Louis Meyer

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Louis Meyer

Louis Meyer July 21 1904 - October 7 1995) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
Hall of Fame

International Motorsports Hall of Fame

The International Motorsports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame dedicated to enshrining those who have contributed the most to auto racing either as a driver, owner, developer or engineer....
race car driver best known as the first three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, often shortened to Indianapolis 500 or Indy 500 or commonly known simply as The 500, is an USA automobile auto racing, held annually over the Memorial Day weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana....
.

Born in lower Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is one of the five borough of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.With a United States Census of 1,620,867 living in a land area of 22.96 square miles , Manhattan, coextensive with New York County, is the most population density county in the United States, w...
, New York

New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
the son of French

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
immigrants, Meyer was raised in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
where he began automobile racing at various California

California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
tracks.

He went on to become the first-ever driver to win the Indianapolis 500 three times, capturing the prestigious race as a rookie starter in 1928 (though having driven as a relief driver the year before), then again in 1933 and 1936.

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Encyclopedia

Louis Meyer July 21 1904 - October 7 1995) was an American

United States

International Motorsports Hall of Fame

Indianapolis 500

Manhattan

New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
the son of French

France

Los Ángeles

California

Milk

Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals . It provides the primary source of nutrition for newborn mammals before they are able to digestion other types of food....
(buttermilk

Buttermilk

Buttermilk is a fermented dairy product produced from cow's milk with a characteristically sour taste. The product is made in one of two ways....
at the time) in victory lane at the 1936 Indy 500 race and following the suggestion of former race winner, Tommy Milton

Tommy Milton

Tommy Milton was an United States race car driver best known as the first two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Milton began his career in racing in 1914, competing on dirt tracks in the Midwestern United States....
, that year he became the first driver to receive the Pace Car

List of Indianapolis 500 pace cars

The Indianapolis 500 auto racing has used a pace car every year since 1911. In the interest of safety, Indianapolis Motor Speedway founder Carl G. Fisher is commonly credited with the concept of a "rolling start" led by a pace car....
as part of the race winnings. Louis Meyer won the United States National Driving Championship

American Championship Car Racing

Since 1916 there has been a recognized United States national automobile racing National Championship for drivers of professional-level, single-seat open wheel race cars....
in 1928, 1929 and 1933.

He died in 1995 in Searchlight, Nevada

Searchlight, Nevada

Searchlight is a census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada, Nevada, United States. The population was 576 at the United States Census 2000....
, aged 91, where he had been living in retirement since 1972.

Meyer's son Louis (Sonny) Meyer, Jr. assisted him in engine work at his race shops, and worked on the various DOHC Ford engines in USAC racing, including building 15 Indianapolis 500-winning engines. Grandson Louis III (Butch) built Oldsmobile Aurora engines for Team Menard in Indy Racing League

Indy Racing League

The Indy Racing League, better known as IRL, is the sanctioning body of a predominantly American based open-wheel Auto racing.The League sanctions two series, the premier IndyCar Series , whose centerpiece is the Indianapolis 500, and Firestone Indy Lights, the official developmental series of the Indy Racing League....
IndyCar Series competition, winning the 1996-97 (18-month season) and 1999 championships before becoming the current Indy Pro Series

Indy Pro Series

Firestone Indy Lights is a Minor league automobile racing series sanctioned by the Indy Racing League. Previously, another series named Indy Lights filled the same role for CART and ran from 1986 to 1990 as the American Racing Series and Dayton Indy Lights from 1991 to 2001....
director.

He was not related to fellow driver Zeke Meyer

Zeke Meyer

Herbert Ernest "Zeke" Meyer was an United States racecar driver.He was not related to fellow driver Louis Meyer.Indy 500 results...
.

Indy 500 results

|-
!Year
!Car
!Start
!Qual
!Rank
!Finish
!Laps
!Led
!Retired
|-
!1928

1928 Indianapolis 500

Results of the 1928 Indianapolis 500 held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday, May 30, 1928....

|14
|13
|111.352
|17
|style="background:green;color:white"|1
|200
|19
|Running
|-
!1929

1929 Indianapolis 500

Results of the 1929 Indianapolis 500 held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1929....

|1
|8
|114.709
|9
|2
|200
|65
|Running
|-
!1930

1930 Indianapolis 500

Results of the 1930 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1930.Note: Cars not finishing were awarded positions in the order in which they left the track, regardless of lap count...

|1
|2
|111.290
|2
|4
|200
|2
|Running
|-
!1931

1931 Indianapolis 500

Results of the 1931 Indianapolis 500 held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1931....

|7
|25
|113.953
|2
|34
|28
|0
|Oil leak
|-
!1932

1932 Indianapolis 500

Race Summary Fred Frame won the 1932 after several strong showings in previous Indy 500 events. Frame, with mechanic Jerry Houck riding beside him, won with an average speed of , a speed that broke the seven-year-old record set by Peter DePaolo....

|16
|7
|112.471
|12
|33
|50
|0
|Crankshaft
|-
!1933

1933 Indianapolis 500

Results of the 1933 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday, May 30, 1933....

|36
|6
|116.977
|7
|style="background:green;color:white"|1
|200
|71
|Running
|-
!1934

1934 Indianapolis 500

The 22nd running of the Indianapolis 500 took place on May 30th, 1934. The winner was the number seven car driven by Bill Cummings, an Indianapolis native, at an average speed of 104.863 miles per hour....

|1
|13
|112.332
|20
|18
|92
|0
|Oil tank
|-
!1935

1935 Indianapolis 500

Results of the 1935 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1935....

|36
|4
|117.938
|5
|12
|200
|0
|Running
|-
!1936

1936 Indianapolis 500

Results of the 1936 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1936....

|8
|28
|114.171
|18
|style="background:green;color:white"|1
|200
|96
|Running
|-
!1937

1937 Indianapolis 500

Results of the 1937 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 31, 1937....

|2
|5
|119.619
|12
|4
|200
|0
|Running
|-
!1938

1938 Indianapolis 500

The 26th running of the Indianapolis 500 took place on Monday, May 30, 1938. The race was won by the number 23 car driven by Floyd Roberts. Roberts' car started in the pole position, and was the first car to win from that start since 1930 Indianapolis 500....

|5
|12
|120.525
|16
|16
|149
|0
|Oil Pump
|-
!1939

1939 Indianapolis 500

The 27th Indianapolis 500 took place May 30th, 1939. The race was won by the number two car of Wilbur Shaw, who started in the third position. The race was notable for a three car accident on lap 109, when Floyd Roberts the reigning champion, was killed when his car went through the wooden outer wall at over an hour at the backstretch....

|45
|2
|130.067
|2
|12
|197
|79
|Crash BS
|-
|colspan=6|Totals
|1916
|332
|
|}

|-
!Starts
|12
|-
!Poles
|0
|-
!Front Row
|2
|-
!Wins
|3
|-
!Top 5
|6
|-
!Top 10
|6
|-
!Retired
|5
|}

Awards

In 1992, Louis Meyer was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame
International Motorsports Hall of Fame

The International Motorsports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame dedicated to enshrining those who have contributed the most to auto racing either as a driver, owner, developer or engineer....
.
He was named to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame
National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum

The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum is a Hall of Fame and museum for Sprint car racing drivers.The museum is located in Knoxville, Iowa, United States, the home of the Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway....
in 1991.
He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America

The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America is a Hall of Fame and museum in Novi, Michigan for United States motorsports legends....
in 1993.

External links

Don Garrison Collection, oral history interview with Louis Meyer - Ball State University Archives and Special Collections Research Center -