Howdy Wilcox

Not to be confused with Howdy Wilcox II.

Howard Samuel "Howdy" Wilcox (June 24, 1889 – September 4, 1923) was an American racing driver active in the formative years of auto racing. He won the 1919 Indianapolis 500.

Howdy Wilcox
Wilcox, circa 1919
Born	Howard Samuel Wilcox (1889-06-24)June 24, 1889 Crawfordsville, Indiana, U.S.
Died	September 4, 1923(1923-09-04) (aged 34) Tipton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Championship titles
Major victories Indianapolis 500 (1919)
Champ Car career
36 races run over 12 years
Best finish	11th (1916)
First race	1910 100-mile Remy Brassard (Indianapolis)
Last race	1923 Altoona 200 (Altoona)
First win	1910 Remy Grand Trophy (Indianapolis)
Last win	1919 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Wins Podiums Poles 3 9 1

Formative years and family

Wilcox was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, on June 24, 1889. He was preceded in death by his wife, who died in 1918. Wilcox's son, Howard Jr., founded the Little 500 bicycle race, which has been held at Indiana University annually since 1951.^[1]

Racing career

Wilcox at the wheel of his Stutz before the 1915 American Grand Prize in San Francisco

In 1911, Wilcox set the world beach racing speed record of 89.23 mph.

In 1919, he won the 1919 Indianapolis 500 driving a Peugeot. After starting second, Wilcox took the lead shortly after the halfway point when driver Ralph De Palma's car had mechanical trouble. Wilcox went on to led the last 98 laps of the race and claim victory.

In addition to winning the Indianapolis 500, Wilcox is considered the AAA National Champion of 1919. In 1927 AAA revised its record books using an updated form of scoring. The revised points gave Wilcox the 1919 AAA Championship Car season title retroactively.

In the 1923 Indianapolis 500, Wilcox was the slowest qualifier and started in the last row. During the race, however, he found speed and was leading the race when his engine failed. Later in that same race, driver Tommy Milton burned his hands. Wilcox was brought in as a relief driver while Milton's hands received medical attention. He drove Milton's car for 48 laps, leading 41 of them. Milton returned to his car and eventually won the race. As was the tradition of the times, Wilcox received no credit for his time driving the car which ultimately won the race.^[2]

Wilcox raced in 11 Indianapolis 500s from 1911 to 1923. He was the only driver to compete in the first 11 Indianapolis 500 races and the first to qualify at 100 mph. ^[3]

Death

Wilcox died on September 4, 1923, at Altoona Speedway board track in Tyrone, Pennsylvania, in a car crash. He was buried at Crown Hill Cemetery and Arboretum in Indianapolis in Section 56, Lot 240 (39.821503°N 86.178168°W / 39.821503; -86.178168).^[4]

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1911 21 19 — 9 14 194 0 Flagged 1912 9 8 87.200 3 9 200 0 Running 1913 12 20 81.460 15 6 200 0 Running 1914 4 3 90.760 10 22 67 1 Valve 1915 1 1 98.900 1 7 200 5 Running 1916 29 6 93.810 6 7 120 0 Running 1919 3 2 100.010 7 1 200 98 Running 1920 18 20 88.820 12 19 65 0 Engine trouble 1921 10 12 96.000 7 23 22 0 Rod 1922 16 26 86.100 24 27 7 0 Valve spring 1923 25 8 81.000 24 17 60 51 Clutch Totals 1335 155

Starts 11 Poles 1 Front Row 3 Wins 1 Top 5 1 Top 10 5 Retired 5