James Franklin Hickman, II (May 9, 1943 – August 1, 1982) was an American

race car 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 n ...

known as Jim Hickman.

Racing career

Hickman was a driver in the 1982 CART Indycar series and raced in 3 CART contests that year as well as 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 ...

, which, that year, was not a CART event. He finished 3 of his 4 races in the top ten and was named Indy 500 Rookie of the Year, where he finished 7th.

Death

Hickman died in an accident during a practice session at the second

Milwaukee Mile The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectat ...

race of the 1982 season, the Tony Bettenhausen 200 at Wisconsin State Fair Park. Published reports indicated that

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

observers and technical personnel determined that a stuck throttle was the cause of the accident. Driving a 1981 March 81C-

Cosworth Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for auto racing, automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream Automotiv ...

for Hoffman racing sponsored by Stroh's Beer, his car slammed into the concrete wall in the first turn of the one-mile (1.6 km) oval. It took safety officials about 15 minutes to pry the 39-year-old former Navy fighter pilot out of the wreckage. He was pronounced dead about 12 hours later in a Milwaukee hospital. Dr. Steve Olvey, medical director for CART, said Hickman died of head injuries. The accident occurred with less than five minutes remaining in the final practice session.

Personal life

Hickman was born to Ioma Hickman (1922–2006) and James Franklin (1923–1966), in

Panama, Oklahoma Panama is a town in Le Flore County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,413 at the 2010 census. History A post office was established at Panama, Indian ...

. He had two younger brothers, Hercel Harvey Hickman and Terry Lynn Hickman (deceased). He was a 1966 graduate of Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK.

Family

He was survived by his wife, Lynda, and two children, Ashley and James Franklin III.

Racing record

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Indianapolis 500 results

References

External links

1943 births 1982 deaths People from Le Flore County, Oklahoma Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in Wisconsin Racing drivers from Oklahoma Place of birth missing SCCA National Championship Runoffs winners {{US-autoracing-bio-stub