| Gaston Chevrolet | |||||||
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 Chevrolet atTacoma Speedway in June 1920 | |||||||
| Born | Gaston Louis Chevrolet (1892-10-26)October 26, 1892 Beaune,Côte-d'Or, France | ||||||
| Died | November 25, 1920(1920-11-25) (aged 28) Los Angeles, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Championship titles | |||||||
| AAAChampionship Car (1920) Major victories Indianapolis 500 (1920) | |||||||
| Champ Car career | |||||||
| 15 races run over 4 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 1st (1920) | ||||||
| First race | 1917 Sharonville Sweepstakes (Sharonville) | ||||||
| Last race | 1920 Beverly Hills 250 #2 (Beverly Hills) | ||||||
| First win | 1919 Independence Auto Derby (Sheepshead Bay) | ||||||
| Last win | 1920Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis) | ||||||
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Gaston Louis Chevrolet (October 4, 1892 – November 25, 1920) was an Americanracing driver and automobile manufacturer. He was the winner of both theIndianapolis 500 and theAmerican National Championship in 1920.
Chevrolet was born nearBeaune, in theCôte-d'Or region of France where hisSwiss family had emigrated to a few years earlier. His father was a watch-maker, and he was the younger brother ofLouis (1878–1941, founder of theChevrolet car company) andArthur Chevrolet (1884–1946). After brother Louis emigrated to the United States and earned enough money, he sent for Gaston and Arthur to join him. Once there, Gaston worked as an automotive mechanic and joined his brothers in auto racing.
In 1916, the year after older brother Louis left the Chevrolet car company, Gaston Chevrolet became a partner with Louis and Arthur in the newFrontenac Motor Corporation.
Driving a Frontenac race car, Chevrolet competed in the 1919Indianapolis 500, finishing in tenth place while brother Louis finished seventh.
Chevrolet broke the dominance ofEuropean built cars in the1920 Indianapolis 500, winning the race in a redesigned Monroe-Frontenac. In the process, he became the first driver in the history of the 500-mile (800 km) race to go the distance without making a tire change. Gaston was unable to defend his win because of his death later that year. Chevrolet was the last driver born in France to win the Indianapolis 500 untilSimon Pagenaud won the2019 Indianapolis 500, 99 years after the 1920 race.
Following his May 31, 1920 victory at Indianapolis, Chevrolet raced in several more events. He won a 100-mile (160 km) match race against top racersTommy Milton (driving a Chevrolet race car)[1] andRalph Mulford.
With the coming of winter in late 1920, racing moved to theWest Coast. While competing in the last race of the season on theboard track at theBeverly Hills Speedway, Chevrolet was killed when his Frontenac crashed on lap 146 of the 200 lap race.[1] He connected withEddie O'Donnell’s car and both cars tumbled down the embankment. Chevrolet died instantly along with O’Donnell’s riding mechanic while O’Donnell died the next day from a skull fracture.
Chevrolet is interred next to his brother Louis in theHoly Cross and Saint Joseph Cemetery inIndianapolis, Indiana.
Despite the crash, Chevrolet had accumulated enough points during the race and through the season to win theAAA National Championship for the 1920 season.[1][2][3][4] Laterrevisionist publications retrospectively began claimingTommy Milton as the champion,[5] based upon fabricated calculations converting several Non-Championship events into points-paying rounds of the1920 season. Despite research by professional historians uncovering primary sources confirming Chevrolet's championship,[6] the present-dayAstor Challenge Cup has Milton instead of Chevrolet engraved as the champion.[7]
Chevrolet has been inducted into the following halls of fame:
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| Preceded by | Indianapolis 500 winner 1920 | Succeeded by |
