Pat O'Connor (racing driver)

Pat O'Connor (October 9, 1928 – May 30, 1958) was an American racecar driver. He was killed in a 15-car pileup, after sustaining a fatal head injury after rolling his car and catching fire on the first lap of the 1958 Indianapolis 500.

Pat O'Connor
Nationality	American
Born	October 9, 1928 North Vernon, Indiana, United States
Died	May 30, 1958 (aged 29) Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
AAA / USAC Champ Car
Years active	1952 - 1958
Teams	Kuzma / Offy
Starts	36
Wins	2
Poles	1
Best finish	4th in 1957
Awards
1995	National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee
Formula One World Championship career
Active years	1953–1958
Teams	Deidt, Kurtis Kraft, Schroeder
Entries	6 (5 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	1
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1953 Indianapolis 500
Last entry	1958 Indianapolis 500

Champ Car

O'Connor competed in 36 races in his champ car career.[1] He took his first win in 1956 at Darlington Raceway.[1] In 1957, he won the pole position for the Indianapolis 500 and he finished eighth.[1] Later in the year, he won at Trenton Speedway.[1]

He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated in May 1958 (one week before the race),[2] adding to the legend of the Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx.

Death

For the 1958 Indianapolis 500, Dick Rathmann and Ed Elisian started the race on the front row, with Jimmy Reece on the outside of the front row. Elisian spun in turn 3 of the first lap and collided with Rathmann's car, sending them both into the wall, and starting a 15-car pileup.[2]

According to A. J. Foyt, O'Connor's car hit Reece's car, sailed fifty feet in the air, landed upside down, and burst into flames. Although O'Connor was incinerated in the accident, medical officials said that he was probably killed instantly from a fractured skull.[3][2] In an interview after the race, winner Jimmy Bryan was quoted for saying "It was a nightmare. I lived with it for 200 laps."[2]

Widely blamed for the accident, Elisian was suspended by USAC for the accident (reinstated a few days later), and was shunned by many in the racing community.

Following the accident, race officials announced that they would change the starting procedure, abandoning the single-file trip down pit lane that was used in 1957 and 1958. Also, for the 1959 Indy 500, metal roll bars welded to the frame behind the driver's head were mandated, and helmets were required to pass safety certification by Speedway medical officials.[4]

Awards

He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1995.[5]

Legacy

Salem Speedway honored him along with Joe James with an annual title event.[5] The 2020 event was part of the USAC Silvercrown series.[5]

Complete AAA/USAC Championship Car results

Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Pos	Points
1952	INDY	MIL	RAL	SPR	MIL	DET	DUQ DNQ	PIK	SYR	DNC	SJS	PHX		-	0
1953	INDY DNQ	MIL DNQ	SPR	DET	SPR	MIL	DUQ DNQ	PIK	SYR	ISF 7	SAC	PHX 8		32nd	110
1954	INDY 21	MIL 5	LAN DNQ	DAR 10	SPR DNQ	MIL 19	DUQ DNQ	PIK	SYR DNQ	ISF DNQ	SAC DNQ	PHX DNQ	LVG 9	25th	200
1955	INDY 8	MIL 18	LAN 5	SPR DNQ	MIL 26	DUQ 9	PIK	SYR 4	ISF 5	SAC 5	PHX 5			7th	800
1956	INDY 18	MIL 11	LAN DNQ	DAR 1	ATL 17	SPR 5	MIL 21	DUQ DNQ	SYR 13	ISF 2	SAC 15	PHX DNQ		11th	680
1957	INDY 8	LAN DNQ	MIL 4	DET	ATL	SPR DNQ	MIL 3	DUQ 8	SYR 2	ISF 10	TRE 1	SAC 15	PHX 2	4th	1,250
1958	TRE 13	INDY 29	MIL	LAN	ATL	SPR	MIL	DUQ	SYR	ISF	TRE	SAC	PHX	-	0

Indianapolis 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1953 28 Failed to Qualify 64 74 1954 35 12 138.084 24 21 181 0 Spun T2 1955 29 19 139.195 21 8 200 0 Running 1956 7 3 144.980 4 18 187 39 Flagged 1957 12 1 143.948 2 8 200 7 Running 1958 4 5 144.823 5 29 0 0 Crash T3 (fatal) Totals 768 46

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

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	WDC	Points
1953	Slick Racers	Deidt	Offenhauser L4	ARG	500 DNQ	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	SUI	ITA			NC	0
	Engle-Stanko	Kurtis Kraft 4000			500 DNQ
	Brown Motors	Schroeder			500 DNQ
1954	Hopkins / Motor Racers	Kurtis Kraft 500C	Offenhauser L4	ARG	500 21	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	SUI	ITA	ESP			NC	0
1955	Ansted Rotary	Kurtis Kraft 500D	Offenhauser L4	ARG	MON	500 8	BEL	NED	GBR	ITA					NC	0
1956	Ansted Rotary	Kurtis Kraft 500D	Offenhauser L4	ARG	MON	500 18	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA				NC	0
1957	Ansted Rotary	Kurtis Kraft 500G	Offenhauser L4	ARG	MON	500 30	FRA	GBR	GER	PES	ITA				NC	0
1958	Sumar / Chapman Root	Kurtis Kraft 500G	Offenhauser L4	ARG	MON	NED	500 29	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	POR	ITA	MOR	NC	0

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. Pat O'Connor participated in 5 World Championship races. He started on the pole once but scored no World Championship points, as his best finish was eighth (twice).

See also

• List of fatalities at Indianapolis

References

1. "Driver Pat O'Connor Career Statistics". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
2. Ayello, Jim (May 21, 2018). "A.J. Foyt: Scar never healed after seeing friend die in horrific crash at 1958 Indy 500". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
3. Indy 500 deadly accidents, 1958 Archived 2013-11-10 at the Wayback Machine
4. we feel the blues when we lose Archived 2007-02-02 at the Wayback Machine
5. "USAC Joe James/PatO'Conner Memorial". USAC Silvercrown. August 15, 2020. Event occurs at 20:47. FloRacing.

External links

• Pat O'Connor at Find a Grave