Lester Spangler (January 15, 1906 – May 30, 1933) was an American

racecar driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

. Spangler raced with great success at Los Angeles'

Legion Ascot Speedway Legion Ascot Speedway was an American race track in Los Angeles, 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 near ...

, which led him to move up to AAA Championship racing. Spangler and his

riding mechanic A riding mechanic was a mechanic that rode along with a race car during races, and who was tasked with maintaining, monitoring, and repairing the car during the race. The various duties included manually pumping oil and fuel, checking tire wear, ...

Monk Jordan died while competing in the 1933 Indy 500. With Spangler on the 132nd lap, the car driven by Malcolm Fox spun coming out of turn one, and was rolling slowly towards the top the track. Spangler tried to get by on the outside, but ran out of room and plowed into Fox's car head on at over 100 miles per hour. Spangler's car rolled over while still maintaining its speed, ejecting the driver and mechanic.From Motor, The Automotive Business Magazine, June 1933
The race was Spangler's second AAA Championship race start, having made his debut at the

Oakland Speedway The Oakland Speedway was the first motor racing track near Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is t ...

the previous year.

Indy 500 results

References

See also