Joe Jagersberger

Joseph (Joe) W. (Dutch) Jagersberger (born February 14, 1884 in Wiener Neustadt , † October 5, 1952 in Racine , Wisconsin ) was an Austrian-American racing driver.

Family and education

Jagersberger was born the son of a baker in Wiener Neustadt. At the age of 14, he began training at Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft in Stuttgart . In 1903 he emigrated to the USA and settled in Racine, Wisconsin. There he married Amanda Olle in 1919. He had a daughter with her. Jagersberger was a grandfather of three.

Racing career

Jagerberger began his racing career in 1897 when he took part in a long-distance race from Vienna to Salzburg as co-driver and mechanic for Camille Jenatzy . The two were the only participants to finish the race. Between 1897 and 1903 he took part in various races across Europe. At the Gordon Bennett Cup in 1903 he met John Jacob Astor IV and Harry Harkness , the CEO of Standard Oil . Astor convinced him to come to New York City to work as a chauffeur. With Harkness he drove several races in the New York area. In 1904, for example, the two took part in a long-distance race from Boston to New York. That same year both competed in the Mount Washington Hillclimb Auto Race , a timed race to the top of Mount Washington that Harkness won. From 1910 Jagersberger drove in the racing stable founded by the car manufacturer Pierce-Arrow . As part of this team, he took part in the first Indianapolis 500 race in 1911 , but had problems with the steering from lap 87. In the same year he managed to win two parts of the Chicago Algonquin Hill Climb . His teammate Lewis Strang was killed in a training accident. Jagersberger, who was involved in the accident as a passenger, was only slightly injured. On November 1, 1911, he was training in Columbus , South Carolina when one of his tires burst. As a result, he raced his car into a wooden fence. While his co-driver was able to free himself from the road, Jagersberger injured his eye and suffered a complicated fracture in his right leg. After several months of hospitalization, the leg had to be removed so that he could no longer compete in races.

Career as a developer

After his accident, Jagersberger worked in the development of racing cars. Between 1912 and 1914 he was involved in numerous projects of his racing team on the development side. Then he started his own company with Rajo Motor and Manufacturing . There he first developed spark plugs and various engine parts. In 1919 he succeeded in developing a cylinder head for the Ford Model T , which more than doubled the engine's output. In addition to numerous further developments for the Model T from Ford, Jagersberger also developed the first DOHC valve control for Chevrolet . His company continued to exist after his death in 1952 and was closed in 1980.

Memberships and honors

Jagersberger was a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers . In January 2006, he was inducted into the Model T Ford Club Speedster and Racer Hall of Fame . In April of the following year he was inducted into the Chevy Sprints Association and also in 2007 he became a member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame .

literature

• Kem Robertson: Joe Jagersberger ( English , PDF) National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved October 11, 2014.

Web links

• Joe Jagersberger in the database of Find a Grave (English)