Melvin Lloyd Hansen (born July 7, 1911 – June 5, 1963) was an American racing driver.[1][2] Hansen was nicknamed the "Firecracker Kid" because he loved to throw the explosive devices under chairs and behind people who were gathered in groups.[3]
Hansen grew up in Bloomington, California, and began racing in stock cars in 1931 at the Riverside Fairgrounds. He continued to race these cars at other Inland Empire tracks in Riverside and Colton in the early 1930s. As this early version of track roadsters waned, he switched to midget car racing, where he achieved great success.
Midget car careeredit
Hansen's first big win was the 1939 Turkey Night Grand Prix at Gilmore Stadium in Rex Mays' Offenhauser. Hansen raced his midget car throughout the nation in 1940, and won 53 features that season.[3] He also claimed the track championship at Fort Miami Speedway in Toledo, Ohio, that season. He won the 1942 track championship at VFW Motor Speedway in Detroit. Hansen raced in the United Racing Association in California, and won the 1945 URA Blue Circuit championship.
Hansen was paralyzed after a midget racing crash on September 8, 1949, at Detroit, and he died on June 5, 1963, after being a paraplegic for fifteen years.[2][3]
1946 table only includes results of the six races run to "championship car" specifications. Points total includes the 71 races run to "big car" specifications.[4][5]
^"1946 AAA National Championship Trail". www.champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
^Capps, H. Donald (October 2009). "The Curious Case of the 1946 Season: An Inconvenient Championship" (PDF). Rear View Mirror. 7 (2): 1–16.
May 26, 2024
hansen, melvin, lloyd, hansen, born, july, 1911, june, 1963, american, racing, driver, hansen, nicknamed, firecracker, because, loved, throw, explosive, devices, under, chairs, behind, people, were, gathered, groups, hansen, circa, 1950bornmelvin, loyd, hansen. Melvin Lloyd Hansen born July 7 1911 June 5 1963 was an American racing driver 1 2 Hansen was nicknamed the Firecracker Kid because he loved to throw the explosive devices under chairs and behind people who were gathered in groups 3 Mel HansenHansen circa 1950BornMelvin Loyd Hansen 1911 07 07 July 7 1911Redfield South Dakota U S DiedJune 5 1963 1963 06 05 aged 51 Bloomington California U S Champ Car career21 races run over 7 yearsBest finish9th tie 1940 First race1939 Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis Last race1949 DuQuoin 100 DuQuoin First win1948 Atlanta 100 Lakewood Last win1949 Springfield 100 1 Springfield Wins Podiums Poles2 3 2 Contents 1 Racing career 1 1 Midget car career 1 2 Championship car career 2 Accident 3 Awards and honors 4 Motorsports career results 4 1 Complete AAA Championship Car results 4 2 Indianapolis 500 results 5 ReferencesRacing career editHansen grew up in Bloomington California and began racing in stock cars in 1931 at the Riverside Fairgrounds He continued to race these cars at other Inland Empire tracks in Riverside and Colton in the early 1930s As this early version of track roadsters waned he switched to midget car racing where he achieved great success Midget car career edit Hansen s first big win was the 1939 Turkey Night Grand Prix at Gilmore Stadium in Rex Mays Offenhauser Hansen raced his midget car throughout the nation in 1940 and won 53 features that season 3 He also claimed the track championship at Fort Miami Speedway in Toledo Ohio that season He won the 1942 track championship at VFW Motor Speedway in Detroit Hansen raced in the United Racing Association in California and won the 1945 URA Blue Circuit championship Championship car career edit Hansen competed in six Indianapolis 500s He best finish was an eighth place finish in the 1940 Indianapolis 500 He won the 100 mile AAA Championship race at Atlanta Georgia in 1948 and won a 100 mile AAA Championship race at Springfield Illinois in 1949 Accident editHansen was paralyzed after a midget racing crash on September 8 1949 at Detroit and he died on June 5 1963 after being a paraplegic for fifteen years 2 3 Awards and honors editHansen was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1993 3 Motorsports career results editComplete AAA Championship Car results edit Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos Points 1946 INDY11 LANDNP ATL ISF MIL GOS 0 1947 INDY27 MIL LANDNS ATL BAI MIL4 GOS MIL13 PIK SPR13 ARL 25th 169 5 1948 ARL INDY25 MIL 14 LANDNS MIL18 SPR16 MIL15 DUQ16 ATL1 PIK SPR11 DUQ11 22nd 220 1949 ARL INDYDNS MILDNS TRE2 SPR1 MIL16 DUQ14 PIK SYRDNQ DET SPR LAN SAC DMR 15th 376 1946 table only includes results of the six races run to championship car specifications Points total includes the 71 races run to big car specifications 4 5 Indianapolis 500 results edit Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1939 49 14 121 683 25 19 113 0 Crash Pits 1940 31 5 124 753 7 8 194 0 Flagged 1941 9 21 124 599 6 29 11 0 Rod 1946 4 27 121 431 17 11 143 0 Crankshaft 1947 38 29 117 298 27 27 32 0 Pushed 1948 17 33 122 117 32 25 42 0 Too slow Totals 535 0 Starts 6 Poles 0 Front Row 0 Wins 0 Top 5 0 Top 10 1 Retired 5References edit Mel Hansen www champcarstats com Retrieved 2024 03 17 a b Brown Allen Mel Hansen OldRacingCars com Retrieved 2024 03 17 a b c d Biography Archived 2007 09 27 at the Wayback Machine at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame 1946 AAA National Championship Trail www champcarstats com Retrieved 2023 10 05 Capps H Donald October 2009 The Curious Case of the 1946 Season An Inconvenient Championship PDF Rear View Mirror 7 2 1 16 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mel Hansen amp oldid 1214267314, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
