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Robert Charles "Bob" Sweikert (May 20, 1926 – June 17, 1956) was an American racing driver, best known as the winner of the 1955 Indianapolis 500 and the 1955 National Championship, as well as the 1955 Midwest Sprint car championship - the only driver in history to sweep all three during a single racing season.

Personal life

Robert Charles Schweikart grew up in pre-war Los Angeles. His surname was later changed to Sweikert to avoid anti-German sentiment before WWII. His mother had married his stepfather, an electrician for the state of California, when Bob was an infant. Bob was raised through his early teen years with his older stepbrother, Ed, who enlisted in the US Navy, and then soon died in 1942, at the onset of World War II. That year the family moved briefly to San Francisco, then across the bay to the rural town of Hayward, California. There in high school Bob met his future wife, Dorie.

From age 16 Sweikert worked after school as a mechanic at the local Ford dealership in Hayward. A naturally gifted mechanic, he frequently won street races throughout the East Bay. One of his frequent local competitors on the streets was Ed Elisian, a teenage boy from nearby Oakland, California. A dozen years later, Elisian and Sweikert were engaged in the racing duel that led to Sweikert's fatal crash at Salem Speedway.

In late 1944, Sweikert enrolled in the US Army Air Force, but suffered a severe knee injury while training at Lowry Field in Colorado. With months to heal and the war over, he was honorably discharged in September 1945.

In 1947, Sweikert met his first wife, Marion Edwards, at a party at UCLA. During 1947 Sweikert began mailing monthly accounts of his life to Veda Orr, through April 1956. Karl & Veda Orr built & operated their own race cars. Veda wrote many racing articles.

Sweikert returned to Hayward and opened his own small business, Sweikert Automotive, an automotive repair shop based out of his parents' garage. There over the next couple years, he built his own track roadster. On Memorial Day, May 26, 1947 Sweikert ran his first race for prize money at the Oakland Speedway, and finished second.

Sweikert then quit automotive repair and became a full-time driver. He gained his first racing sponsorship in July 1947, when he became a track roadster race driver for Hubbard Auto Parts of Oakland.

In early 1948, he married Marion Edwards. They had a large family wedding in West L.A. The same year, Sweikert moved up to midget cars, and won his first training race with the Bay Cities Racing Association. He ran seventy-two races that first BCRA season, finishing 14th out of 130 active members in the annual point standings.

In late 1952 his first wife, Marion, started divorce proceedings. Sweikert fought for custody of their young daughter. Sweikert's mother, Grace, often visited Bob's firstborn until Grace died.

In January 1953, Sweikert married his high school sweetheart, divorcee Dorie with her two children, with whom he had recently become reacquainted. They settled in Indiana, to be close to the Speedway where Sweikert hoped to race and win.

Driving career

On February 12, 1949 Sweikert won the first BCRA Indoor Midget Race Track championship, in Oakland, on the new 1/12 mile oval track.

Sweikert's first chance at driving a Sprint car came next in 1949. He drove in northern California that year and later in Los Angeles.

After 1949 Sweikert became close friends with Johnny Boyd of Fresno, California when he met him on the California racing circuit. The two often raced together, and Boyd qualified for entry in the 1955 Indianapolis 500 when Sweikert helped him overcome mechanical handling problems in Boyd's car.

In May 1952, Sweikert ran his first Indianapolis 500. He entered at the 32nd starting position and ran for 77 laps in the McNamara Special car.

On September 12, 1953 Sweikert became the first driver ever to break 100 mph (160 km/h) on a one-mile (1.6 km) oval track, at the Eastern Speed Dome, Syracuse, New York.

On September 26, 1953 Sweikert won the Hoosier Hundred, at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, a race which is chronicled by many as "the greatest race ever" run.

On September 11, 1954 Sweikert became the first driver ever to average 90 mph (140 km/h) in a 100-mile (160 km) race, with his win in the Lutes Truck Parts Special #17 car at the Eastern Speed Dome in Syracuse.

Sweikert's winning car from the 1955 Indianapolis 500

On May 30, 1955 Sweikert won the Indianapolis 500 from the 14th starting position in the Zink Kurtis roadster #6. That car now resides in the Museum at the Indianapolis racetrack. In the winner's circle, Sweikert and Dorie celebrated with singer-actress Dinah Shore.

In September 1955 Sweikert became the only driver in history to win the original American motor sports Triple Crown, by sweeping the Indianapolis 500, the AAA big car National Championship, and the Midwest sprint car championship.

In May 1956, at his final return to the Indianapolis 500, Sweikert began in the 10th starting position and came in for a 6th-place finish, with the team's D-A Lubricant roadster.

World Drivers' Championship career

The AAA/USAC-sanctioned Indianapolis 500 was included in the FIA World Drivers' Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indianapolis during those years were credited with World Drivers' Championship points and participation in addition to those which they received towards the AAA/USAC National Championship.

Sweikert participated in five World Drivers' Championship races at Indianapolis. He won once, and accumulated eight World Drivers' Championship points.

Death

Weeks later, Sweikert's fatal sprint car crash occurred on June 17, 1956, at Salem Speedway. While completing the third lap, Sweikert was running near the outside wall in 4th place, side by side with his past teenage East Bay streets rival, Ed Elisian, in 5th. Coming out of the 4th turn, the two cars started down the straightaway in front of the grandstand. Running close to the wall, Sweikert's right rear wheel clipped a steel beam sticking out onto the track from the wall at the end of the stands. The sprint car flew over the edge of the track, down the embankment, and landed a hundred feet below, where it briefly burst into flames. Sweikert was pronounced dead upon arrival at Washington County Hospital.

He is buried at Lone Tree Cemetery in Fairview, California.

Awards and honors

Sweikert has been inducted into the following halls of fame:

  • Hoosier Auto Racing Fan Club Hall of Fame (1956)
  • Motoring Press Association Hall of Fame (1993)
  • Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1994)
  • National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (1995)
  • Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2016)
  • West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame (2019)
  • Motorsports career results

    AAA Championship Car results

    Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Pos Points 1950 INDY
    DNQ MIL LAN SPR MIL PIK SYR DET SPR SAC PHX BAY DAR - 0 1951 INDY
    DNQ MIL LAN DAR SPR MIL DUQ DUQ PIK SYR DET DNC SJS PHX BAY - 0 1952 INDY
    26 MIL
    12 RAL
    DNQ SPR
    DNQ MIL
    21 DET
    DNQ DUQ
    12 PIK SYR DNC
    DNS SJS PHX 47th 20 1953 INDY
    20 MIL
    17 SPR DET SPR
    DNQ MIL
    13 DUQ
    17 PIK SYR
    8 ISF
    1 SAC
    2 PHX
    12 15th 420 1954 INDY
    14 MIL
    11 LAN
    4 DAR
    22 SPR
    4 MIL
    22 DUQ
    8 PIK SYR
    1 ISF
    2 SAC
    3 PHX
    3 LVG
    14 6th 950 1955 INDY
    1 MIL
    2 LAN
    2 SPR
    2 MIL
    3 DUQ
    4 PIK SYR
    1 ISF
    17 SAC
    3 PHX
    18 1st 2,290 1956 INDY
    6 MIL
    3 LAN DAR ATL SPR MIL DUQ SYR ISF SAC PHX 15th 540

    Indianapolis 500 results

    Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired
    1952 73 32 134.983 21 26 77 0 Differential
    1953 51 29 136.872 11 20 151 0 Radius rod
    1954 17 9 138.206 22 14 197 0 Flagged
    1955 6 14 139.996 11 1st 200 86 Running
    1956 1 10 143.033 12 6 200 0 Running
    Totals 825 86
    Starts 5
    Poles 0
    Front Row 0
    Wins 1
    Top 5 1
    Top 10 2
    Retired 2

    Original Wikipedia article last retrieved on 26 October 2023.