Joseph Boyer Jr. (May 30, 1890 – September 2, 1924) 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 ...

, and a winner of the

1924 Indianapolis 500 The 12th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 30, 1924. L. L. Corum started the race in the #15 entry, and was relieved during the race by Joe Boyer. Boyer proceeded to drive the c ...

Early life

Boyer was born on May 30, 1890, in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

and grew up in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, the son of Joe Boyer Senior and Clara Libby. He became wealthy due to his father owning Burroughs Adding Machine Company and Chicago Numatic.

Racing career

At the

, Boyer participated in two different cars during the race. In his original entry (#9), he qualified 4th. Boyer experienced mechanical troubles, and on the 109th lap he was given relief. His relief driver went on to race that car until lap 176, when he crashed in Turn 1. On lap 111, Boyer took over car #15 from L. L. Corum. Boyer charged to the front of the field, and led the last 24 laps in Corum's car. Corum and Boyer were scored as "co-winners," the first time in Indianapolis 500 history such a designation had been assigned. In three previous Indianapolis 500s (1911, 1912, 1923), a winning driver had been given relief help during the race, qualifying, starting, and finishing in the same car. 1924 was the first time one driver relieved another entirely, and had gone on to win.

Death

Boyer died on September 2, 1924, from injuries sustained in a crash at Altoona Speedway in

Tyrone, Pennsylvania Tyrone is a borough in Blair County, Pennsylvania, United States, located northeast of Altoona, on the Little Juniata River. Tyrone was of considerable commercial importance in the twentieth century. It was an outlet for the Clearfield coal ...

the day before.

Awards and honors

Boyer has been inducted into the following halls of fame: *

Auto Racing Hall of Fame The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is an automotive museum on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, which houses the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame. It is intrinsically linked to the Ind ...

(1985) *

Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame The Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame is a non-profit hall of fame for Michigan auto racers. It was founded in 1982 by Dick Lee and was incorporated April 19, 1982, as a non-profit 501(c) (3) non-stock Michigan corporation. The Michigan Motor Sp ...

(2021)

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

References

External links

Joe Boyer - ChampCarStats.com
*
Joe Boyer - Motorsport Memorial
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyer, Joe 1890 births 1924 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 winners Racing drivers from Detroit Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in Pennsylvania AAA Championship Car drivers 20th-century American sportsmen Racing drivers from St. Louis