Mauri Rose was an American racecar driver.

He started from the pole position driving a Maserati

Maserati

Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...

 in the 1941 Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...

, but spark plug

Spark plug

A spark plug is an electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of some internal combustion engines and ignites compressed fuels such as aerosol, gasoline, ethanol, and liquefied petroleum gas by means of an electric spark.Spark plugs have an insulated central electrode which is connected by...

 problems put him out of the race after sixty laps. He then took over the Wetteroth

Wetteroth

Wetteroth was a racing car constructor. Wetteroth cars competed in one FIA World Championship race - the 1950 Indianapolis 500.- Indianapolis 500 results:...

/Offenhauser

Offenhauser

Offenhauser was an American racing engine manufacturer that operated from 1933 to 1983.The Offenhauser engine, familiarly known as the "Offy", was developed by Fred Offenhauser and his employer Harry Arminius Miller, after maintaining and repairing a 1913 Peugeot Grand Prix car of the type which...

 car being driven by Floyd Davis

Floyd Davis

Floyd Eldon Davis was the co-winner of the 1941 Indianapolis 500....

 that had started in 17th place. Rose went on to win. In 1947 and 1948, Rose captured back-to-back Indy 500's driving one of the Deidt

Deidt

Deidt was a racing car constructor. Deidt cars competed in the FIA World Championship from 1950 to 1952.-World Championship Indy 500 results:...

/Offenhauser

Offenhauser

Offenhauser was an American racing engine manufacturer that operated from 1933 to 1983.The Offenhauser engine, familiarly known as the "Offy", was developed by Fred Offenhauser and his employer Harry Arminius Miller, after maintaining and repairing a 1913 Peugeot Grand Prix car of the type which...

 Blue Crown Spark Plug Specials, owned and prepared by veteran driver/car owner Lou Moore.

Late in the 1947 race, Rose found himself lying second to his rookie teammate, Bill Holland. But Holland, still unfamiliar with how to read the scoring pylon near the front straightaway, thought he had more than a lap lead on Rose, instead of just a few seconds. Rose closed on Holland and to his amazement, Holland gave way without a battle and even gave Rose a friendly wave as he went past on his way to victory. Holland was furious afterward, but learned a valuable (if bitter) lesson.

In 1949, with Holland leading and Rose again running second late in the race, Rose set out to overtake his now-veteran teammate. Rose ignored car owner Lou Moore's "EZ" signs from the pits and continued to push in pursuit of Holland. Finally Rose's car broke, Holland cruised home to victory -- and Moore fired Rose on the spot after the race for disobeying team orders.

Mauri Rose made his fifteenth and final Indianapolis 500 start in the 1951 race. Knocked out from an accident after 126 laps, the forty-five-year-old Rose retired to a home in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. For the 1967 race, officials of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....

 invited him to drive the Chevrolet Camaro

Chevrolet Camaro

The Chevrolet Camaro is an automobile manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand, classified as a pony car and some versions also as a muscle car. It went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed as a competing model to the Ford Mustang...

 Pace Car.

While his career in racing was filled with success, Rose considered his most important accomplishment to be his invention of a device that made it possible for amputees to drive an automobile.

Indy 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1933 1933 Indianapolis 500 Results of the 1933 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Tuesday, May 30, 1933. Louis Meyer defeated Wilbur Shaw by a time of 401.89 seconds . The average speed of the race was while Bill Cummings achieved the pole position with a speed of .... 3 42 117.649 6 35 48 0 Timing gears 1934 1934 Indianapolis 500 The 22nd running of the Indianapolis 500 took place on May 30, 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. Cummings led for 57 laps total, including the last 26. Of the 33 cars that began the race, only 12... 9 4 116.044 7 2 200 68 Running 1935 1935 Indianapolis 500 The 1935 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Thursday, May 30, 1935. Despite attempts to improve participant safety by requiring crash helmets and installing green and yellow lights around the track, the event that year would prove to be one of the worst in terms of fatalities.-Pre-race and... 2 10 116.470 9 20 103 0 Studs 1936 1936 Indianapolis 500 Results of the 1936 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Saturday, May 30, 1936.... 36 30 113.890 21 4 200 0 Running 1937 1937 Indianapolis 500 The 25th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, May 31, 1937.Late in the race, Wilbur Shaw held a comfortable lead, and had lapped second place Ralph Hepburn. With about 20 laps to go, however, Shaw's car had been leaking oil, and had nearly lost... 1 8 118.540 19 18 127 0 Oil line 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. Roberts led 92 laps, posted an average speed of 117.200... 27 9 119.796 20 13 165 0 Supercharger 1939 1939 Indianapolis 500 The 27th Indianapolis 500 took place May 30, 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... 16 8 124.896 13 8 200 0 Running 1940 1940 Indianapolis 500 The 28th running of the Indianapolis 500 took place on May 30, 1940. The winner was Wilbur Shaw in the number one car Maserati 8 CTF, the same car Shaw had driven to victory in 1939. Shaw became the first driver in the history of the race to win in consecutive years. It also marked Shaw's third... 7 3 125.624 3 3 200 5 Running 1941 1941 Indianapolis 500 Results of the 1941 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Friday, May 30, 1941.Notes*Floyd Davis was the starting driver for the #16 car. On lap 72, Davis came in for a pit stop, and was relieved by Mauri Rose. Rose had started the race in another car and dropped out earlier. Rose went on to... 3 1 128.691 1 26 60 6 Spark plugs   16 17 121.106 25 1 128 39 Running 1946 1946 Indianapolis 500 Results of the 1946 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Thursday, May 30, 1946.... 8 9 124.065 10 23 40 8 Crash T3 1947 1947 Indianapolis 500 Results of the 1947 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Friday, May 30, 1947.Late in the race, Lou Moore teammates Bill Holland and Mauri Rose were running 1st-2nd. The pit crew displayed a confusing chalkboard sign with the letters "EZY" to Holland, presumably meaning for him to take the... 27 3 120.040 20 1 200 34 Running 1948 1948 Indianapolis 500 Results of the 1948 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Monday, May 31, 1948.... 3 3 129.129 4 1 200 81 Running 1949 1949 Indianapolis 500 Results of the 1949 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Monday, May 30, 1949.... 3 10 127.759 19 13 192 0 Magneto strap 1950 1950 Indianapolis 500 The 1950 Indianapolis 500 was an automobile race which was held on Tuesday, May 30, 1950 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event was the third round of the 1950 World Drivers' Championship... 31 3 132.319 6 3 137 15 Running 1951 1951 Indianapolis 500 The 1951 Indianapolis 500 an automobile race which was held on Wednesday, May 30, 1951 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event was the opening race of the 1951 AAA National Championship Trail and the second race of the 1951 World Championship of Drivers.... 16 5 133.422 18 14 126 0 Crash T4 Totals 2326 256

Starts 15 Poles 1 Front Row 5 Wins 3 Top 5 6 Top 10 7 Retired 8

World Championship career summary

The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Mauri Rose participated in 2 World Championship races. He finished on the podium once and scored 4 World Championship points.

Awards

• In 1994, he was posthumously 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 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 for American motorsports legends. It was originally located in Novi, Michigan and it moved to the Detroit Science Center in 2009.-Museum:...
  
   in 1996.
• In 2007 Rose, who was Jewish, was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
  International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
  The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame was opened July 7, 1981, in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around the world....
  
  .

External Links

• The Greatest 33 and at Indianapolis Motor Speedway