Hanks
captured the 1957 Indianapolis 500 in his 12th appearance in
the famed race and from Victory Lane announced his retirement
from racing. The popular California competitor later drove the
pace car at Indianapolis from 1958 through 1963.
The 1953 National Driving Champion won his first Midget
Championship in
1937 on the west coast with the
AMA circuit. He became a “barnstormer,” racing on board tracks
at Soldier Field in Chicago and the Los Angeles Coliseum.
According to auto racing historian, Jack Fox,
Hanks won the first two board track features at Soldier Field
in 1939.
Hanks won the 1940 VFW Motor City Speedway and the 1946
URA Blue Circuit Championships before capturing the 1949 AAA
National Midget title.
Sam won the “Night Before the 500” midget race in 1947
and campaigned the cars through the bleak period of the early
1950s when top name drivers help compensate for short fields.
Sam Hanks died on June 27, 1994 at the age of 79.
