Mauri Rose

Mauri Rose
Born May 26, 1906
Died January 1, 1981 (aged 74)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality United States American
Active years 19501951
Teams Deidt
Races 2
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podiums 1
Career points 4
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
First race 1950 Indianapolis 500
Last race 1951 Indianapolis 500

Maurice "Mauri" Rose[1] (May 26, 1906 Columbus, Ohio – January 1, 1981 Royal Oak, Michigan) was an American racecar driver.

He started from the pole position driving a Maserati in the 1941 Indianapolis 500, but spark plug problems put him out of the race after sixty laps. He then took over the Wetteroth/Offenhauser car being driven by Floyd Davis that had started in 17th place. Rose went on to win. In 1947 and 1948, Rose captured back-to-back Indy 500's driving one of the Deidt/Offenhauser Blue Crown Spark Plug Specials, owned and prepared by veteran driver/car owner Lou Moore.

Late in the 1947 race, Rose found himself lying second to his rookie teammate, Bill Holland. But Holland, still unfamiliar with how to read the scoring pylon near the front straightaway, thought he had more than a lap lead on Rose, instead of just a few seconds. Rose closed on Holland and to his amazement, Holland gave way without a battle and even gave Rose a friendly wave as he went past on his way to victory. Holland was furious afterward.

In 1949, with Holland leading and Rose again running second late in the race, Rose set out to overtake his now-veteran teammate. Rose ignored car owner Lou Moore's "EZ" signs from the pits and continued to push in pursuit of Holland. Finally Rose's car broke, Holland cruised home to victory—and Moore fired Rose on the spot after the race for disobeying team orders.

Mauri Rose made his fifteenth and final Indianapolis 500 start in the 1951 race. Knocked out from an accident after 126 laps, the forty-five-year-old Rose retired to a home in California. For the 1967 race, officials of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway invited him to drive the Chevrolet Camaro Pace Car.

While his career in racing was filled with success, Rose considered his most important accomplishment to be his invention of a device that made it possible for amputees to drive an automobile.

Indy 500 results

Year[2] Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired
1933 3 42 117.649 6 35 48 0 Timing gears
1934 9 4 116.044 7 2 200 68 Running
1935 2 10 116.470 9 20 103 0 Studs
1936 36 30 113.890 21 4 200 0 Running
1937 1 8 118.540 19 18 127 0 Oil line
1938 27 9 119.796 20 13 165 0 Supercharger
1939 16 8 124.896 13 8 200 0 Running
1940 7 3 125.624 3 3 200 5 Running
1941 3 1 128.691 1 26 60 6 Spark plugs
16 17 121.106 25 1 128 39 Running
1946 8 9 124.065 10 23 40 8 Crash T3
1947 27 3 120.040 20 1 200 34 Running
1948 3 3 129.129 4 1 200 81 Running
1949 3 10 127.759 19 13 192 0 Magneto strap
1950 31 3 132.319 6 3 137 15 Running
1951 16 5 133.422 18 14 126 0 Crash T4
Totals 2326 256

Starts 15
Poles 1
Front Row 5
Wins 3
Top 5 7
Top 10 8
Retired 8

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. Mauri Rose participated in 2 World Championship races. He finished on the podium once and scored 4 World Championship points.

Awards

See also

References

  1. "Mauri Rose". ChampCarStats.com. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  2. Mauri Rose Indy 500 Race Stats
Preceded by
Wilbur Shaw
Indianapolis 500 Winner
1941
Succeeded by
George Robson
Preceded by
George Robson
Indianapolis 500 Winner
19471948
Succeeded by
Bill Holland

External links