Sam
Hanks

Sam Hanks was born in Columbus, Ohio, on 13 July 1914 and lived in Alhambra, California, from the age of six. In racing, he won his first championship on the West Coast in 1937 and the AAA National Midget title in 1949. He raced midget and Championship cars.

From 1950 to 1960 the Indianapolis 500 counted towards the Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship. All eight of Hanks's world championship races were this event, and he started it every year from 1950 to 1957. He drove a Kurtis Kraft up to 1956 and an Epperly in 1957. His best championship position was seventh in 1956. In total he won one race and finished on the podium four times.

His win came at the 1957 Indianapolis 500. He had considered retiring after the 1956 race, but came back at the urging of car owner George Salih. It was the twelfth race at Indianapolis in which he actually drove on the track. He announced his retirement in Victory Circle, but still drove a stock car for the rest of the 1957 season. From 1958 to 1963 he drove the pace car at the Indianapolis 500. Hanks died in Pacific Palisades, California, on 27 June 1994. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2000.

Source: Wikipedia, “Sam Hanks”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.