Duke Nalon

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Dennis "Duke" Nalon (born March 2, 1913 - died February 26, 2001) was a midget car, sprint car, and Indy 500 driver from Chicago, Illinois, United States.

Contents 1 Racing career 1.1 Midget cars 1.2 Sprint cars 1.3 Indy cars 2 Indy 500 results 3 World Championship career summary 4 Awards 5 References

[edit] Racing career

Nalon began as a pit crew member for Wally Zale. Nalon occasionally warmed up the car. When Walter Galven needed a driver, Zale convinced Galven to allow Nalon to race. Nalon won the feature event. ^[1]

Nalon was nicknamed "The Iron Duke." Nalon was part of the "Chicago Gang" with Tony Bettenhausen. They toured tracks in the Midwest and East Coast of the United States. ^[1]

[edit] Midget cars

Nalon won races on the United State's East Coast in the 1930s. Nalon competed in midget cars throughout his career. He ran his final career race at the only 100 mile midget race ever run at Terre Haute. He raced Johnny Pawl’s famous midget to victory. He ended his career the way he started it: with a win. ^[1]

[edit] Sprint cars

He won the 1938 East Coast AAA Sprint car championship. ^[1]

[edit] Indy cars

Nalon started ten Indianapolis 500-mile races, finishing only 3. He started from the pole twice, and was twice the fastest qualifier.

[edit] Indy 500 results

Year[2] Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1938 43 33 113.828 33 11 178 0 Flagged 1940 21 25 121.790 24 22 120 0 Rod 1941 17 30 122.951 17 15 173 0 Flagged 1946 54 32 119.682 29 22 45 0 Universal joint 1947 46 18 128.082 2 16 119 0 Piston 1948 54 11 131.603 1 3 200 9 Running 1949 54 1 132.939 1 29 23 23 Crash T3 1951 18 1 136.498 2 10 151 0 Stalled BS 1952 36 4 136.188 8 25 84 0 Supercharger 1953 9 26 135.461 30 11 191 0 Spun T3 Totals 1284 32

Starts 10 Poles 2 Front Row 2 Wins 0 Top 5 1 Top 10 2 Retired 7

[edit] World Championship career summary

The Indianapolis 500 was idered 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. Duke Nalon participated in 3 World Championship races. He started on the pole once but scored no World Championship points.

[edit] Awards

• He was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1987.
• He was named to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1991.

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Biography at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame
2. ^ Duke Nalon Indy 500 Race Stats [1]