He really put his foot into it and topped teammate Hills speed with an incredible 171.559 mph average. Art won $941.00 for his 14th place finish and Bobby Unser won the race. Art shook down a pushrod Plymouth V8 in one of last year's wedge-shaped Loutus cars that wears new aero features. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. He had suffered internal lung lesion due to flame inhalation, a broken leg, a fractured right arm, third-degree burns and a severe spinal injury. He was an engaging speaker and frequent spokesman. It was the Golden Era of IndyCar racing. Links Search above to list available cemeteries. Art qualified in 6th spot in 1970. Learn more about merges. google_page_url = document.location; google_color_bg = "ECF8FF"; We got treated terrible until we qualified. Try again later. Art Lee Pollard, Jr. (May 5, 1927 - May 12, 1973), was an American racecar driver. I went out in qualifying later and set a new track record. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. As the race started, Salt Walther and Jerry Grant touched wheels, launching Walther's car into the catch fence . There is a problem with your email/password. One driver, when he saw me, made a claw of his hand and with that warped fist, waved and said, "Hi, how are you?" Then they had two big fellas, two great big fellas, come in and lift me up and hold me up in the air and let me try and move my legs. The grid was reset without Walther. May of 1973 was a deadly month at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, earning it the nickname Bloody May. Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, USA. In years since, there has been no final determination on the cause of Arts accident. Reports on the number of spectators injured ranged from 11 to 13. Tales Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? Art L. Pollard, 61, of Commerce City, passed away October 2, 2019 in Brighton CO surrounded by his family. And that was the most impressive thing, Bobby Plump said. It was just a week after the local heros 46th birthday. And third, what happened? Swede Savage Fan site - articles and pictures, | Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. "It was just a race that everybody wanted to get over with and go home and forget It came automatic to him.. At last glance, Granatelli had seen Teran standing alongside McRea's crew chief, Granatelli's son Vince. observers. The car slammed into the outside wall coming out of turn one, burst into flames, and spun as it headed to the grass on the inside of the short chute. about it," winner Gordon Johncock said. "It's a sad thing to say, but it is.". GREAT NEWS! Walther's fate might have been worse; had the tank stayed with the car he surely would All I asked was if theyd give me time to call his family in Oregon, Pat recalls. Drivers and crews were taut. Afterward, Patrick and Johncock held the most muted of victory banquets. All Rights Reserved. hands. He was a people magnet, and I feel privileged that he was my dad, for that reason. Driver Salt Walther suffered disfiguring burns in a fiery first-lap crash that injured 13 spectators. A Art is shown holding his three year old daughter Judy. He went on to qualify for six races, but broke his leg in a qualifying accident in 1972 and had to sit out that race. Omissions? We were listening to the radio broadcast of the activity at Indy when they announced that Art had crashed and later passed away in the hospital. Art had little practice time in the car, but late in the afternoon, Art pulled onto the track in his #20 turbine, and his average speed of 166.297 was good enough to earn the 11thstarting spot in the middle of the fourth row. You slow down the film and there's no other conclusion you can come to. | Minutes later, Pollard's car smacked the outside wall in Turn 1, spun, flipped and slid to a stop in Turn 2, engulfed in flames. IndySpeedway.com "I think we can trim it out and get a little more out of it," Pollard responded. "Back then, about the only way to get a better ride, move up the ladder, was when somebody got hurt or killed," Kunzman said. Emily Kasriel explores the art of plague from the Black Death to current times. He hit the inside wall almost head-on at full speed. During one period in 1961, he won 22 of 28 main events. It was then Joe Leonards turn in his #60 STP turbine. This biographical article related to United States auto racing is a stub. "After the second day, you started thinking: 'Who's next?'" Bobby Unser, in Dan Gurneys Eagle chassis with turbo-Offy power, set the second fastest average speed of 169.507 mph. Robin Miller, the long-time Indianapolis Star racing writer who now works as an IndyCar reporter for NBC Sports Network and the Speed network, recalled sitting with Pollard on the pit wall early pole day morning. garbage, and half the 350,000 fans went home. google_ad_width = 728; He was a natural race car driver, Caskey said. . The race was postponed until Tuesday, when on the second parade lap, the sky opened again and another washout was declared. We have set your language to From a small hydroplane on Oregon's Umpqua River to micro-midgets and modified stock cars on a half-mile oval in Roseburg, Oregon. "I think Photo courtesy of Mike Pollard. Bring keeping it warm.' He had a high sense of ethics, Martin said. Paul Jackson Pollock was the fifth and youngest son of Stella May McClure and LeRoy Pollock, who were both of Scotch-Irish extraction (LeRoys original surname was McCoy before his adoption about 1890 by a family named Pollock) and born and raised in Iowa. From a small hydroplane on Oregons Umpqua River to micro-midgets and modified stock cars on a half-mile oval in Roseburg, Oregon. | Drivers who survived an earlier era now openly wonder how they did. He graduated from Roseburg High School in 1945. He drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1965-1973 seasons, with 82 career starts, including the 1967-1971 Indianapolis 500 races. Driver Art Pollard was killed in an accident during pole day practice. One of the top athletes probably in the country. I actually had an opportunity to meet him once in Lexington. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. In 1956, Time magazine gave Pollock the name "Jack the Dripper," referencing his unique style of action painting. ). Parts of my kneecap were smashed. This browser does not support getting your location. Schwankovsky gave Pollock some rudimentary training in drawing and painting, introduced him to advanced currents of European modern art, and encouraged his interest in theosophical literature. nationality American born May 5, 1927 hometown Dragon, Utah died May 12, 1973 place of death Indianapolis. Despite his hard luck with cars, Pollard quickly gained a strong fan base, not just from Southern Oregon, but at Indy as well. Sunday marks the 99th year of what many call the greatest spectacle in racing, the Indianapolis 500. The two went to high school together, played football together and even ended up at the same Navy base in San Diego. //-->,