Willard Nelson Endicott (November 5, 1875 – June 7, 1944) 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 raced in three

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races in the 1910s. Endicott raced on several IMCA circuits in the United States and Canada in the 1910s and 1920s.

Biography

Endicott was born on November 5, 1876, in Montgomery,

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. He was the older brother of Harry Endicott. He died on June 7, 1944, in

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, Indiana.

Racing career

Endicott was working as a farmer until his racing career began in 1902. He started 14 events in late 1909 to early 1910; he won ten of them and finished second in the other four. He won nine more races by the end of 1910. Endicott set a 24 hour endurance record at Brighton Beach Dirt Track by completing in 18 hours. He also set record times for 5, 10, 25, 75, and 100 miles at

Beverly Hills Speedway The Beverly Hills Speedway (also called the Los Angeles Speedway) was a Board track racing, wooden board track for Motorsport, automobile racing in Beverly Hills, California. It was built in 1919 on of land that includes the site of today's Bev ...

. Endicott raced throughout the United States at dirt tracks with wins at Atlanta (GA), Louisville (KY), and Long Island (NY). In 1912, he finished fifth in the

. Endicott also had dirt wins at Old Orchard (ME), Fond du Lac (WI),

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, and Peoria (IL). He retired from racing after his brother

Harry Harry may refer to: Television * ''Harry'' (American TV series), 1987 comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (New Zealand TV series), 2013 crime drama starring Oscar K ...

died in September 1913. Endicott missed the adventure of racing and returned in 1915. He did a

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for

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where he drove a Buick car at 1 mile per hour for the entire length of Capital Avenue to demonstrate that the automobile would ride smoothly at any speed. He won an early season

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Contest Board race at

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. Endicott raced the rest of the season on the

International Motor Contest Association The International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) was organized in 1915 by J. Alex Sloan, and is the oldest active auto racing sanctioning body in the United States. IMCA is headquartered in Vinton, Iowa, and features several classes and ...

(IMCA) circuit. He took wins at Detroit (MI), two at Lincoln (NE), and Hutchinson (KS). In 1916, he won races at Zanesville (OH), Hutchinson, Ottawa (KS), Shreveport (LA), Detroit, Lincoln, and Helena (MT). In 1917, Endicott won races at El Dorado (KS), two at Salina (KS), Beatrice (NE), Hiawatha (KS), Ottawa (KS), Wichita (KS), and two at Fargo (ND). He had some wins in Canada in 1918: Calgary (AB), River Park (MB) as well as United States wins at Lincoln, Topeka, and Hutchinson. In 1919, he took Canadian wins at Edmonton (AB) and Weyburn (SK) and United States wins at Muskogee (OK), and Dallas (TX). Endicott started the

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in the IMCA Eastern circuit with wins at Fitchburg (MA) and Medford (MA) in 1920. In 1921, he won at Fitchburg, Lewiston (ME), and North Adams (MA). His last full season happened in 1922 and he won at Huron (SD) and two times at Sioux City (IA).

Life after racing

Endicott returned to farming after his racing career ended. He also worked as a

traffic cop Traffic police (also known as traffic officers, traffic enforcement units, traffic cops, traffic monitors, or traffic enforcers) are units and agencies who enforce traffic laws and manage traffic. Traffic police help to assist in patrolling ...

. For a short time, Endicott ran an automobile dealership selling

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and

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cars.

Awards

Endicott was inducted into the

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on June 1, 2019, in Knoxville, Iowa. His award was accepted by his grandson, David Owens, of Marion, Indiana and his great grandson, John Owens of Mebane, North Carolina.

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Endicott, Bill 1876 births 1944 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers People from Daviess County, Indiana Racing drivers from Indiana