James Thomas Wilburn Jr. (November 25, 1908 – August 26, 1984) 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 ...

from

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

. He won a non-championship race during the

1946 AAA Championship Car season 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

- the inaugural race of an anomalous season marking the return of racing after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Later that year Wilburn raced in the

1946 Indianapolis 500 The 30th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1946. This was the first Indianapolis 500 presided over by new track owner Tony Hulman. The track had closed in late 1941 due to World ...

, driving an

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

, starting 16th and retiring after 52 laps with engine trouble, finishing 19th.

Racing career

Wilburn raced based out of

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

in the early 1930s. He moved to the

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

-based American Racing Association (ARA) before returning to the Los Angeles area to compete in the Western Racing Association (WRA). Wilburn next moved to Indianapolis along with Travis "Spider" Webb in 1936, where the duo began competing in Central States Racing Association (CSRA) events in a "big car" (now

sprint car Sprint cars are open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval, circular dirt or paved tracks. Historically known simply as "big cars," distinguishing them from "midget cars," sprint car racing is popular primar ...

). Wilburn won the 1938 CSRA championship and he won his second CSRA championship in 1939. He repeated for his third straight championship in 1940. In 1941, he won several big shows including an IMCA show at

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; ) is a city in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 95,112 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fourth-most populous ...

and twice at

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

. At the IMCA season finale on October 21 at the Louisiana State Fairgrounds, he was battling Gus Schrader when Schrader died in an accident. Schrader's car pushed up the track and clipped Wilburn's tire causing Schrader's to flip end-over-end. Racing resumed following the end of the Second World War; a few events were run in 1945 and Wilburn won in front of a large CSRA crowd of over 124,000 people at

Allentown Fairgrounds Allentown Fairgrounds is located at 302 North 17th Street in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It hosts the Great Allentown Fair annually in late August and early September. The fairgrounds was established in 1889 and comprises 46 acres. It is owned and ...

. Wilburn returned to CSRA in 1946 and won the championship. He won all four IMCA events at the Iowa State Fairgrounds that year. That year he competed in 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 ...

; he finished 19th. In 1947, he won the CSRA championship and finished second to Emory Collins. In July 1948, Wilburn flipped his

Offenhauser The Offenhauser Racing Engine, or Offy, is a racing engine design that dominated American open wheel racing for more than 50 years and is still popular among vintage sprint and midget car racers. History The Offenhauser engine, familiarl ...

Oskaloosa, Iowa Oskaloosa is a List of cities in Iowa, city in, and the county seat of, Mahaska County, Iowa. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Oskaloosa was a national center of bituminous coal mining. The population was 11,558 in the 2020 U ...

and he was unconscious for several weeks. He returned to racing in 1949; he finished third in the IMCA points behind

Frank Luptow Frank Luptow (born Frank Lueptow) (1914-1952) was an American racing driver. He competed in International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) big cars (now sprint car racing, sprint cars) and NASCAR stock car racing, stock cars. He won the 1949, 1950 ...

and Collins. Wilburn won the 1950 CSRA championship before retiring from racing.

Personal life

Wilburn moved with his second wife, Mary, whom he married in 1939, to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

after retiring from racing. He died on August 26, 1984.

Awards and honors

He was inducted in the

National Sprint Car Hall of Fame The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum is a hall of fame and museum for sprint car drivers, owners, mechanics, builders, manufacturers, promoters, sanctioning officials and media members. The museum is located in Knoxville, Iowa, the h ...

in 1994.

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilburn, Jimmy 1908 births 1984 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees Racing drivers from Los Angeles AAA Championship Car drivers 20th-century American sportsmen