Chet Gardner

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chet Gardner, Born "Chester Leroy Gardner" (16 March 1898 Grant, Missouri – 3 September 1938 Flemington, New Jersey) was an American racecar driver, named by promoters as "The Grand Old Man of Auto Racing".^[1]

He was killed in an accident during a time trial when he swerved to avoid a child that had run onto the racetrack. He was survived by his wife, Fannie M. Gardner, and three brothers, Dean Orville Gardner, Ray Alva Gardner and Paul Theodore Gardner.^[1]

[edit] Career

Chet started racing in 1922 in Colorado. In 1933 he won the Midwest AAA Sprint Car Championship. He was named "Southern Dirt Racing King" twice. ^[1]

Between 1928 and 1938, Chet made 25 starts in the AAA series, where his best result was 3rd.^[2] From 1930 to 1938 he competed in the Indianapolis 500 (see below for stats).

[edit] Indianapolis 500 Career Summary

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1930 18 5 105.811 7 38 1 0 Spun T1 1933 21 15 112.319 22 4 200 0 Running 1934 4 5 114.786 9 21 72 0 Rod 1935 18 9 114.556 17 7 200 0 Running 1936 6 18 116.000 12 29 38 0 Clutch 1937 31 9 117.342 28 11 199 0 Flagged 1938 38 18 120.435 17 5 200 0 Running Totals 910 0

Starts 7 Poles 0 Front Row 0 Wins 0 Top 5 2 Top 10 3 Retired 3

Ref.: ^[3]

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Kelly, E. R. (02 September 2006). Chet Gardner (HTML). Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
2. ^ Chet Gardner (HTML). ChampCarStats.Com. Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
3. ^ Career Stats for Chet Gardner (HTML). Indianapolis 500 Stats. IMS LLC. Retrieved on 2007-08-10.