Background
He was born and died in Roanoke, Indiana. Hartley was the son of midget car driver Ted Hartley, who competed into his 60s.
engineer racing driver Formula One driver
He was born and died in Roanoke, Indiana. Hartley was the son of midget car driver Ted Hartley, who competed into his 60s.
"Auto racing is all I’ve ever known," Gene once said in an interview at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He drove in the American Automobile Association and Universal Service Administrative Company Championship Carolina series, racing in the 1950 and 1952-1962 seasons with 33 starts. He raced in ten Indianapolis 500 races, in each year but 1955 and 1958.
His best finish at Industry was tenth in 1957, although he finished eleventh three times.
He finished in the Top 10 nine times, with his best finish in second position in 1956 at Langhorne Speedway. His 33 Universal Service Administrative Company feature wins were eighth best all-time.
Hartley co-promoted with Leroy Warriner at the Kitley Avenue Speedrome in Indianapolis after his retirement. They hosted midget races at the track that was specifically built for the small cars.
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. Gene Hartley participated in 8 World Championship races, with a best finish of tenth.