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He finished the 1952 and 1953 American Automobile Association championship seasons in second place, and led the first 44 laps of the 1954 Indianapolis 500.
Formula One driver motorcycle racer racecar driver
He finished the 1952 and 1953 American Automobile Association championship seasons in second place, and led the first 44 laps of the 1954 Indianapolis 500.
The west coast roadsters evolved into sprint cars in the early 1950s. Major wins at the American Automobile Association national level included the 1951 Syracuse and Langhorne 100 mile races, the 1952 Syracuse 100, and the 1953 Milwaukee 200. McGrath"s storied 26-lap duel with Bill Vukovich in the ill-fated 1955 Indianapolis 500 ended when the magneto on his Hinckle Special Kurtis 500C"s Offenhauser (Meyer-Drake) engine failed on lap 54.
"The Splendid Splinter" himself was killed in the final American Automobile Association dirt track race of the 1955 season at the one-mile dirt oval at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix, Arizona.
He was born in Los Angeles, California and grew up in South Pasadena, California. McGrath"s starting positions from 1951 to 1955 represent the best 5-year starting position streak in the Roadster Era.
McGrath was the fastest overall qualifier of the Roadster Era. Although McGrath twice posted the fastest qualifying speed, he started from the pole only once when he was the first driver ever to crack the 140-mile-per-hour mark.
In 1955, he started on the outside of the first row behind pole-day qualifiers Jerry Hoyt and Tony Bettenhausen.
The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Industry during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Jack McGrath participated in 6 World Championship races.
He started on the pole once, set 1 fastest lap, and finished on the podium twice.
He accumulated a total of 9 championship points.