James Ernest "Jimmy" Bryan (January 28, 1926 – June 19, 1960) was an American

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

. Well-known for his habit of racing with an unlit cigar, Bryan was a three-time National Champion, and won the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

. In Europe he is well-known for winning the 1957

Race of Two Worlds The Race of Two Worlds (Trofeo dei Due Mondi in Italian), also known as the ''500 Miglia di Monza'' (500 Miles of Monza), was an automobile race held at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy in 1957 and again in 1958. It was intended as ...

Early life

Bryan was born on January 28, 1926, in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, to Reginald Louis, a baker, and Pauline (née Wainwright).

Driving career

Championship car career

Bryan drove in the

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * AAA (video game industry) - a category of high budget video games *'' TripleA'', an open source wargame Mu ...

and USAC

Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, generally and commonly known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2025, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar a ...

series, racing in the 1952–1960 seasons with 72 starts, including each year's

race. He finished in the top ten 54 times, with 23 victories. Bryan Dean Van Lines Monza

Bryan won the

1958 Indianapolis 500 The 42nd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1958. The event was part of the 1958 USAC National Championship Trail, and was also race 4 of 11 in the 1958 World Championship of Driv ...

and the 1954 AAA and 1956 and 1957 USAC

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. During his 1957 championship season, Bryan also won the inaugural running of the

Autodromo Nazionale Monza The Monza Circuit ( Italian: ; ) is a race track near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. Built in 1922, it was the world's third purpose-built motor racing circuit after Brooklands and Indianapolis and the oldest in mainland Europe ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

World Drivers' Championship career

The

/ USAC-sanctioned Indianapolis 500 was included in the FIA

World Drivers' Championship Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which a ...

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

/ USAC

. Bryan participated in nine World Drivers' Championship races at Indianapolis. He won once, finished in the top three three times, and accumulated 18 World Drivers' Championship points.

Death and legacy

Bryan died after a crash in a Championship car race at

Langhorne Speedway Langhorne Speedway was an automobile racetrack in Middletown Township, Bucks County, near the borough of Langhorne, Pennsylvania, a northern suburb of Philadelphia. According to the book ''Langhorne! No Man's Land'' by L. Spencer Riggs: "With ...

in 1960, on the same day that two drivers were killed in the

Belgian Grand Prix The Belgian Grand Prix (; ; ) is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship. The first national race of Belgium was held in 1925 at the Spa region's race course, an area of the country that had been associated ...

, making the day one of the most tragic in racing history. For many years one of the two Championship races at the

Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix Raceway (formerly known as ISM Raceway from 2018–2020, Phoenix International Raceway from 1964–1973 and 1976–2017, and FasTrack International Speedway from 1973–1976) is a dogleg oval track in Avondale, Arizona. The track has ...

was traditionally called the

Jimmy Bryan Memorial The Jimmy Bryan Memorial was an IndyCar Series race held at the Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, United States. USAC moved the fall race and added a spring race to the newly built Phoenix International Raceway in 1964. The race became a Cham ...

. He was also memorialized in a song by Harry Weger titled "The Ballad of Jimmy Bryan". Bryan is buried in Phoenix's

Greenwood/Memory Lawn Mortuary & Cemetery Greenwood Memory Lawn Mortuary & Cemetery is the name of a cemetery located at 2300 West Van Buren Street in Phoenix, Arizona owned by Dignity Memorial. The cemetery, which resulted as a merger of two historical cemeteries, Greenwood Memorial Park ...

Awards and honors

Bryan has been inducted into the following halls of fame: * Arizona Sports Hall of Fame (1964) *

Auto Racing Hall of Fame The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is an automotive museum on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, which houses the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame. It is intrinsically linked to the Ind ...

(1973) *

National Sprint Car Hall of Fame The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum is a hall of fame and museum for sprint car drivers, owners, mechanics, builders, manufacturers, promoters, sanctioning officials and media members. The museum is located in Knoxville, Iowa, the h ...

(1994) *

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is a hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles ...

(1999) *

International Motorsports Hall of Fame The International Motorsports Hall of Fame (IMHOF) is a List of halls and walks of fame, hall of fame located adjacent to the Talladega Superspeedway (formerly Alabama International Motor Speedway) located in Talladega County, Alabama, Talladeg ...

(2001) *

National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame The National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame is an American Hall of Fame and museum for midget cars. The Hall of Fame is located at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and can be accessed during weekly Sunday races during the summe ...

Motorsports career results

AAA/USAC Championship Car results

Indianapolis 500 results

FIA World Drivers' Championship results

( key)

References

External links

Jimmy Bryan - ChampCarStats.com
*

Jimmy Bryan - Motorsport Memorial
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, Jimmy 1926 births 1960 deaths AAA Championship Car drivers 20th-century American sportsmen Champ Car champions Champ Car drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 winners International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in Pennsylvania Racing drivers from Phoenix, Arizona Formula One race winners USAC Stock Car drivers