Clifford Ray Woodbury (July 8, 1894 – November 13, 1984) 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 ...

. Woodbury raced all over the U.S. during one of the most dangerous times in motorsports. Woodbury was born near

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He started his career about 1915 running in state fairs across the Midwest in his

Duesenberg Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company, Inc. was an American race car, racing and luxury car, luxury automobile manufacturer founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, by brothers Fred Duesenberg, Fred and August Duesenberg in 1920. The company is kn ...

, winning purses that sometimes amounted to more than $500. In 1921 and 1922, he worked with

Ruth Law Oliver Ruth Law Oliver (May 21, 1887 – December 1, 1970) was a pioneer American aviator during the 1910s. Early life and learning to fly (1887–1912) She was born Ruth Bancroft Law on May 21, 1887, to Sarah Bancroft Breed and Frederick Henry Law in ...

with her barnstorming Flying Circus which paired a race car and bi-plane. The highlight of the show was when a female daredevil would climb a ladder from the Woodbury's race car to the plane while both were racing around the track. Woodbury was a popular local hero at the motor sports tracks in Chicago and appeared often in ''The Chicago Tribune'' with his Fronty Ford.

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * AAA (video game industry) - a category of high budget video games *'' TripleA'', an open source wargame Mu ...

named Woodbury the Dirt Tack Champion of the Nation in 1924, 1925 and 1926. In 1926, Woodbury joined Mike Boyle's Boyle Valve Racing Team and began his career on board tracks driving supercharged Millers. Woodbury finished third on his first attempt at the Indianapolis 500 in 1926 and set the pole in qualifying in 1929. Woodbury also set the one mile (1.6 km) record at

Daytona Beach Daytona Beach is a coastal resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach metropo ...

in 1930 with a run of Woodbury retired after a severe wreck in Altoona, Pennsylvania in June 1929 which killed the 1929 Indianapolis 500 winner,

Ray Keech Charles Raymond Keech (May 1, 1900 – June 15, 1929) was an American racing driver. He is best remembered for winning the 1929 Indianapolis 500, as well as for setting a land speed record. Racing career Land speed record Keech set th ...

. After retirement Woodbury established a successful auto repair business "Woodbury Bros" with his brother Elmer which was based in Chicago. He died in 1984 in

Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend (Illinois), Riv ...

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodbury, Cliff Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 polesitters 1894 births 1984 deaths Racing drivers from Chicago AAA Championship Car drivers 20th-century American sportsmen Sportspeople from Alton, Illinois