Henry Banks
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Henry Banks (June 14, 1913 - December 18, 1994) was an American midget car and "big car" driver.
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[edit] Background
Henry Banks was born in England, but brought up in Royal Oak, Michigan. [1] He was the son of an early European race-driver. Henry began competing in 1932, when he was 19-years-old, and became successful in the midget cars.
[edit] Racing career
He was the first driver to pass the qualifying "rookie test" at the Indianapolis 500 in 1936. [1] He also drove as a relief driver in 1937, 1939, and 1940, with a 21st place finish in 1938.
He won the 1941 American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) championship in New England.
After a break during the war, when he worked at Ford’s aero-engine division, Banks’ career took off. In 1947 he won 30 midget car races. In 1950, he was the AAA National Champion and, in the same year, came second in the National Midget points.
[edit] Actor
Also at this time, Banks appeared in two films. The first was To Please A Lady, starring Clark Gable. The second was Roar of the Crowd, starring Howard Duff.
[edit] Race Executive
He later retired from racing and became USAC Director of Competitions. He died at Indianapolis in 1994.
[edit] Indy 500 results
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[edit] 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. Henry Banks participated in 3 World Championship races. He started on the pole 0 times, won 0 races, set 0 fastest laps, and finished on the podium 0 times. He accumulated a total of 0 championship points.
[edit] Award
He was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.
[edit] Reference
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