Walt Faulkner

Walter Faulkner^[1] (February 6, 1918^[2] – April 22, 1956)^[3] was an American racing driver from Tell, Texas. He moved to Milledgeville, Georgia at the age of two-and-a-half, and to Lake Wales, Florida at the age of eight. He then moved to San Diego, California in 1936. Faulkner competed mainly in the National Championship and in stock car races. In 1950 Faulkner became the first rookie to win pole position at the Indianapolis 500. He died in 1956 after a qualifying crash at a USAC Stock Car event in Vallejo, California.

Walt Faulkner
Faulkner, circa 1948
Born	Walter Faulkner (1918-02-06)February 6, 1918 Tell, Texas, U.S.
Died	April 22, 1956(1956-04-22) (aged 38) Vallejo, California, U.S.
Champ Car career
35 races run over 7 years
Years active	1949-1955
Best finish	2nd – 1950
First race	1950 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Last race	1955 Springfield 100 (Springfield)
First win	1950 Milwaukee 200 (Milwaukee)
Last win	1951 Milwaukee 200 (Milwaukee)
Wins Podiums Poles 3 7 1
Formula One World Championship career
Active years	1950 – 1955
Teams	Kurtis Kraft, Kuzma, Pankratz, Lesovsky, Ferrari
Entries	6 (5 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	1
Pole positions	1
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1950 Indianapolis 500
Last entry	1955 Indianapolis 500

Earlier in his career, Faulkner raced motorcycles, then switched to midget cars, later driving for the Edelbrock dirt track racing team. He had great success in midget car racing and was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2007. Faulkner was also inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2006.^[4]

World Championship career summary

The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Walt Faulkner participated in 5 World Championship races. He started on the pole 1 time, and accumulated a total of 1 championship point.

Racing record

Complete AAA Championship Car results

Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Pos	Points
1949	ARL	INDY	MIL	TRE	SPR	MIL	DUQ	PIK	SYR	DET	SPR	LAN	SAC	DMR DNQ		-	0
1950	INDY 7	MIL 7	LAN DNQ	SPR DNQ	MIL 1	PIK	SYR 2	DET 4	SPR 12	SAC 9	PHX 5	BAY 6	DAR 8			2nd	1,317
1951	INDY 15	MIL	LAN	DAR 1	SPR DNQ	MIL 1	DUQ 4	DUQ 2	PIK	SYR 2	DET 2	DNC 18	SJS DNQ	PHX 6	BAY DNS	3rd	1,513.6
1952	INDY DNQ	MIL 18	RAL 17	SPR 13	MIL DNQ	DET 12	DUQ	PIK	SYR DNQ	DNC 11	SJS 8	PHX 10				32nd	87
1953	INDY 17	MIL DNQ	SPR 9	DET DNQ	SPR 18	MIL DNS	DUQ 6	PIK	SYR DNQ	ISF DNQ	SAC DNP	PHX				28th	158.4
1954	INDY DNS	MIL 8	LAN	DAR 13	SPR	MIL	DUQ	PIK	SYR	ISF	SAC	PHX	LVG			38th	78.5
1955	INDY 5	MIL 21	LAN	SPR 16	MIL DNQ	DUQ	PIK	SYR DNS	ISF DNS	SAC	PHX					10th	447.5

Indy 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1950 98 1 134.343 1 7 135 0 Running 1951 2 14 136.872 1 15 123 0 Crankshaft 1953 23 14 137.117 10 17 176 0 Flagged 1954 98 – – – 12* 199  ? Flagged 1955 77 7 139.762 16 5** 200 0 Running Totals 634 0

Starts 4 Poles 1 Front Row 1 Wins 0 Top 5 1 Top 10 2 Retired 1

* Shared drive with Chuck Stevenson
** Shared drive with Bill Homeier. Each driver scored 1 World Championship point

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	WDC	Pts
1950	Grant Piston Ring/Agajanian	Kurtis Kraft 2000	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	GBR	MON	500 7	SUI	BEL	FRA	ITA			NC	0
1951	Agajanian Grant Piston Ring	Kuzma Indy Roadster	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	SUI	500 15	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA	ESP		NC	0
1952	Grant Piston Ring/Agajanian	Ferrari 375S	Ferrari 375 4.5 V12	SUI	500 DNQ	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	NED	ITA		NC	0
1953	Automobile Shippers/Casaroll	Kurtis Kraft 500A	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	ARG	500 17	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	SUI	ITA	NC	0
1954	J.C. Agajanian	Kuzma Indy Roadster	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	ARG	500 12	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	SUI	ITA	ESP	NC	0
1955	Merz Engineering	Kurtis Kraft 500C	Offenhauser 4.5 L4	ARG	MON	500 5	BEL	NED	GBR	ITA			23rd	1
Source:[5]