Don Freeland (March 25, 1925 – November 2, 2007) was an American racecar driver who is best known for competing in 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 ...

eight times. Born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, Freeland served in the Navy as a mechanic during

World War II 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 ...

. After the war, he began racing. He raced in the

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and USAC

Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, generally and commonly known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2025, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar a ...

series from 1952 to 1962, with 76 career starts. He finished in the top ten 41 times, with a best finish of second place occurring 3 times. Freeland competed in the Indy 500 each year from 1953 to 1960. He appeared headed for a second-place finish in 1955 before a transmission failure ended his day 22 laps prior to the end of the race. He came back with a best Indy finish of third the next year. He also finished in the top ten in 1954 and 1958. Freeland died in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

at age 82.

Complete AAA/USAC Championship Car results

Indy 500 results

World Championship career summary

The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Don Freeland participated in 8 World Championship races. He started on the pole 0 times, won 0 races, set 0 fastest laps, and finished on the podium 1 times. He accumulated a total of 4 championship points.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeland, Don 1925 births 2007 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers Racing drivers from San Diego AAA Championship Car drivers 20th-century American sportsmen