"It was my job," he said. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? It just makes driving at Indianapolis easier. "See, that's where I was so fortunate. He was killed during practice on Pole Day for the 1973 Indianapolis 500 when his car hit the wall and caught fire. Pollard died in Indianapolis, Indiana, as a result of injuries sustained in a crash during practice on the first day of time trials for the 1973 Indianapolis 500. Pole Day - Saturday May 12 - Death of Art Pollard. hands. He had just turned 46-years-old one week earlier. while injuring a dozen spectators. It gets to your stomach, to your head.". Maybe not to dad, because I think he took the relationships he had for granted, because he was that way though his whole life. She is the daughter of Art Pollard. google_page_url = document.location; You have to anticipate the throttletheres a lag there. The race was postponed until Tuesday, when on the second parade lap, the sky opened again and another washout was declared. The organization sanctioned the Indianapolis 500, which Pollard raced in five times. Johncock, who led 64 laps, was declared the winner while sitting in the pits. Minutes later, Pollard's car smacked the outside wall in Turn 1, spun, flipped and slid to a stop in Turn 2, engulfed in flames. There was a problem getting your location. announcer, 'We're supposed to have 33 of the best drivers in the world and they can't even Driver Art Pollard was killed in an accident during pole day practice. overturned, flaming car came to rest right in front of Dallenbach, who helped firefighters "Back then, it was like me sitting on this stool with a seat belt," Foyt said. Judy is an author, speaker and publishing consultant. Salt miraculously made it back the next year, qualifying in 14th position for the 1974 Indy 500. In 1943, after the liquidation of the Federal Art Project, Pollock was given a contract by Peggy Guggenheim at her Art of This Century gallery in New York, and his first one-man show was held there in November. This was after I'd begun to walk on my own. He was an engaging speaker and frequent spokesman. Please try again later. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. Car trouble ends his day early on lap 28. Meanwhile, the infield continued its metamorphosis into a bog of mud and stinking Pollard was born in Dragon, Utah, but spent much of his youth in and around Los Angeles. Rene Thomas, the 1914 race winner, was driven around the track. Being a big race fan, I was fortunately allowed to go. As the race started, Salt Walther and Jerry Grant touched wheels, launching Walther's car into the catch fence . "What happened - what people saw - was my car hit a tire on Jerry Grant's Eagle and flip high into the air. Retaining walls were raised, catch fences improved and some "trackside seating" was removed. Robin Millers 2016 Christmas Gifts Suggestions including Art Pollard: The Life and Legacy of a Gentleman Racer by Bob Kehoe. A. He visited children at La Rue Carter Hospital in Indianapolis, where a playground there was named after him. Art shook down a pushrod Plymouth V8 in one of last year's wedge-shaped Loutus cars that wears new aero features. As I was driving along I had the radio on, and thats when I heard about Arts crash. They shared hamburgers at the Burger Chef restaurant on West 16th Street, just east of the track. Then they had two big fellas, two great big fellas, come in and lift me up and hold me up in the air and let me try and move my legs. "When I first got out, I remember I put on my nice-looking crepe slacks and my good-looking shirts. Actor Michael J. Pollard, known for his roles in "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Star Trek," has died at the age of 80. None of the men ever forgot about May 12, nor did they let their glowing recollections of the man they called friendly, loving and one of a kind fade. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. //-->, . Caskey is 81 and Green is 85. I was lucky to have him for a dad, even if I had him less time than I wanted. Art Pollard As I See Him by Andy Granatelli, Auto Racing Magazine Of The Worlds Greatest Sport, August 1969. I actually had an opportunity to meet him once in Lexington. During one period in 1961, he won 22 of 28 main events. Learn more about managing a memorial . [4] Pollard had turned 46 one week before he died. I found on Findagrave.com. He had a high sense of ethics, Martin said. Swede Savage, driver of another Patrick Racing, STP-sponsored car, and Armando Teran, mechanic on a third Patrick/STP car, also died. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. IndySpeedway.com observers. May, 1972 - On May 7th Art Pollard became the 13th member of the 180 . builder who was credited with discovering Savage. I've been lifting weights since I was sixteen years old. It came out in the papers that i said that maybe I didn't get bumped. My left hand was burned so bad that the tips of all the fingers were amputated. Pollard raced at Indy seven times, finishing eighth in the 1967 race. Art Pollard. He hit the inside wall almost head-on at full speed. He died in Indianapolis, Indiana as a result of injuries sustained in practice during the first day of time trials for the 1973 Indianapolis 500. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. google_color_bg = "ECF8FF"; "I remember the first time I saw what I looked like. Map Walther touched wheels with Jerry Grant's car in the sixth row and was launched into the catch fence near the starting line. He made speeches at schools and churches and visited the troops in Vietnam, but his pet project was the LaRueCarter Memorial Hospital for retarded children in Indianapolis. (Pollard Family Collection), Innovative Turbines of 1968: Art drove #20, Art commented on what it was like to drive the turbine car for the first time. That's 500 pounds of high explosive. keeping it warm.' google_ad_format = "728x90_as"; Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. and reduce the possibility of fire. And you know, hell, I was a damn good athlete. The car was running smoothly. Smiley's funeral was held on May 20, 1982 and he was buried in his birth location in Nebraska. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. Seats Photo courtesy of Bob Pollard. Wordfence is a security plugin installed on over 4 million WordPress sites. google_ad_channel ="0983136519"; Each year it got a little faster and a better car, and then we he started going to out-of-town races, said Green, who was a body shop mechanic for more than 40 years. His racing career started in Roseburg racing hydroplanes on the Umpqua River, and micro-midgets at the fairgrounds. Johncock left the track quickly. Oops, we were unable to send the email. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Art Pollard (7232111)? Art qualified in the field for the 1972 race, but broke his leg in a post-qualifying accident and was unable to race. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. May 1973 arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with even more hype than usual, The two day event was held at the Kearney Bowl in Fresno California. "It was amazing to come back the next year and it was as if people had not forgotten about it, but cleansed it from their minds and were ready for another 500-mile race.". He earned 300 points and $17,362.00. "He said, 'You don't want to see it.". Finally, mercifully, the "72 Hours of Indianapolis" were over. Pre Race Events 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 2016, Marc Evans, 3. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? the condition of Savage. He waved his checkered cap from the riding mechanic's seat of his winning Delage. You can always change this later in your Account settings. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. He turned the car over to its owner, Foyt, who had gone out on Lap 37 with a failed bolt. But racing colleagues and fans agree, it was a huge loss. "They looked exactly alike," Andy said, speaking in the hushed tones of grief 40 years later. "This is what everybody feared," ABC's Jim McKay told the worldwide television audience. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. The 1973 Indianapolis 500 remains one of the lowest points in American motor sports But after the wreck, I looked like I was fifteen years old again. Weve updated the security on the site. "Back then, about the only way to get a better ride, move up the ladder, was when somebody got hurt or killed," Kunzman said. Main 1954 Art competes in Bob and Ollies Micro-Midget at the Roseburg Fairgrounds in Oregon. a driver's body of accidents, some of which have a force of 70 or 100 times that of In 1945 Pollock married the painter Lee Krasner and moved to East Hampton, on the southern shore of Long Island, New York. Tales safety truck, speeding up pit road in the opposite direction of normal traffic, hit Teran And third, what happened? You have chosen this person to be their own family member. plastic cylinders and covering plates designed to minimize the force of impact. I discovered an interesting fact the other day while following some of your links. google_ad_height = 90; friends . Raw speed ruled. But for a while I was very depressed. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. No one did. Art Pollard (born 05 May 1927 Dragon, Utah; died 12 May 1973 Indianapolis, Indiana). For these pieces, many made during his poured period, Pollock dripped paint onto canvas to convey the emotion of movement. All during practice he was saying that this might be his best year. Bobby Unser, in Dan Gurneys Eagle chassis with turbo-Offy power, set the second fastest average speed of 169.507 mph. remember very vividly Died after a huge crash in a practice session for the 1973 Indy 500. They wore the same uniform. From his years with Benton through 1938, Pollocks work was strongly influenced by the compositional methods and regionalist subject matter of his teacher and by the poetically expressionist vision of the American painter Albert Pinkham Ryder. A lot of fans - and drivers too - said that Walther blew it. Pollock was employed by the WPA Federal Art Project in the fall of 1935 as an easel painter. "I think we can trim it out and get a little more out of it," Pollard responded. "I jumped on the throttle coming out of 2," Krisiloff said, "and spun my wheels halfway down the back straight in high gear.". After 1 lap, Art replaced Weld in the #57. because the 200 mph barrier was within the sights of drivers and on the minds of trackside His car rolled over and was engulfed in a fireball. momentarily blinded by the fuel spray and ended up in the infield grass. Party google_ad_width = 728; During a subsequent practice lap, a wheel came off in the NE corner and he crashed, breaking his leg. Art Pollard: The Life and Legacy of a Gentleman Racer. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. google_ad_client = "pub-8002195670072149"; To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button. Patrick owned Patrick Racing, which fielded the winning car, driven by Gordon Johncock.