George Reggie "Little George" Amick (October 24, 1924 – April 4, 1959) was an American

racecar 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 ...

, mainly competing in the American National Championship. He was killed in a crash in a USAC race at

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about north of Orlando, Florida, Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race ...

Racing career

Amick began racing in jalopies in the Northwestern United States before switching to

midget car racing Midget cars, also Speedcars in Australia, is a class of racing cars. The cars are very small, with a very high power-to-weight ratio, and typically use four-cylinder engines. They originated in the United States in the 1930s and are raced on most ...

. He competed in USAC National midgets for three seasons, finishing in the top ten points each season, and won 16 feature races. He totaled 38 wins including the 1957

Turkey Night Grand Prix The Automotive Racing Products Turkey Night Grand Prix is an annual race of midget cars. It is the third oldest race in the United States behind the Indianapolis 500 and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. It has been held on Thanksgiving ni ...

. He moved to Indy cars and won three times in 43 starts. In his rookie appearance at the Indianapolis 500 in 1958, Amick was assigned a "lay-down" roadster commissioned by car owner Norm Demler, designed by

Quin Epperly Quincy David Epperly (March 3, 1913 – January 7, 2001) was an American race car builder. He was known for constructing roadsters in the 'lay down' style first pioneered by George Salih. Biography Epperly was born in Floyd, Virginia, to Joh ...

, and based upon George Salih's 1957 race-winning design. Amick found himself running a comfortable second to leader Jimmy Bryan with just 20 laps remaining. Demler and his team felt Amick was in a position to catch Bryan and perhaps even win, but decided against pushing their rookie driver into a potentially fatal mistake, and Amick came home an easy second. He was named the 1958

Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year The Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year is awarded annually to the racing driver deemed to have been the best performing rookie in the Indianapolis 500. Criteria include drivers' performance during practice, qualifying, and the race, their rela ...

Death

Amick was competing in the only Indy Car race ever run at the

and was killed in an accident on the final lap. He is buried at

Crown Hill Cemetery Crown Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located at 700 West 38th Street in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. The privately owned cemetery was established in 1863 at Strawberry Hill, whose summit was renamed "The Crown", a high poi ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Awards

Amick was inducted into the

National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame The National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame is an American Hall of Fame and museum for midget cars. The Hall of Fame is located at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and can be accessed during weekly Sunday races during the summe ...

in 2009.

Complete AAA/USAC Championship Car results

Indianapolis 500 results

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amick, George 1924 births 1959 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II Burials at Crown Hill Cemetery Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year People from Columbia County, Oregon Racing drivers from Oregon Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in Florida United States Navy sailors