Jack McGrath
McGrath, circa 1951
Born	John James McGrath (1919-10-08)October 8, 1919 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	November 6, 1955(1955-11-06) (aged 36) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Awards
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame (1987)
Champ Car career
67 races run over 8 years
Years active	1948–1955
Best finish	2nd –1953
First race	1948H. H. Wheler Memorial Cup (Arlington)
Last race	1955Bobby Ball Memorial (Phoenix)
First win	1950Langhorne 100 (Langhorne)
Last win	1953Rex Mays Classic (Milwaukee)
Wins Podiums Poles 4 13 9
Formula One World Championship career
Active years	1950–1955
Teams	Kurtis Kraft
Entries	6
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	2
Careerpoints	9
Pole positions	1
Fastest laps	1
First entry	1950 Indianapolis 500
Last entry	1955 Indianapolis 500

John James McGrath^[1] (October 8, 1919 – November 6, 1955) was an Americanracecar driver.^[2] McGrath died in an accident at Bobby Ball Memorial; he lost control of his car at Turn 3, crashed and flipped, dying instantly.

McGrath was born inLos Angeles, California, and grew up inSouth Pasadena, California.

A major player in the "mighty midgets" at Los Angeles'sGilmore Speedway in the late 1940s, McGrath won the first CRA (California Roadster Association) championship in 1946 and was dubbed "King of the Hot Rods". His efforts, along with those of friend and teammateManuel Ayulo, helped establish track roadsters as viable race cars. The west coast roadsters evolved intosprint cars in the early 1950s.

Major wins at theAAA national level included the 1951 Syracuse and Langhorne 100 mile races, the 1952 Syracuse 100, and the 1953 Milwaukee 200. He finished the1952 and1953 AAA championship seasons in second place, and led the first 44 laps of the1954 Indianapolis 500.

McGrath's storied 26-lap duel withBill Vukovich in the ill-fated1955 Indianapolis 500 ended when the magneto on his Hinckle Special Kurtis 500C'sOffenhauser (Meyer-Drake) engine failed on lap 54. Fellow Californian and two-time Indy winner Vukovich died three laps later in a chain-reaction crash while in the lead.

The "Splendid Splinter" himself was killed in the finalAAA dirt-track race of the 1955 season, theBobby Ball Memorial at the one-mile dirt oval at theArizona State Fairgrounds inPhoenix, Arizona.^[3][4]

• McGrath's starting positions from 1951 to 1955 represent the best 5-year starting position streak in the Roadster Era.
• McGrath was the fastest overall qualifier of the Roadster Era.
• Although McGrath twice posted the fastest qualifying speed, he started from the pole only once when he was the first driver ever to crack the 140-mile-per-hour mark. That was in 1954, withJimmy Daywalt and 1958 Indy 500 winnerJimmy Bryan to his right. In 1955, he started on the outside of the first row behind pole-day qualifiersJerry Hoyt andTony Bettenhausen.

The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Jack McGrath participated in 6 World Championship races. He started on the pole once, set 1 fastest lap, and finished on the podium twice. He accumulated a total of 9 championship points.

• Ludvigsen, K.:Indy Cars of the 1950s; Hudson, Wisconsin: Iconografix, 2000.
• Popely, R.; Riggs, L. S.:Indianapolis 500 Chronicles; Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International, 1998.
• Scalzo, J.: City of Speed:Los Angeles and the Rise of American Racing; St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing, 2007.
• Vintage section of the Open Wheel Racers 3 website.

• Jack McGrath atFind a Grave

• 1919 births
• 1955 deaths
• Indianapolis 500 drivers
• Indianapolis 500 polesitters
• Racing drivers from Los Angeles
• Racing drivers who died while racing
• Sports deaths in Arizona
• AAA Championship Car drivers
• 20th-century American sportsmen
• World Sportscar Championship drivers
• Carrera Panamericana drivers

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata