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Tom Bagley (born December 3, 1939,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), is a former driver in theUSAC,CARTChampionship Car,IMSA,Formula Atlantic, andTrans-Am Series. He raced Indycars in the 1978-1980 and 1983 seasons, with 42 combined career starts, including the 1978-1980Indianapolis 500,[1] finishing in the top ten 23 times, with a best finish, three times, of 4th position. He was USAC Rookie of the Year in 1978, and did not finish worse than 11th in points during his three full-time seasons. He did not begin wheel-to-wheel racing until age 31, after earning a master's degree in Physics fromPennsylvania State University.[2] While in college, Bagley became interested in fuel mileage competitions and thenautocross, rising to the attention of Bill Scott, operator of the racing school atSummit Point Motorsports Park. Scott lent Bagley aFormula Ford car to begin his career. Bagley andJanet Guthrie were the only physicists to compete in Indycar in the 1970s. Bagley rose to fame drivingFormula Super Vee cars, winning theSCCA championship in 1976, and wasUSAC co-champion in 1977. Bagley owned and maintained his own race cars in this part of his career. He next joined the Indycar ranks with sponsorship from Kent Oil, driving forLonghorn Racing andPatrick Racing. After retiring from racing full-time, Bagley worked as a physicist for longtime series sponsorPPG Industries, developing new methods for creating powder paints. From 2004 to 2020 he worked atAutobahn Country Club as the Director of Racing Instruction, responsible for designing the safety features at the track and overseeing the instruction, licensing, and racing activities.[3] Bagley still competes in club and endurance races in hisSpec Miata and vintage events including theIndy Legends Charity Pro–Am race on occasion. Bagley was described by theSVRA in 2019 as a "driver who accomplished much with limited resources" and "the driver to beat inFormula Super Vee"[4]
| Year | Track | Car | Engine | Class | Finish | Start | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Road Atlanta | Royale | Volkswagen | Formula Super Vee | 20 | 4 | Retired |
| 1973 | Road Atlanta | Royale | Volkswagen | Formula Super Vee | 6 | 5 | Running |
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Rank | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Zinc Z11 | VWBrabham | DAY 1 | POC | NLG 1 | MOS 18 | WG1 25 | MOH 2 | BRN 1 | ROA 1 | WG2 1 | 1st | 115 | ||
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Tom Bagley | TRE 1 | MIL 5 | MOS 1 | PIR 17 | 1 | 500 | ||||||
| 1978 | PIR1 3 | TRE1 | MOS | MIL1 | TEX | MIL2 | OMS1 | OMS2 | TRE2 | PIR2 | 19th | 140 |
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | PHX 8 | ONT 17 | TXS 10 | TRE 12 | INDY 27 | MOS 17 | MIL 7 | POC 26 | MIC 12 | ATL 6 | TXS 16 | MIL DNS | ONT 4 | MIC 6 | TRE 12 | SIL 13 | BRH 14 | PHX 14 | 11th | 1.188 | |||
| 1979 | Longhorn Racing | Penske | Cosworth | PHX 8 | ATL 8 | ATL 7 | INDY 9 | TRT 8 | TRT 4 | MIC 6 | MIC 6 | WGL 6 | TRT 7 | ONT 32 | MIC 5 | ATL | PHX 9 | 8th | 1.208 | ||||
| 1980 | Patrick Racing | Penske Wildcat | ONT 5 | INDY 28 | MIL 23 | POC 29 | MOH DNS | MIC 8 | WGL 6 | MIL 4 | ONT 15 | MIC 8 | MXS 18 | PHX 16 | 11th | 794 | |||||||
| 1983 | ATL | INDY | MIL | CLE DNQ | MIC | ROA | POC 34 | RIV | MOH | MIC | CPL | LAG | PHX | 60th | 0 | ||||||||
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Watson | Offy | 14th | 27th |
| 1979 | Penske | Cosworth | 15th | 9th |
| 1980 | Wildcat | Cosworth | 13th | 28th |
| 1981 | Lola | Cosworth | Failed to Qualify | |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | USFormula Super Vee Champion 1976 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by none | USAC Mini-Indy Series Champion 1977 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Danny Ongais | USAC Rookie of the Year 1978 | Succeeded by |