Hartwell Wilburn "Stubby" Stubblefield (possibly born Wilburn Hartwell Stubblefield, December 28, 1907 – May 21, 1935) 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 ...

. He was killed practicing for the

1935 Indianapolis 500 The 23rd International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1935. Despite attempts to improve participant safety by requiring crash helmets and installing green and yellow lights around the t ...

Birth detail confusion

Some sources give his birthdate as December 28, 1909, but most sources say 1907 with no month or day specified. Furthermore, a newspaper article states that he was 27 years old at the time of his death, which implies a birthdate between May 22, 1907 and May 21, 1908. At the time of his death, his home was in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Some sources say that he was born in

, but most say that he was born in

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. The 1910

United States Census The United States census (plural censuses or census) is a census that is legally mandated by the Constitution of the United States. It takes place every ten years. The first census after the American Revolution was taken in 1790 United States ce ...

lists him as being the age of two when his family was recorded on April 25, 1910, and living in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

Death

Stubblefield was the first driver ever killed during a qualification attempt at the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...

when he and Leo Whitaker (his riding mechanic) struck a wall on a time trial run; both were killed. At the time of the crash, their speed was about 116 miles per hour. He is buried at Angeles Abbey Memorial Park,

Compton, California Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth ci ...

Awards and honors

* He was inducted in the

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 ...

in 1997.

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stubblefield, Stubby Indianapolis 500 drivers National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in Indiana 1907 births 1935 deaths Racing drivers from Los Angeles AAA Championship Car drivers 20th-century American sportsmen Racing drivers from Oklahoma City