Jim Hurtubise
Born	James Ernest Hurtubise (1932-12-05)December 5, 1932 North Tonawanda, New York, U.S.
Died	January 6, 1989(1989-01-06) (aged 56) Port Arthur, Texas, U.S.
Champ Car career
96 races run over 23 years
Best finish	6th (1961,1962)
First race	1959Hoosier Hundred (ISF)
Last race	1974Pocono 500 (Pocono)
First win	1959Golden State 100 (Sacramento)
Last win	1962Tony Bettenhausen Memorial (Springfield)
Wins Podiums Poles 4 15 3
NASCAR driver
NASCARCup Series career
36 races run over 16 years
Best finish	46th (1968)
First race	1957 Race 22 (Ascot Park)
Last race	1977Delaware 500 (Dover)
First win	1966Atlanta 500 (Atlanta)
Wins Top tens Poles 1 11 0
Formula One World Championship career
Active years	1960
Teams	Christensen
Entries	1
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Careerpoints	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1960 Indianapolis 500

James Ernest Hurtubise^[1] (December 5, 1932 – January 6, 1989) was an American racing driver who competed inChampionship Cars,sprint cars andstock cars. Hurtubise enjoyed much success in sprint cars, champ dirt cars, and stock cars, and was the winner of the 1966 Atlanta 500; however, he never achieved the success at the Indianapolis 500 which his rookie qualifying run promised, when he out qualified pole-sitterEddie Sachs by three mph, nearly breaking the 150-mph mark.

"Herk" was a fan favorite throughout much of his career because of his fun-loving attitude and his hard driving style.^[2]

Jim Hurtubise began in the early 1950s racing his number 56 coupe alongside his brother Pete in theSportsman class at venues in Southeastern Canada andWestern New York, includingMerrittville Speedway, Ontario, andCuba Lake Raceway in Cuba, New York.^[3][4] After the 1955-56 season, Hurtubise left for California where he began racingmodifieds but soon moved tosprint cars, where he became a champion on theInternational Motor Contest Association (IMCA) and California Racing Association circuits.^[5][6]

Hurtubise raced in theUSACChampionship Car series in the 1959–1968 and 1970–1974 seasons, with 97 career starts. He finished in the top ten 38 times, with 4 victories, in 1959 at Sacramento, 1960 at Langhorne, and 1961 and 1962 at Springfield.^[4] In 1964, after suffering serious burns in an accident during theRex Mays Classic at theMilwaukee Mile, doctors asked Hurtubise how he wanted his hands shaped permanently. Hurtubise told them to pin his hands so he could hold a beer can, knowing that if he "could hold a beer can, (he) could hold a steering wheel."^[7] Hurtubise would later be awarded the Ralph DePalma award for overcoming his injuries to return to racing.^[7][8]

Hurtubise ran in ten Indianapolis 500 races between1960 and1974. His best finish was a thirteenth in1962. Hurtubise was named the 1960Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year.^[9]

In1965, he qualified using aNovi engine, the last year that engine would be used in the race, having been considered obsolete several years before.^[10] The engine failed on the first lap, and he finished last.^[11]

In1966, he entered a rear-engine car, which was taking over from the front-engineroadsters as the standard for the race, and finished 17th.

After failing to qualify in 1967, in1968 he ran the last front-engine car to date in the race. He and his brother Pete designed and built the new roadster in their garage, naming it the "Mallard". He claimed the car was lighter than previous roadsters, which would allow it to be competitive with the other rear-engine cars.^[12]

From 1969 through 1971, he would continue to attempt to qualify with the roadster, but failed to make the field, which was now fully rear-engine cars.

In1972, he had qualified a rear-engine car thirteenth.^[13] However on "bump day", he put the roadster, sponsored byMiller Beer in line to make a qualification attempt shortly before the closing deadline of 6:00 pm. The time expired before it was his turn to qualify. He then removed the engine cover to reveal that the car had no engine, but five chilled cases of his sponsor's product, which he shared with the other pit crews and race officials^[2][14]

From 1973 through 1975, he attempted to qualify rear-engine cars, missing the field in 1973 and 1975, while qualifying 28th in 1974, finishing the race 28th after blowing the engine on lap 31. This would be the last year he would successfully qualify for the race.

For the1976 and1977 races, he was back with his front-engine Mallard roadster, but wasn't quick enough to make the field. In1978, he returned, once again attempting to qualify the Mallard, but Tom Binford, the chief steward, refused to allow him a qualifying attempt, stating the car had not showed it was capable of race speed during practice. He then sat in entrantBob Harkey’s car for ten minutes refusing to move. After finally leaving the car he ran onto the track where he was tackled and apprehended by the police.^[15]

In subsequent years, he continued to attempt to get the Mallard into the field, with his final attempt in1981. This was the final attempt for any front-engine car in the race, thirteen years after the last time a car of that type had qualified for the race, and seventeen years since the last time one had won.^[16]

In 1972, Hurtubise drove the Mallard in an IndyCar race at Michigan in 1972, qualifying 26th (last) and finishing 23rd. He drove the same car a year earlier at the Pocono 500, qualifying 33rd (last) and finishing thirtieth.^[17] This would be the last time a front-engine car would ever run in an IndyCar race.

In 1957, Hurtubise started hisNASCAR Cup career running two races. Over the next twenty years he would enter 36 races, winning one race atAtlanta Motor Speedway, and amassing eleven top ten finishes.^[18]

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. Hurtubise participated in one World Championship race, finishing eighteenth and receiving no points.

Hurtubise was from theBuffalo suburb ofNorth Tonawanda, New York. Hurtubise died January 6, 1989, after suffering a heart attack near his home inPort Arthur,Texas. He was 56 years old. He is interred atCrown Hill Cemetery in the Community Mausoleumat the coordinates39°49′39″N86°10′23″W / 39.8274766°N 86.1730061°W /39.8274766; -86.1730061 inIndianapolis.^[19][20]

He was inducted into the FOAR SCORE (Friends of Auto Racing Seeking Cooperation of Racing Enthusiasts) Club in its inaugural class in 1985 and theNational Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1993.^[21] Hurtubise was the 1998 pioneer selection for theNortheast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame, and was named to the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.^[5][22]

• Jim Hurtubise atFind a Grave
• Jim Hurtubise driver statistics at Racing-Reference

• NASCAR drivers
• 1932 births
• 1989 deaths
• Indianapolis 500 drivers
• Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year
• American Speed Association drivers
• National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductees
• People from North Tonawanda, New York
• Racing drivers from New York (state)
• Burials at Crown Hill Cemetery
• USAC Silver Crown Series drivers
• USAC Stock Car drivers
• A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers
• Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame
• Daytona 500 drivers
• 20th-century American people

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