Charles George Daigh (November 29, 1923 – April 29, 2008) was an American racing car driver. He broke into

Grand Prix racing Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition, has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as early as 1894. It quickly evolved from simple road races from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and ...

through Lance Reventlow's Scarab team, by virtue of being one of the resident engineers. Born in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, he participated in six World Championship

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

races, debuting on May 29, 1960, and scoring no championship points. He also participated in one non-Championship Formula One race. Following the 1960 season, Chuck Daigh went on to contest races in the International Formula league in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, driving the previous year's front-engined Scarab car. He finished eighth at Goodwood while contesting the Lavant Cup and finished seventh in an attempt at the

International Trophy The International Trophy is a prize awarded annually by the British Racing Drivers' Club to the winner of a auto racing, motor race held at the Silverstone Circuit, England. For many years it formed the premier non-championship Formula One event i ...

. He later crashed out of the British Empire Trophy at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...

. He was also a successful sportscar driver in America, winning the 1959 Sebring endurance classic and also trying to qualify twice for 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 ...

, but without success. He also won the 1958 United States Sports Car Grand Prix at Riverside, California, driving a Scarab. This event is largely credited with launching professional sports car racing in the United States. He died in a hospital in

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...

, after a brief battle with heart and respiratory problems.

Racing record

Formula One World Championship results

( key)

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

24 Hours of Le Mans results

References

External links

Profile on Historic Racing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daigh, Chuck 1923 births 2008 deaths American Formula One drivers Sportspeople from Long Beach, California 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Racing drivers from California Scarab Formula One drivers Cooper Formula One drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers 12 Hours of Sebring drivers British Touring Car Championship drivers Carrera Panamericana drivers