A. J. Watson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Abraham Jacob Watson (1924-05-08)May 8, 1924 Mansfield, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | May 12, 2014(2014-05-12) (aged 90) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Auto racing builder Auto racing mechanic |
Abraham Jacob Watson (May 8, 1924 – May 12, 2014) was an American race car builder and chief mechanic.[1] Competing from 1949 through 1984 in theIndianapolis 500, he won the race six times as a car builder.Rodger Ward won 18 races driving Watson cars.
Watson was born inMansfield, Ohio. He served in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War, training as a B-17 navigator.[2] He would not see deployment before the war's end.
Resettling in southernCalifornia, Watson came to Indianapolis in 1948 but missed the race. He returned the following year with a home-built car that failed to qualify. For the next 11 years, his cars not only qualified but were leaders in many years.[3]
From 1955 to 1958, Watson was associated with theJohn Zink team, and from 1959 on withBob Wilke. Watson's first win as a car builder came in 1956 whenPat Flaherty drove the John Zink entry to victory in that year's Indianapolis 500. Watson had won the previous year as a crew chief forBob Sweikert. Watson's cars dominated the race through 1964. Although he continued entering cars for another two decades, he was never able to regain the commanding position of his heyday.
In 1964, with many teams following Lotus's example and moving to rear-engined "funny cars", Watson built a pair of vehicles based onRolla Vollstedt's successful car. These worked reasonably well, but could not reproduce the success Watson had with his front-engined "roadsters". He builtmonocoque rear-engined cars in 1966 and 1967 with ever-decreasing success.
From 1969 until 1977, Watson ranEagles and then built a small series of highly derivative new "Watson" cars in 1977, 1978 and again in 1982 based on Lightning andMarch designs before retiring. He was frequently listed on the Indianapolis 500 entry sheet as the "race strategist" forPDM Racing, though his role with the team was largely honorary.
For many years, Watson and his family would spend the racing season in Indiana, and the off-season in California. Eventually the family located toSpeedway, Indiana permanently.[2]
Watson died inIndianapolis, Indiana on May 12, 2014.[4]
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