Mike Mosley

Mike Mosley (December 13, 1946 – March 3, 1984), was an American racecar driver.

Mike Mosley

Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Mosley was a driver in the USAC and CART Championship Car series. He raced in 17 consecutive seasons from 1967 through 1983, with 166 combined career starts, including every Indianapolis 500 in that span except 1967 and 1982. He finished in the top ten 80 times and had 5 career victories.

Mosley was known for a "charger" driving style and for his smooth driving technique. Many of his peers felt Mosley never had the opportunity to showcase his talent due to second-rate equipment. Longtime motorsports writer Robin Miller quoted Gary Bettenhausen, a close friend and contemporary of Mosley, as saying: "If Mike had been driving a McLaren (Indianapolis car) in the early 1970s, we would all have been racing for second place."

Mosley was known for having a perceived "jinx" at Indianapolis. He qualified near the front several times, including second in 1981 and 1983, and was often a pre-race favorite. However, in 15 starts, he finished the 500 miles only once—a third-place result in 1979. On his first visit to Indianapolis in 1967, he lied about his age (20 at the time) to gain entry; after two crashes in practice, he told the car owner he was not yet ready to tackle Indy's 2 1/2-mile oval. The next year, he returned and qualified for the race.

Mosley was particularly effective at the flat Milwaukee Mile paved oval, where he used an unusual driving line and recorded three victories. In the 1981 race there, added as a promoter's option, he came from the back of the field to win the race.[1] It was the last win for a normally-aspirated engine in the CART/Champ Car era and also the last win in open wheel racing for a Gurney Eagle.

Mosley died in a highway accident in Aguanga, California. He lost control of the truck he was driving, which rolled down an embankment and caught fire. His teenaged son, Michael, was also riding in the van but was uninjured.[2]

Racing Results

Indianapolis 500 results

Year	Car	Start	Qual	Rank	Finish	Laps	Led	Retired
1968	90	27	162.449	26	8	197	0	Flagged
1969	90	22	166.113	22	13	162	0	Piston
1970	9	12	166.651	17	21	96	0	Radiator
1971	4	19	169.579	29	13	159	0	Crash T4
1972	98	16	189.145	5	26	56	3	Crash T4
1973	98	21	189.753	28	10	120	0	Rod Bolt
1974	98	6	185.319	7	29	6	0	Blown Engine
1975	12	5	187.833	6	26	94	0	Engine
1976	12	11	187.588	4	15	98	0	Flagged
1977	5	9	190.064	12	19	91	0	Timing Gear
1978	78	25	188.719	26	17	146	0	Turbocharger
1979	36	12	186.278	16	3	200	0	Running
1980	48	26	183.449	25	32	5	0	Gasket
1981	48	2	197.141	4	33	16	0	Radiator
1983	18	2	205.372	2	13	169	1	Crash T1
Totals						1615	4

Starts	15
Poles	0
Front Row	2
Wins	0
Top 5	1
Top 10	3
Retired	12

USAC Champ Car results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	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	Rank	Points
1967	Leader Card Racers	?	?	PHX DNQ	TRE DNQ	INDY DNQ	MIL	LAN	PIP	MOS	MOS	IRP	LAN	MTR	MTR	SPR																41st	120
1967	Walt Michner	Gerhardt	Ford														MIL DNQ	DUQ	ISF	TRE 7	SAC	HAN 13	PHX	RIV								41st	120
1968	Bob Wilke	Watson	Offenhauser	HAN	LVG	PHX	TRE	INDY 8	MIL 19			LAN 4	PIP					LAN	LAN 20	MTR	MTR	SPR	MIL 17	DUQ	ISF	TRE	SAC	MCH 3	HAN 13	PHX 9		20th	860
1968	Bob Wilke	Watson	Ford							MOS 16	MOS 9			CDR 14	NAZ	IRP 9	IRP														RIV 14	20th	860
1969	Bob Wilke	Watson	Offenhauser	PHX 6	HAN 12	INDY 13	MIL 6	LAN 16	PIP		NAZ	TRE 3	IRP 19	IRP DNQ	MIL 7	SPR 17	DOV 4	DUQ 18	ISF 17	BRN 9	BRN 5	TRE 23	SAC 17	KEN 6	KEN 9	PHX 17	RIV 11					9th	1220
1969	Bob Wilke	Watson	Chevrolet							CDR 14																						9th	1220
1970	Andy Granatelli	Watson	Offenhauser													DUQ 18																4th	1900
	Ralph Wilke	Eagle	Offenhauser												ONT 14
		Watson	Offenhauser	PHX 5	SON 7	TRE 5	INDY 21	MIL 7	LAN 3	CDR 15	MCH 4		SPR 10	MIL 5			ISF 5	SED 4	TRE 3	SAC 8	PHX 20
		Watson	Chevrolet									IRP 14
1971	Ralph Wilke	Eagle	Ford					INDY 13	MIL	POC	MCH	MIL	ONT	TRE																		17th	655
		Watson	Ford	RAF 3	RAF 23	PHX 10	TRE 1
		Watson	Offenhauser												PHX 19
1972	Ralph Wilke	Eagle	Offenhauser	PHX 3	TRE 13	INDY 26	MIL	MCH	POC	MIL	ONT 5	TRE 5	PHX 2																			10th	1250
1973	Ralph Wilke	Eagle	Offenhauser	TWS 3	TRE 9	TRE 8	INDY 10	MIL 24	POC 4	MCH 10	MIL 2	ONT	ONT 5	ONT 3	MCH 18	MCH	TRE 14	TWS 23	PHX 20													6th	2345
1974	Ralph Wilke	Eagle	Offenhauser	ONT 6	ONT	ONT 7	PHX 1	TRE 7	INDY 29	MIL 10	POC 21	MCH 8	MIL 18	MCH 15	TRE 17	TRE	PHX															13th	945
1975	Jerry O'Connell	Eagle	Offenhauser	ONT 10	ONT	ONT 11	PHX 9	TRE 3	INDY 26	MIL 5	POC 31	MCH 13	MIL 1	MCH	TRE	PHX																12th	1020
1976	Jerry O'Connell	Eagle	Offenhauser	PHX 5	TRE 5	INDY 15	MIL 1	POC 2	MCH 22	TWS 4	TRE 5	MIL 5	ONT 15	MCH 7	TWS 22	PHX DNQ																5th	2120
1977	Jerry O'Connell	Eagle	Offenhauser	ONT 16	PHX 6	TWS 5	TRE 3																									10th	1030
1977	Jerry O'Connell	Lightning	Offenhauser					INDY 19	MIL 4	POC 8	MOS	MCH DNQ	TWS	MIL	ONT 16	MCH 18	PHX DNQ															10th	1030
1978	Alex Morales Motorsports	Lightning	Offenhauser	PHX	ONT	TWS	TRE	INDY 17	MOS DNQ	MIL 14	POC 7	MCH DNQ	ATL	TWS 13	MIL DNQ	ONT 16	MCH	TRE 8	SIL	BRH	PHX 10											24th	483
1979	All American Racers	Eagle	Cosworth	ONT	TWS	INDY 3	MIL	POC	TWS	MIL																						NC	0
1980	All American Racers	Eagle	Cosworth	ONT 19																												41st	28
1980	All American Racers	Eagle	Chevrolet		INDY 32	MIL	POC 23	MDO																								41st	28
1981-82	All American Racers	Eagle	Chevrolet	INDY 33	POC	SPR	DUQ	ISF	INDY DNQ																							49th	5
1982-83	Kraco Enterprises	March	Cosworth	SPR	DUQ	NAZ	INDY 13																									21st	25

CART IndyCar Series Results

(key)

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Rank	Points
1979	All American Racers	Eagle	Cosworth	PHX 6	ATL 17	ATL 17	INDY 3	TRE 13	TRE	MCH 2	MCH 20	WGL 12	TRE 14	ONT 34	MCH	ATL 14	PHX 10	10th	1121
1980	All American Racers	Eagle	Chevrolet	ONT 19	INDY 32	MIL	POC 23	MDO	MCH	WGL		ONT 17	MCH	MEX	PHX			41st	56
1980	Mach I Racing	Penske	Cosworth								MIL 20							41st	56
1981	All American Racers	Eagle	Chevrolet	PHX	MIL 1	ATL	ATL	MCH 18	RIV	MIL	MCH 26	WGL		PHX 24				19th	32
1981	Brayton Racing	Penske	Cosworth										MEX 7					19th	32
1982	Kraco Enterprises	March	Cosworth	PHX	ATL	MIL	CLE	MCH 8	MIL 7	POC 16	RIV	ROA	MCH 7	PHX 12				19th	37
1983	Kraco Enterprises	March	Cosworth	ATL 13	INDY 13	MIL 5	CLE 4	MCH 17	ROA 25	POC 4	RIV 24	MDO	MCH 11	CPL	LAG	PHX 24		14th	36

International Race of Champions results

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

International Race of Champions results
Year	Make	Q1	Q2	Q3	1	2	Pos.	Pts
1979-1980	Chevy	MCH	MCH 8	RIV	RIV	ATL	NC	—

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References

Mike Mosley claim his 3rd Rex Mays triumph
"Mosley killed in van crash". Retrieved August 23, 2013.

External links

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[1] Mike Mosley claim his 3rd Rex Mays triumph

[2] "Mosley killed in van crash". Retrieved August 23, 2013.