Dick Simon

Richard Raymond Simon (born September 21, 1933) is retired American auto racing driver and racing team owner. Simon drove Indy cars in USAC and CART, and made 17 starts at the Indianapolis 500. At the 1988 Indianapolis 500, Simon set a record as the oldest driver in Indy 500 history (54 years, 251 days), a record that was later broken by A. J. Foyt.

Dick Simon at the 2016 Brickyard SVRA Pro-Am race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Simon was a longtime car owner, founding Dick Simon Racing, helping to begin the Indy car careers of Stéphan Grégoire, Arie Luyendyk, Raul Boesel, Lyn St. James, and many others. Simon had a notable record at the Indy 500. Of the many rookies he entered at Indy over the years, not a single one failed to qualify for the race. Simon never won a race as a driver or as an owner. His best finish as a driver was 3rd at Ontario, and as an owner he had six second place finishes. Simon had a best finish at the Indianapolis 500 of 6th in 1987 (as a driver), and 4th in 1993 as an owner with Boesel.

Simon sold his race team to Andy Evans who formed Team Scandia in 1997. He returned to Indy car racing in the late 1990s and entered cars in 2000 and 2001.

Driving career

Simon's IndyCar at Pocono in 1984

Simon was born in Sandy, Utah, and made his first driving appearance at Pacific Raceways in October 1969, but he failed to qualify. Simon was an adventurist and enthusiast. He was an experienced skier, scuba diver, registered pilot, sky diver, and parachutist. He was a national champion parachute jumper, and made over 1,600 jumps during the 1960s. In 1970, he left a desk job at an insurance company to pursue a career in auto racing.

Simon made his racing debut in 1970 driving a second-hand Vollstedt chassis at Phoenix International Raceway but was sidelined by magneto failure after only 4 laps. He made his Indianapolis 500 debut that year and finished 14th position. At Ontario Motor Speedway that September, Simon captured his career-best finish of 3rd place and he finished 10th in the 1970 USAC National Championship. Simon would continue to be marginally competitive throughout the 1970s, never matching his finishes of the 1970 season. In 1979, Simon sided with USAC during its split with CART. In being one of the few drivers to complete the USAC schedule, Simon finished 8th in the Championship. In 1980 Simon moved to CART and continued to have little success throughout the 1980s while remaining marginally competitive. He logged his best CART season in 1987 when he made 11 starts and logged two top-tens including a 6th place at the Indy 500, good enough for 20th in the CART championship. A partial season in 1988 where Simon logged a solid 9th-place finish in the Indy 500 was his last as a driver.

Simon's driving career includes 183 starts (115 in USAC, 78 in CART) over 19 seasons spanning from 1970 to 1988. Among those starts are 17 Indianapolis 500 appearances.

Team ownership

Dick Simon fielded his own race team beginning in 1983 and shortly thereafter began fielding cars for pay drivers, Dick Simon Racing being one of the most competitive teams offering race seats to such drivers almost always fielded current-year March and Lola chassis and had a competitive engine package. In 1989 the team fielded two fully funded drivers in Scott Brayton and Arie Luyendyk as the team moved towards the front of the pack. Simon fielded a car in the 1992 Indianapolis 500 for Lyn St. James who became the second woman to drive in the race. Raul Boesel finished 5th in points with three runner-up finishes in 1993, the team's best season result. The team had a difficult 1995 and Simon sold the team to Andy Evans who turned it into Team Scandia. Simon returned to ownership in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series in 1999 but saw little success. The team was shut down after the team's driver Stéphan Grégoire failed to qualify for the 2001 Indianapolis 500.

Personal life

Dick Simon was once questioned by the FBI under the suspicion of being the airplane hijacker D. B. Cooper. He proved that he was discussing sponsorship with the president of General Foods in Upstate New York on the date of the hijack.[1][2][3]

Motorsports career results

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Year	Track	Car	Engine	Class	Finish	Start	Status
1968	Riverside Raceway	Chevrolet Corvette	Chevrolet	B Production	3		Running

American open-wheel racing

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

USAC Championship Car

USAC Championship Car results
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	Pos.	Pts
1969	Vollstedt Enterprises	Vollstedt 67	Ford 159ci V8t	PHX	HAN	INDY	MIL	LAN	PPR	CDR	NAZ	TRE	IRP	IRP	MIL	ISF	DOV	DSF	INF	BRN	BRN	TRE	SAC	SIR DNS	SIR		RSD DNS	NA	-
			Chevrolet 320 ci V8																							PHX DNQ
1970	Racing International	Vollstedt 67	Ford 159ci V8t	PHX 24		TRE 9	INDY 14	MIL 11	LAN 9		MCH 19	IRP 13	ISF	MIL	ONT 3	DSF	INF	SED	TRE DNQ		PHX 9							10th	1080
	John Gregg	Vollstedt 65	Chevrolet 320 ci V8		SON 6
	Dayton-Walther	Morris 70	Ford 159ci V8t							CDR 11
	Ron Burke	Moore 65 D	Offy 252 ci																	SAC DNQ
1971	Dick Simon Racing	Lola T152	Ford 159ci V8t	RAF 13	RAF 6	PHX 12				POC 17	MCH 15	MIL		TRE 25	PHX 7													20th	405
		Vollstedt 67					TRE 7	INDY 14	MIL 9
		Peat-Lola											ONT 22
1972	Dick Simon Racing	Peat-Lola	Ford 159ci V8t	PHX 18	TRE 14	INDY 13	MIL 9	MCH 7	POC 16			TRE 16																23rd	200
		Lola T152	Foyt 159ci V8t							MIL 12	ONT
		Eagle 72											PHX 14
1973	Dick Simon Racing	Eagle 72	Foyt 159ci V8t	TWS 6	TRE 10	TRE 7	INDY 14	MIL 17	POC 12		MIL 22	ONT	ONT 11	ONT 22	MCH	MCH	TRE 23											20th	440
	Eisenhour-Brayton Racing Team	Coyote 72								MCH 17
	Patrick Racing	Eagle 73	Ford 159ci V8t															TWS 21	PHX 8
1974	Dick Simon Racing	Eagle 72	Foyt 159ci V8t	ONT 8	ONT	ONT 28	PHX 13	TRE	INDY 33	MIL 4	POC 29	MCH 21					PHX 15											21st	270
	Vollstedt Enterprises	Vollstedt 73	Offy 159 ci t										MIL 11	MCH	TRE	TRE
1975	Dick Simon Racing	Eagle 72	Foyt 159ci V8t	ONT	ONT 13	ONT 24	PHX 14	TRE 8	INDY 21	MIL 13	POC 23	MCH 9	MIL 17	MCH 15	TRE 11	PHX 13												22nd	220
1976	Vollstedt Enterprises	Vollstedt 72/75	Offy 159 ci t	PHX 7																								21st	330
	Dick Simon Racing	Eagle 72	Foyt 159ci V8t		TRE 16		MIL 14
	Vollstedt Enterprises	Vollstedt 73/76	Offy 159 ci t			INDY 32		POC 10	MCH 19	TWS	TRE 13	MIL 16	ONT 30	MCH 21	TWS	PHX 7
1977	Vollstedt Enterprises	Vollstedt 73/76	Offy 159 ci t	ONT 6	PHX 7	TWS	TRE		MIL 13					MIL 9														24th	360
		Vollstedt 77						INDY 31		POC 16	MOS	MCH 19	TWS 14		ONT 33	MCH
		Lightning Mk1/76															PHX 11
1978	Vollstedt Enterprises	Vollstedt 77	Offy 159 ci t	PHX 4	ONT 6	TWS	TRE	INDY 19	MOS		POC 30	MCH 13	ATL 18	TWS 6	MIL 21	ONT 14	MCH		SIL 12	BRH 7	PHX 22							18th	670
		Vollstedt 73/76								MIL 18								TRE DNQ
1979	Vollstedt Enterprises	Vollstedt 77	Offy 159 ci t	ONT 7	TWS	INDY 26	MIL 13	POC 5	TWS 7	MIL 17																		8th	766
1980	Vollstedt Enterprises	Vollstedt 77	Offy 159 ci t	ONT	INDY 22	MIL 13	POC 21	MDO DNQ																				38th	38
1981-82	Leader Card Racers	Watson PC7	Cosworth DFX V8t	INDY DNQ	POC 20	ISF	DSF	INF	INDY DNQ																			40th	20
1982-83	Dick Simon Racing	March 83C	Cosworth DFX V8t	ISF	DSF	NAZ	INDY 15																					23rd	25
1983-84	Dick Simon Racing	March 84C	Cosworth DFX V8t	DSF	INDY 23																							26th	15

PPG Indy Car World Series

PPG Indy Car World Series results
Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Pos.	Pts
1979	Vollstedt Enterprises	Vollstedt 77	Offy 159 ci t	PHX	ATL	ATL	INDY 26	TRE	TRE	MCH	MCH	WGL	TRE	ONT	MCH	ATL	PHX				NC	0
1980	Vollstedt Enterprises	Vollstedt 77	Offy 159 ci t	ONT	INDY 22	MIL 13	POC 21	MDO DNQ	MCH 18	WGL 17	MIL 7	ONT 37	MCH	MEX 23	PHX 25						31st	185
1981	Leader Card Racers	Watson PC7	Cosworth DFX V8t	PHX 10	MIL 7	ATL	ATL	MCH 31	RIV 6			WGL 11	MEX 25	PHX 20							16th	38
		Watson 78	Offy 159 ci t							MIL 22	MCH 25
1982	Leader Card Racers	Watson PC7	Cosworth DFX V8t	PHX DNQ	ATL DNS	MIL 19	CLE 17	MCH 21	MIL 15	POC 22	RIV 7	ROA									25th	26
		Watson 82C											MCH 13	PHX 19
1983	Dick Simon Racing	March 83C	Cosworth DFX V8t	ATL DNQ	INDY 15	MIL 11	CLE	MCH 14					MCH 19	CPL 14	LAG	PHX 23					29th	2
		Eagle 83							ROA 13	POC	RIV 25	MDO 15
1984	Dick Simon Racing	March 84C	Cosworth DFX V8t	LBH 19	PHX 4	INDY 23	MIL 13	POR 20	MEA 24	CLE DNQ	MCH 12	ROA 15	POC 12	MDO 24	SAN 12	MCH 15	PHX 21	LAG 14	CPL DNQ		26th	15
1985	Dick Simon Racing	March 85C	Cosworth DFX V8t	LBH	INDY 26	MIL 13	POR	MEA 17	CLE	MCH 25	ROA	POC 10	MDO	SAN 17	MCH 19	LAG	PHX DNQ	MIA			37th	3
1986	Dick Simon Racing	Lola T86/00	Cosworth DFX V8t	PHX	LBH	INDY 14	MIL	POR	MEA	CLE 22	TOR	MCH	POC 23	MDO	SAN 20	MCH	ROA	LAG	PHX	MIA	NC	0
1987	Dick Simon Racing	Lola T87/00	Cosworth DFX V8t	LBH 20	PHX 10	INDY 6	MIL 20	POR 18	MEA 14	CLE 23	TOR 23	MCH 9	POC 21	ROA	MDO	NAZ 18	LAG	MIA			21st	15
1988	Dick Simon Racing	Lola T87/00	Cosworth DFX V8t	PHX 19	LBH								POC 19	MDO	ROA						24th	11
		Lola T88/00				INDY 9	MIL 12	POR	CLE	TOR	MEA	MCH 7				NAZ 20	LAG	MIA

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
1970	Vollstedt	Ford	31	14	Racing International
1971	Vollstedt	Ford	33	14	Dick Simon Racing
1972	Peat-Lola	Ford	23	13	Dick Simon Racing
1973	Eagle	Foyt	27	14	Dick Simon Racing
1974	Eagle	Foyt	10	33	Dick Simon Racing
1975	Eagle	Foyt	30	21	Dick Simon Racing
1976	Vollstedt	Offenhauser	16	32	Vollstedt Enterprises
1977	Vollstedt	Offenhauser	30	31	Vollstedt Enterprises
1978	Vollstedt	Offenhauser	10	19	Vollstedt Enterprises
1979	Vollstedt	Offenhauser	20	26	Vollstedt Enterprises
1980	Vollstedt	Offenhauser	29	22	Vollstedt Enterprises
1981	Watson	Cosworth	DNQ		Leader Card Racers
1982	Watson	Cosworth	DNQ		Leader Card Racers
1983	March	Cosworth	20	15	Dick Simon Racing
1984	March	Cosworth	20	23	Dick Simon Racing
1985	March	Cosworth	14	26	Dick Simon Racing
1986	Lola	Cosworth	33	14	Dick Simon Racing
1987	Lola	Cosworth	6	6	Dick Simon Racing
1988	Lola	Cosworth	16	9	Dick Simon Racing

NASCAR

(key) (Bold - Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics - Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	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	29	30	NWCC	Pts
1973	Faustina Racing	5	Dodge	RSD	DAY	RCH	CAR	BRI	ATL	NWS	DAR	MAR	TAL 7	NSV	CLT	DOV	TWS	RSD	MCH	DAY 35	BRI	ATL	TAL	NSV	DAR	RCH	DOV	NWS	MAR	CLT	CAR			NA	0
1974				RSD	DAY 31	RCH	CAR	BRI	ATL	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT	RSD	MCH	DAY	BRI	NSV	ATL	POC	TAL	MCH	DAR	RCH	DOV	NWS	MAR	CLT	CAR	ONT	NA	0

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
1974	Faustina Racing	Dodge	37	31

References

1. The Talk of Gasoline Alley. May 19, 2006. 1070 WIBC-AM.
2. Schmitz, Brian (May 27, 1994). "Simon's Stress". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
3. Simon's Stress - Nrian Schmitz, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 May 1994

External links

• Article at latimes.com
• Dick Simon - 80th Birthday - Indy Racing Years Photo Album
• Dick Simon - 80th Birthday - Indy Racing Years Video Album: