... He drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1956-1963 seasons with 64 starts, including the Indianapolis 500 races in 1957, 1962, and 1963. He finished in the top ten 36 times, with one victory, in 1957 at Syracuse. George was also the 1957 USAC Sprint Car Series champion. Elmer George was married to Mari Hulman George, daughter of Tony Hulman, owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Elmer and Mari's son is Tony George, founder of the Indy Racing League, and current CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. On race day, May 31, 1976, Elmer George argued by telephone with a horse trainer at the family farm near Terre Haute. After the race, George drove to the farm and confronted the trainer. George was shot and died the next day.

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1977
Floyd Davis... Died ... Was the co-winner of the 1941 Indianapolis 500. Floyd Davis drove the first 72 laps of the 1941 race before being replaced by Mauri Rose, who completed the race in the lead.

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1983
Tony Romit... Died ... Tony was an open cockpit driver from New Jersey, who raced midgets and sprint cars along the east coast from 1948 to the mid 1970's.

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1986
Bobby Rahal won the Indianapolis 500 in a Cosworth powered March 86C. It was the first time the 500 was completed in less than 3 hours.

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1987
Davey Allison won the Budweiser 500 over Bill Elliott at the Dover International Speedway , Dover, DE

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1992
Harry Gant won the Budweiser 500 over Dale Earnhardt at the Dover International Speedway , Dover, DE

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1997
Greg Moore won the Miller 200 at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for his first CART victory.
Eric Norris ,son of actor Chuck Norris, makes his Craftsman Truck Series debut, finishing 37th in the Pennzoil Discount Center 200 at New Hampshire. Norris has competed in 19 truck races and two Nationwide races in his career. His best finish is a 12th at Texas in 2005.

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1998
Dale Jarrett won the MBNA Platinum 400 over Jeff Burton at the Dover International Speedway , Dover, DE

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2021
Kyle Larson, fresh off his win in the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup race the night before, won the 35-lap World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series race at the Lawrenceburg Speedway, Lawrenceburg, IN. Logan Schuchart was second followed by Sheldon Haudenschild, Buddy Kofoid and Kerry Madsen. Click to watch the feature highlights video.



Freddie Rahmer won the 35-lap "HANK GENTLZER MEMORIAL" 410 Sprint Car feature at the Lincoln Speedway, Abbottstown, PA. Ryan Smith was second followed by Chad Trout, Brandon Rahmer and Tyler Ross. Click to watch the feature highlights video.



Lance Dewease won the "Bob Weikert Memorial" FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 Sprint Car Series race at the Port Royal Speedway, Port Royal, PA, Anthony Macri was second followed by Logan Wagner , Hunter Schuerenberg and Mike Wagner. Click to watch the feature highlights video.



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