Tom Sneva
Sneva in the 1980s
Born	Thomas Edsol Sneva (1948-06-01)June 1, 1948 (age 77) Spokane, Washington, U.S.
Championship titles
USACChampionship Car (1977,1978) Major victories Pocono 500 (1977) Indianapolis 500 (1983)
Champ Car career
205 races run over 22 years
Best finish	1st (1977,1978)
First race	1971Marlboro 300 (Trenton)
Last race	1992Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
First win	1975Michigan Grand Prix (Michigan)
Last win	1984Caesars Palace Grand Prix (Caesars Palace)
Wins Podiums Poles 13 50 14
NASCAR driver
NASCARCup Series career
8 races run over 7 years
Best finish	53rd (1982)
First race	1977National 500 (Charlotte)
Last race	1987Daytona 500 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 1 0

Thomas Edsol Sneva^[1] (born June 1, 1948) is an American former race car driver who won theIndianapolis 500 in1983. He primarily raced inIndy cars, and was named to theMotorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005.

A former math teacher and junior high principal fromSpokane, Washington,^[2][3] Sneva's win at Indianapolis came after three runner-up finishes and a spectacular crash in1975. Nicknamed "the Gas Man,"^[4] he was an outstanding qualifier, winning the pole position three times (1977,1978,1984). In 1977, he won the pole position with a new track record, becoming the first driver to break the 200 mph barrier at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was also the fastest qualifier on a fourth occasion in1981, but because of qualifying rules did not start the race from the pole position that year.

Sneva won two consecutiveUSAC National Championships for Indy cars in 1977 and 1978.^[5]

Born in Spokane, to Edsol "Ed" and Joan, Sneva's first powered vehicle was a go-kart, which he received at the age of fourteen; by the age of eighteen, he was racing stock cars.^[6] Sneva graduated fromLewis and Clark High School, where he playedfootball andbasketball, before attendingEastern Washington State College, where he played a year ofcollege basketball.^[7] After graduating from Eastern, he was hired by the high school inSprague, where he taught math and physical education.^[6][8] Sneva was the eldest of five brothers, all racers; the next oldest wasJerry, who also competed at Indy.

AtIndianapolis in1977, Sneva drove his famed Norton Spirit McLaren M24/Cosworth racer for car ownerRoger Penske, and became the first driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 at a speed at 200 mph (321.9 km/h) or more. His one-lap track record on May 14 was 200.535 mph (322.7 km/h).^[9][10]

Sneva won two races in 1977, including a 1-2 finish forTeam Penske at thePocono 500, and became the first driver in Team Penske history to win a championship. In 1978, Sneva did not win a race but with five second-place finishes and sixteen top-fives, Sneva still won the championship. Despite this, Sneva was released by Penske after the 1978 season. Although it was speculated that his dismissal was for not winning to Penske's expectations, Penske later said in a 2009 Centennial Era interview that, in reality, he and Sneva had disagreements on the direction of the team, and that was the reason for them parting ways.(30) Sneva exercised a stock option on Penske Automotive Group shortly after his dismissial, a prudent decision that paid dividends down the road.^[11]

In 1984, Sneva became the first to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 over 210 mph (338.0 km/h) in his Texaco Star March 84C/Cosworth driving for the new Mayer Motor Racing team. His one and four lap track records on May 12 were 210.689 mph (339.1 km/h) and 210.029 mph (338.0 km/h).^[12][13]

Sneva's career at the Indianapolis 500 was known for fast qualifying, second-place finishes, near misses and several crashes.^[12] Three times (1977,1978,1980) Sneva ended up the bridesmaid by finishing second. Finally, Sneva broke through in dramatic fashion in1983 after a thrilling late race duel with Penske driverAl Unser and the lapped car of Unser's rookie son,Al Jr. It was Sneva's 1983 win in his Texaco Star March 83C/Cosworth for Bignotti-Cotter Racing that led to his nickname of "the Gas Man." That win was also famous for it being the last ofGeorge Bignotti's record seven Indianapolis 500 wins as a chief mechanic. For Sneva, the victory was sweet revenge, as he had been fired by Roger Penske in 1978 despite having won back-to-back USAC championships.

Sneva's second-place finish in 1980 is notable as it is one of only two occasions of such a finish by a driver starting last. It is also one of only three times the driver who started last (33rd) led laps during the race, a record matched byAlex Tagliani in 2016 andJames Davison in 2017. Several other times Sneva was in contention for the win, but did not make it to the end of the race. It was during this time that Sneva, racing forJerry O'Connell, became one of the first drivers at Indianapolis to race with aspotter, an idea Sneva attributed to his time coaching football, where common practice was to have an observer sitting high up in the media center.^[14] In 1981, Sneva charged hard from his 20th starting position to lead early in the race, but his untested Blue Poly March 81-C/Cosworth was fragile and his clutch failed early on. One year later, Sneva was in a duel with eventual winnerGordon Johncock and eventual runner-upRick Mears when his engine in his Texaco Star March 82-C/Cosworth began losing power and eventually failed near the end of the race.

In 1983, Sneva captured his first Indianapolis 500 win, engaging in a duel withAl Unser andhis son in the final twenty laps.Al Unser Jr. was widely criticized after the race for trying to impede Sneva to help his father win, as well as having passed several cars under caution, and jumping the final restart for which he received a two-lap penalty. As defending champion in1984, Sneva dueled with Mears only 32 laps from the finish, but a CV joint failed, enabling Mears to win. The1985 race was a testament to Sneva's ability as he drove an ill-handling Skoal Bandit Eagle/Cosworth to second place before exiting in a crash with the lapped car ofRich Vogler.

He suffered one of the most famous crashes at Indianapolis during the1975 race, his second. After touching wheels withEldon Rasmussen, 26-year-old Sneva flipped up into thecatch fence and tore his car in half, but suffered mostly minor burns on 15% of his body in the fiery crash. He walked to the ambulance but was placed in theintensive care unit atMethodist Hospital, mainly for lung issues due to the fire retardant.^[7][15] Describing the crash years later Sneva quipped, "In a situation like that it's important to talk to yourself: 'Faint, you coward, faint!'"

In1986, he was warming up his car during the pace lap, but lost control and crashed before the race started. In1987, Sneva crashed three cars, two in practice, and one during the race. He crashed during the Indianapolis 500 in 1975,1979,1985,1986,1987,1988, and1992, a record for crashes during the race.

After Sneva's Indy victory in 1983, he never finished the race again. He dropped out of the race in 1984–1990, failed to qualify in 1991, and dropped out of the 1992 race as well. Some observers have attributed his decline in success to the switch toradial tires (the series transitioned to radials over a period from 1985 to 1987). His driving style was more apropos to bias ply tires.

Sneva showed his versatility by competing in eightNASCARWinston Cup Series events in his career, spanning from 1977 to 1987. He earned one top-ten, a seventh in the1983 Daytona 500.

Sneva's final start was the1992 Indianapolis 500. He arrived at Indianapolis without a ride for 1993, and was unsuccessful in landing a car for the race. He retired with thirteen career Indycar wins and 14 pole positions.

After Sneva retired from driving, he was a color commentator for ABC television network'sWide World of Sports program and called several Indianapolis 500s. He is also heavily involved in thegolf course business where he resides inParadise Valley, Arizona.^[16]

Sneva's father, Edsol ("Ed") was a local racer in the Spokane region.^[17][18]

Sneva is the oldest of five brothers and one sister: Jerry,Jan, Blaine, Ed ("Babe") and Robin. He said the brothers were always racing something growing up.^[17] Babe (1951–1976) succumbed to severe head injuries more than eighteen months after a race crash inBritish Columbia.^{[17][19][20][21]}

Sneva was an ace in mathematics, and graduated fromEastern Washington State College in nearby Cheney with an education degree.^[16] He became a math teacher in a school district outside of Spokane city limits, and drove the school bus.^[8]

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position)

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

In 2004, Sneva was inducted into theIndianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame.^[49] The following year he was inducted into theMotorsports Hall of Fame of America.^[50]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toTom Sneva.

• Tom Sneva driver statistics at Racing-Reference
• The Greatest 33
• Tom Sneva - Indianapolis Motor Speedway

• 1948 births
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• American people of Italian descent
• Champ Car champions
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• Eastern Washington University alumni
• Indianapolis 500 drivers
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• Indianapolis 500 winners
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