Ray Harroun

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Ray Harroun (second from right) 1910
Ray Harroun's Marmon Wasp

Ray Harroun (born January 12, 1879 in Spartansburg , Pennsylvania , † January 19, 1968 ) was an American racing driver and entrepreneur.

Career

Harroun went down in motorsport history in 1911 as the first Indianapolis 500 mile winner .

After working as a mechanic for a while, he began racing in 1906. In 1910 he won the AAA National Championship and started at Marmon as chief engineer. The company asked him to develop and drive a vehicle for the new 500 mile race. Harroun developed a revolutionary concept.

The racing cars of the time were usually heavy two-seaters, in which the driver and a mechanic sat. The mechanic was responsible for informing the driver of what was happening behind him. Harroun designed a lightweight, streamlined single-seater. To replace the mechanic, he added a rearview mirror. The vehicle worked exceptionally well in Indianapolis. It reached an average speed of 74.602 mph in the victory  .

It was the last race for Harroun. Harroun later introduced a carburetor that was a predecessor to modern injection systems. He also developed a kerosene-burning Maxwell in 1914 . This racing car was used for almost 15 years.

From 1917 to 1922 Harroun operated the Harroun Motors Corporation and manufactured passenger cars.

literature

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

Web links

Commons : Ray Harroun  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Marmon - Internet site: The Marmon Wasp. (No longer available online.) At: www.marmon.com , archived from the original on June 16, 2010 ; Retrieved November 8, 2012 .
  2. ↑ a b Indianapolismotorspeedway - Website: Greatest 33 Profile: Ray Harroun. (No longer available online.) At: www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com , archived from the original on October 14, 2012 ; accessed on November 8, 2012 .
  3. ↑ Beverly Rae Kimes, Henry Austin Clark Jr .: Standard catalog of American Cars. 1805-1942. Digital edition . 3. Edition. Krause Publications, Iola 2013, ISBN 978-1-4402-3778-2 , pp. 679-680 (English).
personal data
SURNAME Harroun, Ray
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American racing car driver and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH January 12, 1879
PLACE OF BIRTH Spartansburg , Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH 19th January 1968