Art Cross (January 24, 1918 – April 15, 2005) was an American racecar driver. He was the first recipient of the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award in 1952.
Cross won the first Indy 500 Rookie of the Year award after a fifth-place finish in the 1952 Indianapolis 500. Cross used his share of $27,000 from the race to purchase a farm near LaPorte, Indiana.[3]
He finished second in the 1953 Indianapolis 500 behind Bill Vukovich. Despite it being one of the hottest Indy 500s on record, Vukovich and Cross completed the entire race without relief. Driver Carl Scarborough died from the heat. Cross' car was the "Springfield Welding Special", which was owned by Bessie Lee Paoli, who was the only female owner at the time.[1]
After retiring from racing, he turned his attention to running the farm in LaPorte, Indiana. He later became involved in a heavy equipment business and in construction. He was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1992.[1]
cross, january, 1918, april, 2005, american, racecar, driver, first, recipient, indianapolis, rookie, year, award, 1952, born, 1918, january, 1918jersey, city, jerseydiedapril, 2005, 2005, aged, laporte, indianaformula, world, championship, careernationalityam. Art Cross January 24 1918 April 15 2005 was an American racecar driver He was the first recipient of the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award in 1952 Art CrossBorn 1918 01 24 January 24 1918Jersey City New JerseyDiedApril 15 2005 2005 04 15 aged 87 LaPorte IndianaFormula One World Championship careerNationalityAmericanActive years1952 1955TeamsKurtis KraftEntries4Championships0Wins0Podiums1Career points8Pole positions0Fastest laps0First entry1952 Indianapolis 500Last entry1955 Indianapolis 500 Contents 1 Racing career 2 Indianapolis 500 results 3 Complete Formula One World Championship results 4 References 5 External linksRacing career EditCross began racing midget cars in 1938 He served as a tank commander during the Second World War and received a Purple Heart for his wounds during the Battle of the Bulge 1 2 He returned to midget cars after the war and raced in one of Pappy Hough s Little Iron Pigs Cross won the first Indy 500 Rookie of the Year award after a fifth place finish in the 1952 Indianapolis 500 Cross used his share of 27 000 from the race to purchase a farm near LaPorte Indiana 3 He finished second in the 1953 Indianapolis 500 behind Bill Vukovich Despite it being one of the hottest Indy 500s on record Vukovich and Cross completed the entire race without relief Driver Carl Scarborough died from the heat Cross car was the Springfield Welding Special which was owned by Bessie Lee Paoli who was the only female owner at the time 1 After retiring from racing he turned his attention to running the farm in LaPorte Indiana He later became involved in a heavy equipment business and in construction He was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1992 1 Indianapolis 500 results EditYear Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired1952 33 20 134 288 26 5 200 0 Running1953 16 12 137 310 8 2nd 200 0 Running1954 45 27 138 675 14 11 200 8 Running1955 99 24 138 750 23 17 168 24 RodTotals 768 32 Starts 4Poles 0Front Row 0Wins 0Top 5 2Top 10 2Retired 1Complete Formula One World Championship results Edit key Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 WDC Points1952 Bowes Seal Fast Ray Brady Kurtis Kraft 4000 Offenhauser L4 SUI 5005 BEL FRA GBR GER NED ITA 20th 21953 Springfield Welding Paoli Kurtis Kraft 4000 Offenhauser L4 ARG 5002 NED BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA 10th 61954 Bardahl Ed Walsh Kurtis Kraft 4000 Offenhauser L4 ARG 50011 BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA ESP NC 01955 Bardahl Ed Walsh Kurtis Kraft 500C Offenhauser L4 ARG MON 50017 BEL NED GBR ITA NC 0References Edit a b c Biography at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame Archived September 27 2007 at the Wayback Machine RetroIndy Indy 500 drivers who served in the military The Indianapolis Star Retrieved 2023 06 13 The lost Art of storytelling The South Bend Tribune 22 April 2005 Retrieved 24 July 2020 via Newspapers com External links Edit Biography portalObituarySporting positionsPreceded byNone Indianapolis 500Rookie of the Year1952 Succeeded byJimmy Daywalt This biographical article related to United States auto racing is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Art Cross amp oldid 1159884771, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
