Ralph Hepburn
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Ralph Hepburn (April 11, 1896 - May 16, 1948) was a pioneer of American motorcycle racing champion and an Indianapolis 500 racecar driver.
Born in Somerville, Massachusetts, Hepburn's family moved to Los Angeles, California when he was ten years old. He began riding motorcycles as a teen and his skills led to him signing on with a cycle performing group in 1914 that toured the West Coast and parts of the American Midwest. He then began competing in race events on the board racetracks that were popular at the time and then on the dirt tracks. His racing career was interrupted during 1917 and 1918 due to World War I.
In June 1919, Ralph Hepburn came to national prominence when he won the 200-mile National Championship at Ascot Speedway in Los Angeles driving for the Harley-Davidson factory. He began winning consistently thereafter and in 1921 won the "Dodge City 300 National Championship" while breaking all existing 300-mile records. In 1922 he dominated professional track racing for the Indian Motorcycle company. That year, he rode to his second victory in the 300-mile National Championship motorcycle race, this time at the Meridian Speedway in Wichita, Kansas.
At the end of the 1924 American racing season, and after competing in special events in Australia, Ralph Hepburn retired from professional motorcycle racing to take up auto racing.
In 1925, he competed in a car built by Harry Arminius Miller in the first of fifteen appearances at the Indianapolis 500. In 1929 he qualified third but gear problems resulted in him having to drop out after only fourteen laps. He finished third in 1931 and although he led the famous race three times in three different decades and had four "Top 5" finishes, his best result came in 1937 with a second place finish 2.16 seconds behind Wilbur Shaw, the closest ever at the time.
For a time, Hepburn served as president of the American Society of Professional Automobile Racers. In 1946, at the age of fifty, Hepburn drove a "Novi Governor SPL," setting a one-lap record of 134.449 mph in qualifying and led forty-four laps in the race before the car stalled out on the 121st lap.
Ralph Hepburn died during qualifying practice for the 1948 Indianapolis 500. Survived by his wife Jo Ann Hepburn and one daughter, he was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
In 1998, Ralph Hepburn was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
[edit] Indy 500 results
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