Scott Brayton

Scott Everts Brayton (February 20, 1959 – May 17, 1996) was an American race car driver on the American open-wheel circuit. He competed in 14 Indianapolis 500s, beginning with the 1981 event. Brayton was killed in practice after qualifying for the pole position for the 1996 race.

Scott Brayton
Nationality	United States
Born	(1959-02-20)February 20, 1959 Coldwater, Michigan, U.S.
Died	May 17, 1996(1996-05-17) (aged 37) Speedway, Indiana, U.S.
Related to	Lee Brayton (father)
CART IndyCar World Series
Years active	1981–1996
Teams	Brayton Racing Hemelgarn Racing Dick Simon Racing Team Menard
Starts	147
Wins	0
Poles	2
Best finish	12th in 1991
Previous series
1996	Indy Racing League

Career

During the mid-1980s, Brayton helped introduce the Buick stock-block V-6 engine to Indianapolis. His father's firm, Brayton Engineering, was a major developer of the race engine. In 1985, he qualified 2nd and set the one-lap Indianapolis Motor Speedway track record in the process. He dropped out early and finished 30th when the engine expired. He would not finish the race again until 1989, when he scored his best finish at the Speedway, 6th place but seven laps down. He would equal this finishing position in 1993, driving a Lola-Cosworth for Dick Simon Racing.

When Buick pulled out of IndyCar racing in 1993, John Menard continued developing the engine, now badged as the Menard V-6. Brayton, now without a regular ride in the CART IndyCar series, joined the Indy-only Menards team in 1994. Their belief in the powerplant paid off when Brayton won his first Indy 500 pole position in 1995, at an average speed of 231.604 mph (372.731 km/h). Turbocharger boost and pop-off valve problems relegated him to a 17th-place finish.

Brayton was prepared to make his NASCAR debut at the 1995 Brickyard 400. However, he crashed his car during a private test session, and suffered a broken ankle and a concussion.[1]

In 1996, Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George established the Indy Racing League, and Team Menard signed up to compete in their first full season of IndyCar racing. Because the majority of the established teams and drivers of open-wheel racing competed in the rival CART series, Brayton (and rookie teammate Tony Stewart) were considered legitimate contenders for the IRL title. After a bad start to the season, Brayton asserted his competitiveness by winning his second Indy pole after a dramatic qualifying session in which he withdrew an already-qualified car to get a second chance at taking the top spot.

Brayton was making a practice run on May 17 in his backup car when it blew a tire[2] going into turn two, and it then half-spun and hit the outside retaining wall at more than 230 mph (370 km/h). Brayton's car scrubbed off virtually no speed as it spun, and as the car impacted the wall on its left side, the force was such that Brayton's head also impacted the wall. Brayton was killed instantly by the severe impact. His funeral, held in his hometown of Coldwater, Michigan, was attended by a large contingent of drivers and racing personalities.

Teammate Tony Stewart, who qualified second, took over the pole starting position. A substitute driver, Danny Ongais, took over the car with which Brayton had qualified for the pole, and finished seventh.

Personal life

Brayton began dating his future wife, Becky, in 1981 and an 11-year courtship followed.[3] The couple have a daughter named Carly, who was 2 and a half years old at the time of Scott's death.[4]

On Easter Sunday 1999,[5] Becky married another IRL driver, Robbie Buhl, who would later become a partner in Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

Memorial Street Circuit

A street course in Grand Rapids, Michigan, used for SCCA racing was known as the Scott Brayton Memorial Street Circuit. It was used for the West Michigan Grand Prix in 1998[6] and 1999,[7] after which the event folded.[8]

Scott Brayton Trophy

Following Brayton's death, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced a new trophy for the Indianapolis 500 dedicated to the driver who best exemplifies the attitude, spirit and competitive drive of Brayton. A driver could only be awarded the trophy once in his/her Indy career. It was awarded through 2009.

Year	Winner
1997	John Paul, Jr.
1998	Roberto Guerrero
1999	Eliseo Salazar
2000	Eddie Cheever
2001	Davey Hamilton
2002	Arie Luyendyk
2003	Buddy Lazier
2004	Hélio Castroneves
2005	Kenny Bräck
2006	Sam Hornish, Jr.
2007	Tony Kanaan
2008	Vítor Meira
2009	Sarah Fisher

Racing record

American open-wheel racing results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

PPG Indycar Series

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Rank	Points
1981	Brayton Racing	PHX 15	MIL 11	ATL 9	ATL 10	MCH 7	RIV 8	MIL 21	MCH 24	WGL 20	MEX 23	PHX DNQ							13th	57
1982	Brayton Racing	PHX 14	ATL	MIL 14	CLE	MCH 11	MIL	POC 24	RIV	ROA	MCH 10	PHX							33rd	11
1983	Brayton Racing	ATL	INDY 9	MIL	CLE 24	MCH 12	ROA	POC 28	RIV	MDO	MCH 13	CPL 26	LAG	PHX					24th	5
1984	Brayton Racing	LBH	PHX	INDY 18	MIL 22	POR 25	MEA 14	CLE 11	MCH 13	ROA 12	POC 6	MDO 12	SAN 11	MCH DNS	PHX 23	LAG 15	CPL 8		23rd	19
1985	Brayton Racing	LBH 11	INDY 30	MIL DNQ	POR 6	MEA 15	CLE 25	MCH 8	ROA	POC 16	MDO	SAN	MCH 22						22nd	15
	Hemelgarn Racing													LAG 26	PHX 18	MIA DNQ
1986	Hemelgarn Racing	PHX 24	LBH	INDY 30	MIL	POR	MEA	CLE	TOR	MCH 13	POC 27	MDO	SAN	MCH 19	ROA	LAG	PHX	MIA	NC	0
1987	Hemelgarn Racing	LBH	PHX	INDY 12	MIL	POR 5	MEA 10	CLE	TOR	MCH 22	POC 25	ROA	MDO	NAZ	LAG	MIA			22nd	14
1988	Hemelgarn Racing	PHX 15	LBH 23	INDY 31	MIL 10	POR 9	CLE 16	TOR 14	MEA 11	MCH 26	POC 10	MDO	ROA	NAZ 18	LAG	MIA 24			23rd	12
1989	Dick Simon Racing	PHX 15	LBH 12	INDY 6	MIL 18	DET DSQ	POR 13	CLE 28	MEA 10	TOR 14	MCH 11	POC 14	MDO 15	ROA 13	NAZ 10	LAG 20			15th	17
1990	Dick Simon Racing	PHX 13	LBH 9	INDY 7	MIL 20	DET 10	POR 25	CLE 22	MEA 9	TOR 14	MCH 16	DEN 12	VAN 9	MDO 8	ROA 13	NAZ 12	LAG 24		15th	28
1991	Dick Simon Racing	SRF 6	LBH 8	PHX 13	INDY 17	MIL 6	DET 9	POR 15	CLE 7	MEA 9	TOR 6	MCH 9	DEN 16	VAN 10	MDO 13	ROA 11	NAZ 19	LAG 27	12th	52
1992	Dick Simon Racing	SRF 20	PHX 9	LBH 17	INDY 22	DET 12	POR 22	MIL 3	NHA 17	TOR 17	MCH 10	CLE 21	ROA 12	VAN 8	MDO 10	NAZ 8	LAG 10		15th	39
1993	Dick Simon Racing	SRF 16	PHX 25	LBH 24	INDY 6	MIL 6	DET 14	POR 17	CLE 18	TOR 19	MCH 11	NHA 6	ROA 7	VAN 24	MDO 9	NAZ 15	LAG 24		15th	36
1994	Team Menard	SRF	PHX	LBH	INDY 20	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	TOR	MCH	MDO	NHA	VAN	ROA	NAZ	LAG		49th	0
1995	Team Menard	MIA	SRF	PHX	LBH	NAZ	INDY 17	MIL	DET	POR	ROA	TOR	CLE	MCH	MDO	NHA	VAN	LAG	34th	1

Indy Racing League

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	Rank	Points
1996	Team Menard	Lola T95	Menard	WDW 15	PHX 18	INDY DNS	18th	111

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
1981	Penske PC-6	Ford Cosworth DFX	29	16	Brayton Racing
1982	Penske PC-7	Ford Cosworth DFX	DNQ		Brayton Racing
1983	March 83C	Ford Cosworth DFX	29	9	Brayton Racing
1984	March 84C	Buick	26	18	Brayton Racing
1985	March 85C	Buick	2	30	Brayton Racing
1986	March 86C	Buick	23	30	Hemelgarn Racing
1987	March 87C	Ford Cosworth DFX	13	12	Hemelgarn Racing
1988	Lola T88/00	Buick	7	31	Hemelgarn Racing
1989	Lola T89/00	Buick	6	6	Dick Simon Racing
1990	Lola T90/00	Ford Cosworth DFS	26	7	Dick Simon Racing
1991	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet 265A	19	17	Dick Simon Racing
1992	Lola T92/00	Buick	7	22	Dick Simon Racing
1993	Lola T93/00	Ford XB	11	6	Dick Simon Racing
1994	Lola T93/00	Buick	23	20	Team Menard
1995	Lola T95/00	Menard-Buick	1	17	Team Menard
1996	Lola T95/00	Menard-Buick	1	DNS^‡	Team Menard

^‡ For the 1996 Indianapolis 500, Brayton qualified on the pole. The following Friday he was fatally injured driving a back-up car during practice. In the race Danny Ongais drove the pole car and finished seventh.

See also

• List of Indianapolis Motor Speedway fatalities

References

1. "Bout with wall ends Brayton's Brickyard run". The Indianapolis Star. July 27, 1995. p. 46. Retrieved July 6, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
2. Siano, Joseph (May 18, 1996). "AUTO RACING;Brayton Killed in Crash During Indy 500 Practice". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
3. Miller, Jeff (May 27, 1999). "Brayton widow takes unlikely path". Lawrence Journal-World. Retrieved August 28, 2015 – via Google News Archive.
4. Glick, Shav; Biebrich Jr., Richard (May 18, 1996). "Brayton Dies In Crash". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
5. Mittman, Dick (March 28, 1999). "IRL: Buhl, Harrington lead Infiniti to strong showing at Phoenix". motorsport.com. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
6. "West Michigan Grand Prix Fast Facts". motorsport.com. July 17, 1998. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
7. "West Michigan Grand Prix SCCA Pro Racing weekend Quick Facts". motorsport.com. August 24, 1999. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
8. Fox, Amy (September 4, 2008). "West Michigan Grand Prix 10th anniversary". WZZM. Archived from the original on March 5, 2014.

External links

• Scott Brayton driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• Scott Brayton at Find a Grave