1912 Indianapolis 500, Joe Dawson winning

Joseph Crook Dawson (July 17, 1889 - June 17, 1946) was an American

race car Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

driver.

Biography

He was born in

Odon, Indiana Odon is a town in Madison Township, Daviess County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,354 at the 2010 census. History Odon was originally called Clarksburg, and under the latter name was laid out in 1846. In 1880 the name was changed ...

on July 17, 1889. Dawson competed in the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

race three times, beginning in 1911 when he drove a Marmon to a fifth-place finish. The following year, Dawson won after

Ralph DePalma Raffaele "Ralph" De Palma (December 19, 1882 – March 31, 1956) was an Italian-American racecar driving champion who won the 1915 Indianapolis 500. His entry at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame estimates that he won about 2, ...

, who had led for 196 laps of the 200 lap race, dropped out with a mechanical failure. At age 22 years and 323 days, Dawson was the youngest winner of the "500" until

Troy Ruttman Troy Ruttman (born March 11, 1930 – May 19, 1997) was an American race car driver. He was the older brother of Jimmy Ruttman, and NASCAR driver Joe Ruttman. Ruttman won the Indianapolis 500 in 1952, at the age of 22 years and 80 days. , he is ...

won the

1952 Indianapolis 500 The 36th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was a motor race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1952. It was the opening race of the 1952 AAA National Championship Trail and was also race 2 of 8 in the 1952 World Championsh ...

at age 22 years and 86 days. In his final Indy 500 race in 1914, Dawson retired after an accident on the 45th lap when avoiding

Ray Gilhooley Ray Gilhooley (15 July 1887, in New York City, New York – 18 September 1973, in New Milford, Connecticut ) was an American racecar driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involvi ...

. He died on June 17, 1946 at age 56.According to two separate handwritten documents one by Joe's father, Chase Dawson, and the other by his older brother, Charles F. Dawson, Joseph Crooke Dawson was born in Odon on July 17, 1889. Family letters also place his death on June 17, 1946.

Indy 500 results

References

External links

Profile on Historic Racing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson 1889 births 1946 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 winners People from Daviess County, Indiana Racing drivers from Indiana Racing drivers from Pennsylvania