George Snider had. He waved his checkered cap from the riding mechanic's seat of his winning Delage. the blue McLaren-Offy of rookie David "Salt" Walther drifted to the right, Drag images here or select from your computer for Art Lee Pollard Jr. memorial. If there is anything good that came about from the 1973 Indianapolis, it was a new announcer, 'We're supposed to have 33 of the best drivers in the world and they can't even People in the pits recall the searing intensity of the heat. His racing was not professional in the Northwest and the Western states. Oops, something didn't work. "I was down by the pit wall, steering left, and . He had just turned 46-years-old one week earlier. He was found unconscious, and was rushed to Methodist Hospital in the new Cardiac ambulance. In time trials, with a car with the new air wing design, and running in high winds, the car went out of control and flipped several times at speeds over 190 miles an hour. Unfortunately, Indianapolis Motor Speedway was where Pollard lost his life in an accident on May 12, 1973, during a practice run for the Indy 500. He was a true sportsman, a very strong competitor, and wouldnt hurt a fly. respectfully declines requests to talk about the race. Pollard died in Indianapolis, Indiana, as a result of injuries sustained in a crash during practice on the first day of time trials for the 1973 Indianapolis 500. Using hardened brushes, sticks, and turkey basters, and household enamel paints, Pollock squirted, splashed, and dripped his paint onto canvas rolled out over his studio floor. Survivors were his widow, Patricia; a son Michael; a daughter, Judy Dipple of Speedway; and his mother, Mrs. Artie Pollard of McMinnville. And that soon became a tradition, and he was the first one to do that. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. Back then, the Wide World of Sports televised the qualifier, but they did radio updates every 30 minutes, Mike said. He really put his foot into it and topped teammate Hills speed with an incredible 171.559 mph average. You will then receive an email that helps you regain access. His family lived there for 11 months after his birth, and Pollock never returned to the town. preparations four times. He died in Indianapolis, Indiana in a practice run during the first day of time trials for the 1973 Indianapolis 500. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. (Jackson dropped his first name, Paul, about the time he went to New York in 1930.) "He was like a family member. So The message was stressed in the costliest of terms Bobby Unser, in Dan Gurneys Eagle chassis with turbo-Offy power, set the second fastest average speed of 169.507 mph. "He was kind of cheering me on and was happy I was in a car, because we were This account has been disabled. Art was born November 13, 1957, in Denver, CO, to Arthur L. and Philomena "Minnie" (Schenfeld) Pollard. This is a carousel with slides. "When I first got out, I remember I put on my nice-looking crepe slacks and my good-looking shirts. Updates? Granatelli had always watched the race from the pits but that year for the first time was in a penthouse suite overlooking pit lane from across the track. google_color_link = "0033FF"; (Pollard Family Collection), Innovative Turbines of 1968: Art drove #20, Art commented on what it was like to drive the turbine car for the first time. A fire truck traveling at an estimate 60 mph in the wrong direction hit Teran, who suffered crushed ribs and a fractured skull. Were it not for the lessons taught by tragedy, the race would be better forgotten. Jackson Pollock was born in Cody, Wyoming, on January 28, 1912. Born in Dragon, Utah, Pollard died in Indianapolis, Indiana, as a result of injuries sustained in practice for the 1973 Indianapolis 500. Art shook down a pushrod Plymouth V8 in one of last year's wedge-shaped Loutus cars that wears new aero features. Ive often wondered if maybe that was what Art may have experienced., Donald Davidson, Historian at Indianapolis Motor Speedway said, Art Pollard was a great ambassador for the sport of racing. The yellow came out when light rain began falling on Lap 129. I think he was probably the first driver that we had who helped local people. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. The race started four hours late under threatening skies. His death hit my family very hard, and to this day we miss him. Wally Dallenbach, who started behind Walther in the middle of the seventh row, was keeping it warm.' You slow down the film and there's no other conclusion you can come to. Wordfence is a security plugin installed on over 4 million WordPress sites. Learn more about merges. Pollard, a 1945 graduate of Roseburg High School, began his racing career in Roseburg. And I saw myself and , honest to God, didn't believe it was me. Magazine and eBay Motors. By Lap 42, Savage, the 26-year-old charger from California, had taken the lead, a At last glance, Granatelli had seen Teran standing alongside McRea's crew chief, Granatelli's son Vince. And so that helped. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Again on Wednesday, after another rain delay, the teams tried again. The racing thing interested me also.. This isn't going to do any good either. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. I couldn't believe it was that bad. I was a helluva mess at the time but still conscious. He drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1965-1973 seasons, with 82 career starts, including the 1967-1971 Indianapolis 500 races. Try again later. As Judy relates, There is no good way to get the horrible news that your dad has had an accident and died. Swede Savage Fan site - articles and pictures, | When a race driver is killed on the track the first thing everybody says is,"That's too bad, he was a hell of a guy." In the obituary the next day, his past performances are listed and any other worthy achievements are mentioned. We just took to each other, Green said. "People don't realize how the driver gets himself geared up for battle," said Bobby Unser, who would lead 39 laps before retiring with a blown engine. Methanol, at 70 degrees, weighs about 6.6 pounds a gallon. because the 200 mph barrier was within the sights of drivers and on the minds of trackside Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. The impact tore off two wheels immediately, and the wings were also torn off during the slide. Art Pollard: The Gentleman Racer Paperback - September 13, 2019 by Bob Kehoe (Author) 9 ratings See all formats and editions Paperback $25.00 1 New from $25.00 First published in 2016, this is an expanded version of Art Pollard's biography that includes more content and photos. It was pole day for the Indianapolis 500, a sunny Saturday bright with the promise of speed. Indianapolis -- Twenty-five years later, some of the memories return like yesterday, many have faded like dusty photographs and still others evoke unimaginable pain. "It was part of the gig.". garbage, and half the 350,000 fans went home. [1][2][3] He was pronounced dead approximately one hour and three minutes after the accident. Being a big race fan, I was fortunately allowed to go. First published in 2016, this is an expanded version of Art Pollards biography that includes more content and photos. Plump organized charity basketball games that Pollard helped promote with other drivers, in addition to his own charity work at an Indianapolis hospital. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? Pollard raced a wide variety of both cars and other machinery; this included hydroplanes, micro midgets and super modified stock cars. Swede Savage - driver (died later), Racing families never think it will be their loved-one. He died after driving drunk and crashing into a tree in New York in 1956, at age 44. Photo courtesy of Mike Pollard. . Fast forward 36 years. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. A system error has occurred. I was in the Michigan Burn Center for two and a half months. I think I cried for about two minutes. Jackson Pollock died in a car crash in the summer of 1956 at age 44. Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, USA. Unser led early, then Savage went to the front. Art won $941.00 for his 14th place finish and Bobby Unser won the race. If you wait too long, you bog down.. They carried a full fuel load of 75 gallons. Additionally, he has written for other publications including Speedvision Online, DRIVE! He is also one of the first American painters to be recognized during his lifetime and after as a peer of 20th-century European masters of modern art. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. The first part of May, 1968, Granatelli signed Art Pollard to replace Jackie Stewart. He was killed during practice on Pole Day for the 1973 Indianapolis 500 when his car hit the wall and caught fire. "He came off the wall and almost landed on the front of my car," said Lee Kunzman, whose first Indy start carried him only a few hundred yards. As I was driving along I had the radio on, and thats when I heard about Arts crash. google_page_url = document.location; Car trouble ends his day early on lap 28. Parking Johncock, who led 64 laps, was declared the winner while sitting in the pits. It came out in the papers that i said that maybe I didn't get bumped. Although the tragic '73 race left the whole sport in a sour mood, nobody recalls having doubts about going back in '74. ARTHUR POLLARD OBITUARY *ARTHUR POLLARD* Former University of Arizona football star and horse racing legend, Arthur Pollard, died on September 8th, 2008 at age 86. Upon his death, Pollard's family established the Art Pollard Fund with a $25,000 bequest. google_page_url = document.location; observers. Mike couldnt believe what he was hearing. Once I got the news I called the hospital, but by then he had passed away. On the track, he won 83 championship events and became one of Southern Oregons biggest stars in Indianapolis. Paul Jackson Pollock was the fifth and youngest son of Stella May McClure and LeRoy Pollock, who were both of Scotch-Irish extraction (LeRoys original surname was McCoy before his adoption about 1890 by a family named Pollock) and born and raised in Iowa. Ken Glass, a long-time Roseburg resident, sponsored Arts car until Indianapolis came calling and the rates simply got too expensive. Pole Day - Saturday May 12 - Death of Art Pollard. "We flipped it over and I didn't want to see him because I knew I had to race. Driver Salt Walther suffered disfiguring burns in a fiery first-lap crash that injured 13 spectators. The back end jumped out and I caught it. Coming out of Turn 4 on the next lap, the rear of his 1,500-pound Eagle, heavy with 500 pounds of methanol, twitched. As they were being Pollard, away from racing, worked as a car dealer and mechanic and worked with mental health charities. He was unconscious until his death an hour later at Methodist Hospital of flame inhalation. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. From a small hydroplane on Oregon's Umpqua River to micro-midgets and modified stock cars on a half-mile oval in Roseburg, Oregon. Please ensure you have given Find a Grave permission to access your location in your browser settings. Pollard dominated racing on the super modified circuit on the West Coast in the late '50s and early '60s. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. He had suffered internal lung lesion due to flame inhalation, a broken leg, a fractured right arm, third-degree burns and a severe spinal injury. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. For my hands I got a box of sand. A race in his name has been held in the Rogue Valley and in Roseburg, where he lived for several years prior to moving to Medford. I discovered an interesting fact the other day while following some of your links. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. Richards writes for The Indianapolis Star, a Gannett property. Then I thought: Well, shit. Johnny Rutherford remembers May 12, 1973, the day of Arts fatal accident: I was the first one by the scene of the accident where he crashed, I could tell it was not good. Retaining walls were raised, catch fences improved and some "trackside seating" was removed. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. Note: Prior to 1965 Artwon 83 championship events in the Western Statesand Canada and became one ofSouthern Oregons biggest stars. Walther, 25, suffered a crushed kneecap and severe burns over most of his body. Judy is an author, speaker and publishing consultant. Art Pollard was crowned Champion (shown above) and awarded a 9 2 trophy after compiling 1,150 out of a possible 1,200 points over the two days. The. rescue Walther. He was a people magnet, and I feel privileged that he was my dad, for that reason. Recent studies by art historians and scientists . He pulled into his pit and climbed out of his car. Support Small Business by ordering the book from Coastal181: Or order from Amazon.com Print or Kindle: Art Pollards story deserves to be told, from his humble beginnings in Dragon, Utah to his untimely death on Pole Day at Indianapolis in 1973. "Back then, about the only way to get a better ride, move up the ladder, was when somebody got hurt or killed," Kunzman said. while injuring a dozen spectators. canceled and he and many others on the team went instead to Methodist Hospital to check on Afterward, Patrick and Johncock held the most muted of victory banquets. limits were instituted and the rear wings were clipped from 64 inches in width to 55. google_ad_width = 728; In 1968, he teamed up to drive one of Andy Granatelli's famous STP Lotus Turbines. They said it was my fault. Corrections? 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