Howdy Wilcox

Howard Samuel Wilcox
Howard Samuel Wilcox
	Wilcox circa 1919
Born	June 24, 1889; Crawfordsville, Indiana, United States
Died	September 4, 1923 (aged 34); Tyrone, Pennsylvania, United States
Cause of death	Car crash
Nationality	American
Other names	Howdy Wilcox I

Howard Samuel Wilcox (June 24, 1889 – September 4, 1923) was an American racecar driver active in the formative years of auto racing.

Wilcox at the wheel of his Stutz before the 1915 American Grand Prize in San Francisco

Biography

He was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana on June 24, 1889.

Wilcox won the 1919 Indianapolis 500, leading the last 98 laps of the race after starting in the 2nd position. In 1911 Howdy set the world beach racing speed record of 89.23 mph. He died on September 4, 1923 at Altoona Speedway board track in Tyrone, Pennsylvania in a car crash. He was buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.[1] Wilcox's wife had died the year before. Wilcox's son, Howard Jr., founded the Little 500 bicycle race, which has been held at Indiana University annually since 1951.[2]

Year	Car	Start	Qual	Rank	Finish	Laps	Led	Retired
1911	21	19	—	9	14	194	0	Flagged
1912	9	8	87.200	3	9	200	0	Running
1913	12	20	81.460	15	6	200	0	Running
1914	4	3	90.760	10	22	67	1	Valve
1915	1	1	98.900	1	7	200	5	Running
1916	29	6	93.810	6	7	120	0	Running
1919	3	2	100.010	7	1	200	98	Running
1920	18	20	88.820	12	19	65	0	Engine trouble
1921	10	12	96.000	7	23	22	0	Rod
1922	16	26	86.100	24	27	7	0	Valve spring
1923	25	8	81.000	24	17	60	51	Clutch
Totals						1335	155

"Indianapolis Auto greats" (PDF). Celebrating Automotive Heritage at Crown Hill Cemetery. Crown Hill Cemetery. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-13. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
Obituary of Howard Wilcox Jr., Flanner and Buchanan Funeral Centers.

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