Thane Eli Houser (July 27, 1891 – November 23, 1967) 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 ...

. He was the father of fellow driver Norm Houser. Primarily a car builder and mechanic as well as a

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, ...

, Houser served as a relief driver in the

1923 Indianapolis 500 The 11th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes Race was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday, May 30, 1923. After winning previously in 1921 Indianapolis 500, 1921, Tommy Milton became the first multiple winner of the Indianapolis ...

and

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 ...

races for Wade Morton and

Joe Boyer Joseph Boyer Jr. (May 30, 1890 – September 2, 1924) was an American racing driver, and a winner of the 1924 Indianapolis 500. Early life Boyer was born on May 30, 1890, in St. Louis, Missouri and grew up in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Jo ...

, respectively. He drove a

Miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...

in the 1926 race and finished 13th in the rain-shortened event. In July of that year he made his only other

Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, generally and commonly known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2025, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar a ...

start at

Rockingham Speedway Rockingham Speedway and Entertainment Complex (formerly known as North Carolina Speedway from 1998 to 2007 and North Carolina Motor Speedway from 1965 to 1996) is a D-shaped oval track in Rockingham, North Carolina, United States. The track h ...

in New Hampshire and finished 18th after being black-flagged 15 laps in. His attempt to qualify for the

1929 Indianapolis 500 The 17th International 500-Mile Sweepstakes was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Thursday, May 30, 1929. Ray Keech, who finished fourth a year earlier, took the lead for the final time on lap 158 and won his first Indianapolis 500. Ke ...

was thwarted by a broken

supercharger In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement (engine), displacement. It is a form of forced induction that is mechanically ...

on his

Duesenberg Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company, Inc. was an American race car, racing and luxury car, luxury automobile manufacturer founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, by brothers Fred Duesenberg, Fred and August Duesenberg in 1920. The company is kn ...

, but he served as relief driver for

Jimmy Gleason James Edward Gleason (February 17, 1898 – September 12, 1931) was an American racing driver. He was killed while qualifying for a AAA-sanctioned National Championship race at Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Ital ...

for eleven laps. Gleason would go on to finish third in the race. 8 at indy 2 trim PW

In 1931, Houser had the honor of being the Riding Mechanic for Dave Evans in the Clessie Cummins Diesel #8 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (see photo, below). 1931 was the first year for the Diesel at Indianapolis. The Diesel was the slowest qualifier, but started 17th on the grid of 40 cars. They completed the race with no pit stops and finished in 13th position.
''Official Box Score, 19th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, Saturday, May 30, 1931'', Retrieved 2012-11-22

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houser, Thane 1891 births 1967 deaths Indianapolis 500 drivers People from Henry County, Indiana Racing drivers from Indiana Riding mechanics