Art Pollard

Art Lee Pollard, Jr. (May 5, 1927 – May 12, 1973), was an American racecar driver.

Art Pollard

Born	(1927-05-05)May 5, 1927 Dragon, Utah
Died	May 12, 1973(1973-05-12) (aged 46) Indianapolis, Indiana
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	American
Active years	1967–1973
Teams	Thermo-King, March, Car Wash Systems, Gilmore
Entries	7 (5 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1967 Indianapolis 500
Last entry	1973 Indianapolis 500

Born in Dragon, Utah, and a grandfather, Pollard drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1965–1973 seasons, with 84 career starts, including the 1967–1971 Indianapolis 500 races. He finished in the top ten 30 times, with 2 victories, both in 1969, at Milwaukee and Dover.

He died in Indianapolis, Indiana, as a result of injuries sustained in practice during the first day of time trials for the 1973 Indianapolis 500. The car clipped the wall coming out of turn one and did a half-spin as it headed to the grass on the inside of the short chute. The chassis dug into the grass and flipped upside-down, slid a short distance and then flipped back over as it reached the pavement again in turn two, finally coming to a stop in the middle of the track. The total distance covered was 1,450 feet (440 m). The car was demolished.

The impact tore off two wheels immediately, and the wings were also torn off during the slide. Pollard's lap prior to the crash was timed at a speed of 192+ mph. Pollard was rushed to Methodist Hospital in the new Cardiac ambulance. His injuries were reported to include pulmonary damage due to flame inhalation, burns on both hands, face and neck, and a broken arm. He had turned 46 one week before he died.

Pollard, away from racing, worked as a car dealer and mechanic and worked with mental health charities.[1]

Complete USAC Championship Car results

Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	Pos	Points
1965	PHX	TRE	INDY	MIL	LAN	PPR	TRE	IRP	ATL	LAN	MIL	ISF	MIL 22	DSF	INF	TRE 5	SAC DNQ	PHX 19											29th	200
1966	PHX	TRE	INDY DNQ	MIL 4	LAN 22	ATL 22	PIP	IRP DNQ	LAN 23	SPR	MIL 7	DUQ	ISF	TRE	SAC 9	PHX 22													23rd	280
1967	PHX 7	TRE 8	INDY 8	MIL 20	LAN 14	PIP	MOS 9	MOS 21	IRP	LAN DNQ	MTR	MTR	SPR	MIL	DUQ	ISF	TRE	SAC	HAN 5	PHX 14	RIV 30								11th	655
1968	HAN 16	LVG 8	PHX 5	TRE 13	INDY 13	MIL 16	MOS 14	MOS	LAN 18	PIP	CDR 5	NAZ	IRP 7	IRP 9	LAN 26	LAN	MTR	MTR	SPR DNQ	MIL 14	DUQ 14	ISF 10	TRE 10	SAC 10	MCH 6	HAN DNQ	PHX 20	RIV 16	23rd	696
1969	PHX 19	HAN 15	INDY 31	MIL 1	LAN 2	PIP	CDR 18	NAZ	TRE DNQ	IRP 25	IRP 16	MIL 6	SPR	DOV 1	DUQ DNQ	ISF 18	BRN 18	BRN	TRE 14	SAC 14	KEN 18	KEN 12	PHX 19	RIV 16					12th	1.110
1970	PHX 11	SON	TRE 21	INDY 30	MIL 18	LAN DNP	CDR 19	MCH 17	IRP	SPR DNP	MIL 11	ONT 2	DUQ	ISF	SED	TRE 6	SAC	PHX 24											8th	1.110
1971	RAF DNP	RAF	PHX 24	TRE 6	INDY 26	MIL 5	POC 16	MCH 16	MIL 16	ONT 2	TRE 20	PHX 9																	11th	1.170
1972	PHX 14	TRE	INDY DNQ	MIL	MCH	POC	MIL	ONT 7	TRE 9	PHX 11																			20th	450
1973	TWS 19	TRE DNQ	TRE	INDY DNQ	MIL	POC	MCH	MIL	ONT	ONT	ONT	MCH	MCH	TRE	TWS	PHX													-	0

Indianapolis 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1967 16 13 163.897 15 8 195 0 Flagged 1968 20 11 166.297 11 13 188 0 Fuel Shaft 1969 40 12 167.123 12 31 7 0 Drive Line 1970 10 6 168.595 7 30 28 0 Piston 1971 99 32 169.499 31 22 77 0 Valve 1972 40   Withdrew due to injury 1973 64   Practice crash, fatal Totals 495 0

Starts 5 Poles 0 Front Row 0 Wins 0 Top 5 0 Top 10 1 Retired 4

References

1. http://www.oldracingcars.com/driver/Art_Pollard

External links

• https://web.archive.org/web/20071205052904/http://artpollard.tripod.com/1972-73.html
• "Art Pollard". Find a Grave. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
• https://web.archive.org/web/20110810203442/http://www.judydippel.com/cmsj/ (Pollard's daughter)
• http://www.mailtribune.com/article/20160430/SPORTS/160439978