Pat O'Connor (racing driver)

O'Connor competed in 36 races in his champ car career.[1] He took his first win in 1956 at Darlington Raceway.[1] In 1957, he won the pole position for the Indianapolis 500 and he finished eighth.[1] Later in the year, he won at Trenton Speedway.[1]

He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated in May 1958 (one week before the race),[2] adding to the legend of the Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx.

For the 1958 Indianapolis 500, Dick Rathmann and Ed Elisian started the race on the front row, with Jimmy Reece on the outside of the front row. Elisian spun in turn 3 of the first lap and collided with Rathmann's car, sending them both into the wall, and starting a 15-car pileup.[2]

According to A. J. Foyt, O'Connor's car hit Reece's car, sailed fifty feet in the air, landed upside down, and burst into flames. Although O'Connor was incinerated in the accident, medical officials said that he was probably killed instantly from a fractured skull.[3][2] In an interview after the race, winner Jimmy Bryan was quoted for saying "It was a nightmare. I lived with it for 200 laps."[2]

Widely blamed for the accident, Elisian was suspended by USAC for the accident (reinstated a few days later), and was shunned by many in the racing community.

Following the accident, race officials announced that they would change the starting procedure, abandoning the single-file trip down pit lane that was used in 1957 and 1958. Also, for the 1959 Indy 500, metal roll bars welded to the frame behind the driver's head were mandated, and helmets were required to pass safety certification by Speedway medical officials.[4]

He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1995.[5]

Salem Speedway honored him along with Joe James with an annual title event.[5] The 2020 event was part of the USAC Silvercrown series.[5]

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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. Pat O'Connor participated in 5 World Championship races. He started on the pole once but scored no World Championship points, as his best finish was eighth (twice).

• List of fatalities at Indianapolis

• Pat O'Connor at Find a Grave