Donald Herbert Herr (August 31, 1889 – June 21, 1953) 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 ...

Biography

Herr was born in Salona, Pennsylvania on August 31, 1889. Herr won the 1911 Illinois Trophy Race held on the roads of

Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and Kane County, Illinois, Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located northwest of Chicago along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River. As of the 2020 United Stat ...

driving a

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

. In the

1912 Indianapolis 500 The 1912 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, or International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race, the second such race in history, was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1912. Indiana-born driver Joe Dawson won the race, leading onl ...

he served as a relief driver for Joe Dawson from lap 108 to 144. Afterwards, Dawson returned to the car and drove on to victory. Herr is not credited as an Indianapolis 500 winner because Dawson both started and finished the race. Herr drove his own car in the

1913 Indianapolis 500 The Third International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1913. Frenchman Jules Goux became the first foreign-born, and first European winner of the Indianapolis 500. His margin of victory ...

and started fifth and completed only seven laps before being knocked out by a broken clutch shaft, driving a Wisconsin powered

Stutz The Stutz Motor Car Company was an American automobile Automotive industry, manufacturer based in Indianapolis, Indiana that produced high-end Sports cars, sports and Luxury vehicle, luxury cars. The company was founded in 1911 as the Idea ...

. It would be his last

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 ...

start. Herr died at his home on Lake James, Indiana on June 21, 1953.

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

References

External links

Don Herr
profile at Old Racing Cars
Official Indianapolis 500 race and driver statistics: Don Herr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herr, Don Indianapolis 500 drivers People from Marion, Indiana 1889 births 1953 deaths Racing drivers from Pennsylvania