Jim Hurtubise

Jim Hurtubise

Nation:	United States
Automobile world championship
First start:	Indianapolis 500 1960
Last start:	Indianapolis 500 1960
Constructors
1960  Ernest L. Ruiz
statistics
World Cup balance:	-
Starts Victories Poles SR 1 - - -
World Cup points :	-
Podiums :	-
Leadership laps :	-

James Ernest "Jim" Hurtubise (born December 5, 1932 in North Tonawanda , New York , † January 6, 1989 in Port Arthur ) was an American racing driver .

Career

Jim Hurtubise was one of the most popular US monoposto racing drivers of the 1960s and 1970s. Although he was rarely able to celebrate the big successes, he was extremely popular with racing fans. They called him an old-style racing driver and admired his cold bloodedness. After a serious accident at the Rex Mays Classic in 1964, where his hands were severely burned, the doctors treating him revealed that his forearms and hands were forever deformed. Hurtubise answered unmoved that you only had to hold a steering wheel with it. A total of 40% of its skin surface is said to be burned; he spent six months in a specialist clinic. After a year he was racing again.

From 1959 to 1975 he started 97 times in the AAA National series and the USAC series . Four times, in 1959 in Sacramento, 1960 in Langhorne and 1961 and 1962 in Springfield, he was waved off as the winner.

Hurtubise also competed ten times in the Indianapolis 500 . His best placement was 13th in 1962. In 1968 he drove the last front-engined racing car in this race. Since the 500-mile race was part of the Formula 1 World Championship from 1950 to 1960 , his debut race in 1960 was also his only appearance in this racing series.

Hurtubise was also a jolly fellow, his jokes were legendary. On May 21, 1972, he pushed his covered race car, sponsored by Miller Beer, across the finish line in Indianapolis just before 6 p.m. 6 pm was the time limit within which the racing cars had to cross this line in order to qualify. But he didn't have an engine in the car, but five beer boxes, the contents of which he handed out to mechanics, officials and racing drivers with a smile. A week later he qualified for the race in thirteenth place.

Hurtubise, who also competed in 36 NASCAR races, one of which he won, died of a heart attack in January 1989 .

statistics

Sebring results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1963	Nickey Chevrolet Co.	Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray	AJ Foyt	failure	Engine failure

Individual results in the sports car world championship

season	team	race car	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	17th	18th	19th	20th	21st	22nd
1963	Nickey Chevrolet	Chevrolet Corvette	DAY	SEB	SEB	TAR	SPA	MAY	ONLY	CON	ROS	LEM	MON	WIS	TAV	FRE	CCE	RTT	OVI	ONLY	MON	MON	TDF	BRI
					DNF

literature

• Rick Popely, L. Spencer Riggs: Indianapolis 500 Chronicle. Publications International Ltd., Lincolnwood IL 1998, ISBN 0-7853-2798-3 .

Web links

Commons : Jim Hurtubise  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Jim Hurtubise at Racing Sports Cars

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Report on Jim Hurtubise