George Lee Snider III (born December 8, 1940, in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of th ...

) is a retired American race car driver. A longtime driver in the

United States Automobile Club The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapol ...

Silver Crown series, Snider is also a 22-time starter of 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 ...

, tied for the most starts without winning the race. His best finish was eighth in the 1975 Indianapolis 500. Snider made many starts driving for his good friend

A. J. Foyt Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. (born January 16, 1935) is an American former racing driver who competed in numerous disciplines of motorsport. He is best known for his open wheel racing career, and for becoming the first four-time winner of the India ...

. His last Indy start was in 1987. Snider is known to many fans by his nickname "Ziggy". Snider is the 1971 USAC Silver Crown Champion and the 1981-1982 USAC Champ Car champion, the last "big car" championship to include pavement races other than the Indy 500. Snider owns Silver Crown race cars and, in 2005, allowed Foyt's grandson A. J. Foyt IV to race a car at the Milwaukee Mile. Snider is currently a partner in ownership of non wing 360ci and 410ci sprint car teams in California (BUSTER AND ZIGGY RACING). Peter Murphy (originally from Australia now residing in Fresno, CA) currently drives their 360ci non wing sprint car in USAC West Coast 360 competition. Bud Kaeding (multi time USAC champion and Oval Nationals champion) drove the 410ci sprint car for the team on August 14, 2010, at Santa Maria Speedway in a USAC/CRA racing event where he placed 3rd.

Awards

*He was inducted in the

West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame The West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall Of Fame, originally the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame, is a Hall of Fame for people associated primarily with late-model stock car racing on the West Coast of the United States. Many NASCAR Grand Nation ...

in 2021.

Complete USAC Championship Car results

*¹: At the

1981 Indianapolis 500 The 65th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday, May 24, 1981. The race is widely considered one of the most controversial races in Indy history. Bobby Unser took the checkered flag as the wi ...

, Snider initially qualified 29th, but the sold the car to

Tim Richmond Timothy Lee Richmond (June 7, 1955 – August 13, 1989) was an American race car driver from Ashland, Ohio. He competed in American Championship Car Racing, IndyCar racing before transferring to NASCAR's Winston Cup Series. Richmond was one o ...

. Richmond drove the car on race day.

Complete PPG Indy Car Series results

Indianapolis 500 results

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Snider, George 1940 births Champ Car drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Living people Racing drivers from Fresno, California USAC Silver Crown Series drivers A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers EuroInternational drivers Team Penske drivers USAC Gold Crown champions