Elmer Ray George (July 15, 1928 – May 31, 1976) was an American race car driver. Born in Hockerville,

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, George died in

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and Terre Haute metropolitan area, its metropolitan area had a populati ...

. He drove in the

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 ...

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, racing in the 1956–1963 seasons with 64 starts, including 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 ...

races in 1957, 1962, and 1963. He finished in the top ten 36 times, with one victory, in 1957 at Syracuse. George was also the 1957 USAC Sprint Car Series champion.

1962 Bobby Ball Memorial race

On November 18, 1962, George suffered cuts and a left shoulder injury in a USAC Champ Car race held at the

Arizona State Fairgrounds The Arizona State Fairgrounds is a permanent fairgrounds on McDowell Road, Encanto, Phoenix, Encanto Village, within the city of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is currently used yearly to host the Arizona State Fair and the Maricopa County Fai ...

. Having hit another car's bumper, George lost control of his HOW Special, hit the guard rail before the grandstand, slid and headed towards the stands where he broke through a chain-link fence, landing upside down. 22 spectators were injured as a result.

Personal

Elmer George was married to

Mari Hulman George Mary Antonia "Mari" Hulman George (December 26, 1934 – November 3, 2018) was the daughter of Anton "Tony" Hulman and Mary Fendrich Hulman, prominent Indiana philanthropists and business owners. She was the chairperson of the Indianapolis Mot ...

, daughter of

Tony Hulman Anton "Tony" Hulman Jr. (February 11, 1901 – October 27, 1977) was an American businessman from Terre Haute, Indiana, who bought the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1945 and brought racing back to the famous race course after a four-year hiatus ...

, owner of the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...

. Elmer and Mari had three daughters and one son,

Tony George Anton Hulman "Tony" George (born December 30, 1959) is the former Chairman, President, and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Hulman & Company, serving from 1989 to 2009. He was also formerly on the Board of Directors of both entities. ...

, founder of the

Indy Racing League IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing Governing body, sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two Auto racing, racing series: the premier IndyCar Serie ...

, and Ex-CEO of the

. Elmer had two children from a previous marriage, Joseph F. George and Carolyn Coffey. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, George was the director of the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network (known typically as the IMS Radio Network or the INDYCAR Radio Network), is an in-house radio syndication arrangement which broadcasts the Indianapolis 500, the NTT IndyCar Series, and Indy NXT to ra ...

. On May 3, 1976, Mari filed for divorce. On the day of the 1976 Indianapolis 500 (May 30, 1976), Elmer George argued by telephone with Guy Trolinger, a horse trainer at the family farm near Terre Haute, and Mari's alleged boyfriend. After the race, George drove to the farm, broke into the house and confronted Trolinger, then around 1:00 a.m., gunfire broke out, and George was shot and killed as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. A grand jury ruled that Trolinger killed George in self-defense, as George was armed and also discharged his firearm during the confrontation, at which point the charges were dropped.

Award

He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2005.

Complete AAA/USAC Championship Car results

Indianapolis 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. George participated in the

1957 Indianapolis 500 The 41st International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1957. The event was part of the 1957 USAC National Championship Trail and it was the third race of the eight-race 1957 World Champion ...

, his only World Championship race. He finished 33rd and did not accumulate any championship points.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Elmer 1928 births 1976 deaths Hulman–George family People from Ottawa County, Oklahoma Racing drivers from Oklahoma Indianapolis 500 drivers AAA Championship Car drivers 20th-century American sportsmen National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees