Kelly Carl Petillo (born Cavino Michelle Petillo, December 5, 1903 or December 16, 1903 – June 30, 1970) 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 ...

Early life

Born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

in 1903, Petillo moved with his family to

Huntington Park, California Huntington Park is a city located in the South Central region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The area includes the separate communities of Florence, Firestone Park, Graham, and Walnut Park, California. As of the 2020 cen ...

in 1921. He began racing at Los Angeles'

Legion Ascot Speedway Legion Ascot Speedway was an American race track in El Sereno, California that operated from 1924 to 1936. It hosted AAA Champ Car races. History Early success under Bentel ends with a scandal After the construction of a -mile dirt oval in ...

in 1929.

Driving career

Petillo 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 ...

on ten occasions, winning the race in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

in a year that marked the first win by a car powered by an

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 ...

engine. He went on to win the 1935 AAA-sanctioned National Driving Championship. In 1937, he participated in the

Vanderbilt Cup The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing. History An international event, it was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1904 and first held on October 8 on a course set out in Nassau County, New York, Nass ...

but engine problems forced him out of the race. In 1942, Petillo sustained a concussion and lacerations after a road accident when his car collided with a freight train. He was denied entry to 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 ...

, and sued the

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...

for $50,000.

Legal issues and enforced retirement

Off the track, Petillo had numerous run-ins with the law, including charges of attempted rape and attempted murder. In 1948, police arrested him in

victory lane The following is a glossary of terminology used in motorsport, along with explanations of their meanings. 0–9 ;1–2 finish: When two vehicles from the same team finish first and second in a race. Can be extended to 1–2–3 or 1–2–3– ...

after winning a race at Owosso Speedway, on charges of assault to commit murder seven days earlier. This was assault and battery. He was sentenced to ten years in the

Indiana State Prison The Indiana State Prison is a maximum security Indiana Department of Correction prison for adult males; however, minimum security housing also exists on the confines. It is located in Michigan City, Indiana, about east of Chicago. The average ...

. He was released on parole in 1955, but went missing. He was re-captured in 1957, incidentally, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was returned to prison until 1959, after which he was denied entry to the Indianapolis 500 in

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

and

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

, officially due to age. After his exclusion in 1959, he again filed a lawsuit for $50,000 against the speedway and the

United States Auto 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 List of USAC Championship Car seasons, United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the ...

. Petillo had a small role in the 1939 motion picture ''

Burn 'Em Up O'Connor ''Burn 'Em Up O'Connor'' is a 1939 race car film directed by Edward Sedgwick and starring Dennis O'Keefe, Cecilia Parker, Nat Pendleton and Harry Carey. The screenplay was written by Milton Merlin and Byron Morgan from the novel ''Salute to the ...

''.

Death

Petillo and his wife, Valentine, who filed for divorce in 1943, had a son, Kelly Jr. Petillo died of

emphysema Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema. Emphysema is a lower respiratory tract di ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1970, aged 66. He is buried in Pacific Crest Cemetery in

Redondo Beach, California Redondo Beach (Spanish for ) is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent Beach Cities, beach c ...

Awards and honors

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

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 ...

(2009)

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

References

External links

Kelly Petillo - ChampCarStats.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Petillo, Kelly 1903 births American people of Italian descent 1970 deaths Racing drivers from Pittsburgh Racing drivers from California Champ Car champions Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 polesitters Indianapolis 500 winners AAA Championship Car drivers 20th-century American sportsmen People convicted of battery Deaths from emphysema