Ronald Barth Duman (February 12, 1929 – June 9, 1968), was an American racing driver who competed in the USAC Championship Car series and 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 ...

. Duman was an accomplished driver in sprints and midgets, and won the prestigious

Little 500 The Little 500 (also known popularly as the "Little Five"), is a track cycling race held annually during the third weekend of April at Bill Armstrong Stadium on the campus of Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind ...

Anderson Speedway Anderson Speedway is a quarter mile (400 m) high-banked paved oval track racing, oval racetrack in Anderson, Indiana, Anderson, Indiana, United States. The track hosts the annual Little 500 Sprint car racing, sprint car race and the Redbud 400 Sto ...

in 1959 and 1960. Born in

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Dearborn borders Detroit to the south and west, roughly west of downtown Detroit. In the 2020 United States ...

, Duman later moved to

Speedway, Indiana Speedway is a town in Wayne Township, Marion County, Indiana, United States. The population was 13,952 at the 2020 census, up from 11,812 in 2010. Speedway, which is an enclave of Indianapolis, is the home of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. H ...

and lived practically across the street from 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 ...

. He drove in the USAC Championship Car series from 1961 to 1968. He had 63 career starts, including the

from 1964 to 1968. Duman had 27 top-ten finishes in Champ Car competition, with a best finish of third in 1965 at Phoenix. Duman was fatally injured in a crash at the

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

Rex Mays Classic at the

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 ...

Indianapolis 500 career

After passing his rookie test in 1961, Duman made an attempt to qualify with the Ray Brady Special but the run was incomplete. In 1962, he qualified the Stearly Motor Freight Special, but was bumped and wound up as the second alternate. In 1963, he was entered in the Federal Engineering Special, but crashed during practice. Duman finally qualified for the Indianapolis 500 in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

. Driving a sponsor-less pink and black Trevis-built Watson/ Offy entered by Nick Fulbright and Dave Paul. It was the same car driven by Allen Crowe in the 1963 race. Duman qualified 16th on pole day, but ended up the 32nd-overall fastest qualifier. He narrowly held on to make the lineup on bump day, as the second-slowest car in the field. The team received sponsorship from the Clean Wear Service Company - a local laundry service that was frequented by the drivers and crews during the month of May - just prior to the race. Duman was involved in the fiery crash that took the lives of Dave MacDonald and Eddie Sachs. The accident happened in front of Duman, and as he approached the crash scene, he attempted to miss both Sachs and MacDonald. However, in the fiery melee, the Novi of Bobby Unser knocked Duman's car from behind, and sent the car spinning to the inside wall. The car erupted in flames, but not before Duman was able to climb out and escape to the grass infield. Duman was hospitalized with second and third degree burns, and missed over two months of racing while he recuperated. After recovering from his injuries, Duman qualified for the 1965 race in the Travelon Trailer Special. He ran as high as 12th before dropping out. In 1966 race, he started last (33rd) and became involved in the opening lap crash, finishing last. In 1967 race, he finished 23rd driving the REV 500 Special for J. C. Agajanian. Duman's final Indy 500 start came in 1968 race. On the final turn of the final lap, Duman's engine blew coming out of turn four, and he coasted across the finish line to finish 6th. The 1968 race would be his best result at Indianapolis, as just over a one-week later, Duman was killed in a crash at

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. His son Rick is a championship-winning mechanic who won the 2005 Clint Brawner Award at the Indianapolis 500, currently owning Turn 4 Restorations that restores vintage Indy cars.

Indianapolis 500 results

Awards and accomplishments

Duman was the only USAC Champ Car driver to race a front-engine upright 'dirt-style' car on a road course (1965) and a rear-engine car in a USAC championship dirt car race (1966). *Inducted in 1985 to the Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame *Inducted in 1994 to the

Hall of Fame

Death

Less than two weeks after he finished 6th at the

1968 Indianapolis 500 The 52nd International 500 Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Thursday May 30, 1968. Bobby Unser won the first of his three Indy 500 victories (1968, 1975, 1981). This was the final Indianapolis ...

, Duman was at the next race of the USAC Championship season, the Rex Mays Classic at

. Duman started 14th in the 24-car field, driving the Central Excavating Gerhardt Turbocharged Offy. On the third lap, the cars of Bay Darnell and Norm Brown reportedly got tangled in turn one. Both cars slid towards the outside wall, collecting Duman in the process. Duman's car tipped over and began barrel-rolling before it flew into the catchfence cockpit first. After Duman's car bounced back down the track, both Darnell and Brown's car slammed the outside wall and the three cars came to rest on fire. Darnell and Brown suffered minor burn injuries, but Duman was killed instantly from massive head injuries when the cockpit of his car struck the catchfence. His helmet had been shattered and pulled from his head. Eight spectators were also injured by the flying debris which cleared the catchfence. Ronnie Duman is interred at

Crown Hill Cemetery Crown Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located at 700 West 38th Street in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. The privately owned cemetery was established in 1863 at Strawberry Hill, whose summit was renamed "The Crown", a high poi ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

References

External links

*
ChampCarStats.com - Ronnie Duman statistics
*

Duman's Turn 4 Restorations - Family Web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duman, Ronnie 1929 births 1968 deaths Sportspeople from Dearborn, Michigan Racing drivers from Detroit Indianapolis 500 drivers Champ Car drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in Wisconsin Burials at Crown Hill Cemetery