Art Cross (January 24, 1918 – April 15, 2005) was an American

racecar 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 the first recipient of the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award in 1952.

Racing career

Cross began racing

midget cars Midget cars, also Speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small, with a very high power-to-weight ratio, and typically use four-cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on most ...

in 1938. He served as a tank commander during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and received a

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

for his wounds during the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

.Biography
at the

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 ...

He returned to midget cars after the war, and raced in one of Pappy Hough's "Little Iron Pigs." Cross won the first Indy 500 Rookie of the Year award after a fifth-place finish in 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 Championship Car season, 1952 AAA National Championship Trail and was also rac ...

. Cross used his share of $27,000 from the race to purchase a farm near LaPorte, Indiana. He finished second in the

1953 Indianapolis 500 The 37th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 30, 1953. The event was part of the 1953 AAA National Championship, and was race 2 of 9 in the 1953 World Championship of Drivers. Bill V ...

behind

Bill Vukovich William Vukovich (born Vaso Vukovich, December 13, 1918 – May 30, 1955) was an American racing driver. He won the 1953 and 1954 Indianapolis 500s, plus two more American Automobile Association National Championship races, and died while leadin ...

. Despite it being one of the hottest Indy 500s on record, Vukovich and Cross completed the entire race without relief. Driver Carl Scarborough died from the heat. Cross' car was the "Springfield Welding Special", which was owned by Bessie Lee Paoli, who was the only female owner at the time. After retiring from racing, he turned his attention to running the farm in LaPorte, Indiana. He later became involved in a heavy equipment business and in construction. He was inducted in the

in 1992.

Indianapolis 500 results

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

References

External links

Obituary
1918 births 2005 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year People from La Porte, Indiana Sportspeople from LaPorte County, Indiana Sportspeople from Jersey City, New Jersey Racing drivers from New Jersey United States Army personnel of World War II {{US-autoracing-bio-stub Racing drivers from Indiana