Mike Mosley (December 13, 1946 - March 3, 1984), was an American racecar driver.
Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Mosley died in an off-road vehicle accident near Riverside, California. His young son, Michael, was also riding in the van Mosley was driving, but was uninjured. He was a driver in the USAC and CART Championship Car series. He raced in 17 consecutive seasons from 1967 through 1983, with 166 combined career starts, including every Indianapolis 500 in that span except 1967 and 1982. He finished in the top ten 80 times and had 5 victories, including 3 at Milwaukee. He was known for a "charger" driving style, and known for his smooth driving technique. He was particularly effective at the flat Milwaukee paved mile oval, where he used an unusual driving line. On his first visit to Indianapolis in 1967, he lied about his age (20 at the time) to gain entry. In 1968 he returned and qualified for the race. Many of his peers felt Mosley never had the opportunity to showcase his talent due to second-rate equipment. Longtime motorsports writer Robin Miller quoted Gary Bettenhausen, a close friend and contemporary of Mosley, as saying: "If Mike had been driving a McLaren (Indianapolis car) in the early 1970s, we would all have been racing for second place."
In 1981 at the Milwaukee Mile, added as a promoter's option, he came from the back of the field to win the race. It was the last win for a normally aspirated engine in the CART/Champ Car era and also the last win in open wheel racing for a Gurney Eagle.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||