Jimmy Bryan
BornJames Ernest Bryan
(1926-01-28)January 28, 1926
Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
DiedJune 19, 1960(1960-06-19) (aged 34)
Langhorne, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Championship titles
AAA / USAC Championship Car
(1954, 1956, 1957)
Major victories
Race of Two Worlds (1957)
Indianapolis 500 (1958)
Champ Car career
62 races run over 10 years
Best finish1st (1954, 1956, 1957)
First race1952 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Last race1960 Langhorne 100 (Langhorne)
First win1953 Golden State 100 (Sacramento)
Last win1958 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Wins Podiums Poles
19 32 3
Formula One World Championship career
Active years1951 – 1960
TeamsLesovsky, Kurtis Kraft, Schroeder, Kuzma, Epperly
Entries10 (9 starts)
Championships0
Wins1
Podiums3
Career points18
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1951 Indianapolis 500
First win1958 Indianapolis 500
Last win1958 Indianapolis 500
Last entry1960 Indianapolis 500

James Ernest "Jimmy" Bryan (January 28, 1926 – June 19, 1960) was an American racing driver. Well-known for his habit of racing with an unlit cigar, Bryan was a three-time National Champion, and won the Indianapolis 500 in 1958. In Europe he is well-known for winning the 1957 Race of Two Worlds.

Early life

Bryan was born on January 28, 1926 in Phoenix, Arizona to Reginald Louis, a baker, and Pauline (née Wainwright).

Driving career

Championship car career

Bryan's winning car from the 1958 Indianapolis 500 - later repainted to look as it did when Sam Hanks drove the vehicle to victory in the 1957 event

Bryan drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1952–1960 seasons with 72 starts, including each year's Indianapolis 500 race. He finished in the top ten 54 times, with 23 victories.

Jimmy Bryan's Kuzma-Offenhauser, known as the Dean Van Lines Special

Bryan won the 1958 Indianapolis 500 and the 1954 AAA and 1956 and 1957 USAC National Championship. During his 1957 championship season, Bryan also won the inaugural running of the Race of Two Worlds at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Italy.[1]

World Drivers' Championship career

The AAA/USAC-sanctioned Indianapolis 500 was included in the FIA World Drivers' Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indianapolis during those years were credited with World Drivers' Championship points and participation in addition to those which they received towards the AAA/USAC National Championship.

Bryan participated in nine World Drivers' Championship races at Indianapolis. He won once, finished in the top three three times, and accumulated 18 World Drivers' Championship points.

Death and legacy

The trophy awarded to Jimmy Bryan for winning the Race of Two Worlds in 1957

Bryan died after a crash in a Championship car race at Langhorne Speedway in 1960, on the same day that two drivers were killed in the Belgian Grand Prix, making the day one of the most tragic in racing history. For many years one of the two Championship races at the Phoenix International Raceway was traditionally called the Jimmy Bryan Memorial. He was also memorialized in a song by Harry Weger titled "The Ballad of Jimmy Bryan". Bryan is buried in Phoenix's Greenwood/Memory Lawn Mortuary & Cemetery.

Awards and honors

Bryan has been inducted into the following halls of fame:

Motorsports career results

AAA/USAC Championship Car results

AAA National Championship
Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Pos Points
1951 INDY
DNQ		 MIL LAN DAR SPR MIL DUQ DUQ PIK SYR DET DNC SJS PHX BAY - 0
1952 INDY
6		 MIL RAL SPR
DNQ		 MIL DET DUQ PIK SYR DNC SJS
9		 PHX
14		 15th 440
1953 INDY
14		 MIL
2		 SPR
8		 DET
3		 SPR
15		 MIL
10		 DUQ
7		 PIK SYR
17		 ISF
11		 SAC
1		 PHX
15		 9th 621.4
1954 INDY
2		 MIL
DNS		 LAN
1		 DAR
3		 SPR
12		 MIL
3		 DUQ
3		 PIK SYR
4		 ISF
1		 SAC
1		 PHX
1		 LVG
1		 1st 2,630
1955 INDY
24		 MIL
4		 LAN
1		 SPR
1		 MIL
23		 DUQ
1		 PIK SYR
2		 ISF
1		 SAC
1		 PHX
1		 2nd 1,480
USAC National Championship Trail
1956 INDY
19		 MIL
4		 LAN
6		 DAR
8		 ATL SPR
1		 MIL
1		 DUQ
1		 SYR
2		 ISF
1		 SAC
3		 PHX
2		 1st 1,860
1957 INDY
3		 LAN
DNQ		 MIL
19		 DET
1		 ATL
13		 SPR
7		 MIL
22		 DUQ
18		 SYR
4		 ISF
2		 TRE
8		 SAC
2		 PHX
1		 1st 1,650
1958 TRE INDY
1		 MIL LAN ATL SPR MIL DUQ SYR ISF TRE SAC PHX 6th 1,000
1959 DAY TRE INDY
33		 MIL LAN SPR MIL DUQ SYR ISF TRE SAC PHX - 0
1960 TRE INDY
19		 MIL
DNQ		 LAN
18		 SPR MIL DUQ SYR ISF TRE SAC PHX - 0

Indianapolis 500 results

FIA World Drivers' Championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 WDC Points
1951 Viking Trailer Lesovsky Offenhauser L4 SUI 500
DNQ		 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA ESP NC 0
1952 Peter Schmidt Kurtis Kraft 3000 Offenhauser L4 SUI 500
6		 BEL FRA GBR GER NED ITA NC 0
1953 Blakely Oil Schroeder Offenhauser L4 ARG 500
14		 NED BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA NC 0
1954 Dean Van Lines Kuzma Indy Roadster Offenhauser L4 ARG 500
2		 BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA ESP 10th 6
1955 Dean Van Lines Kuzma Indy Roadster Offenhauser L4 ARG MON 500
24		 BEL NED GBR ITA NC 0
1956 Dean Van Lines Kuzma Indy Roadster Offenhauser L4 ARG MON 500
19		 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA NC 0
1957 Dean Van Lines Kuzma Indy Roadster Offenhauser L4 ARG MON 500
3		 FRA GBR GER PES ITA 16th 4
1958 Belond AP / George Salih Epperly Indy Roadster Offenhauser L4 ARG MON NED 500
1		 BEL FRA GBR GER POR ITA MOR 13th 8
1959 Belond AP / George Salih Epperly Indy Roadster Offenhauser L4 MON 500
33		 NED FRA GBR GER POR ITA USA NC 0
1960 Metal-Cal Epperly Indy Roadster Offenhauser L4 ARG
 MON
 500
19		 NED
 BEL
 FRA
 GBR
 POR
 ITA
 USA
 NC 0

References

  1. ↑ Monzanápolis: a corrida que reuniu carros da F1, Indy e… Le Mans? on YouTube
  2. ↑ "Members". ASEC 2023. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  3. ↑ "Jimmy Bryan". IMS Museum. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  4. ↑ "Jimmy Bryan". www.sprintcarhof.com. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  5. ↑ "Jimmy Bryan". www.mshf.com. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  6. ↑ "Jimmy Bryan". International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  7. ↑ "Jimmy Bryan Indy 500 Race Stats". www.indy500.com. Archived from the original on 8 May 2006. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
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