Sam Hanks
Hanks, circa 1942
BornSamuel Dwight Hanks
(1914-07-13)July 13, 1914
Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
DiedJune 27, 1994(1994-06-27) (aged 79)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Championship titles
AAA West Coast Midget Car (1946)
AAA National Midget Car (1949)
AAA Championship Car (1953)
Major victories
Indianapolis 500 (1957)
Champ Car career
43 races run over 15 years
Best finish1st (1953)
First race1940 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Last race1957 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
First win1953 Springfield 100 (Springfield)
Last win1957 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Wins Podiums Poles
4 17 1
Formula One World Championship career
Active years1950 – 1957
TeamsKurtis Kraft, Epperly
Entries8
Championships0
Wins1
Podiums4
Career points20
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1950 Indianapolis 500
First win1957 Indianapolis 500
Last win1957 Indianapolis 500
Last entry1957 Indianapolis 500

Samuel Dwight "Sam" Hanks (July 13, 1914 – June 27, 1994) was an American racing driver who won the 1957 Indianapolis 500. He was a barnstormer, and raced midget and Championship cars.

Driving career

Hanks was born in Columbus, Ohio and lived in Alhambra, California from the age of six.[1] He attended Alhambra High School.[2]

Hanks won his first championship in 1937 on the West Coast in the American Midget Association (AMA). He barnstormed the country, racing on the board tracks at Soldier Field in Chicago. Hanks reportedly won the first two board track races at Soldier Field in 1939.[3] He won the 1940 VFW Motor City Speedway championship in Detroit. During the Second World War, Hanks served in the Army Air Corps.[4]

Hanks' winning car from the 1957 Indianapolis 500

After World War II, Hanks captured the 1946 United Racing Association (URA) Blue Circuit Championship. He won the 1947 Night before the 500 midget car race. He was the 1949 AAA National Midget champion. He won the 1953 AAA National Championship in the Bardahl Special. He won the 1956 Pacific Coast championship in the USAC Stock cars.

Hanks considered retiring following the 1956 Indianapolis 500, but agreed to return for the 1957 race at the urging of car owner George Salih.[2] He would win in 1957 in his 13th attempt (the most tries of any Indy winner) and announced his retirement from racing in Victory Circle.[3] He did not stop racing immediately following his victory, however, but completed his contract to run a stock car for the remainder of the 1957 season.[2]

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.

Hanks participated in eight World Drivers' Championship races at Indianapolis. He won once, finished in the top three four times, and accumulated 20 World Drivers' Championship points.

Television appearance

Hanks portrayed himself in the episode "The Comedians" of the CBS situation comedy Mr. Adams and Eve, starring Ida Lupino and Howard Duff. The episode aired on November 8, 1957.[5]

Later life

He drove the pace car at the Indianapolis 500 from 1958 to 1963.[3]

Hanks is believed to be the only Indianapolis 500 driver to participate in the race before World War II, serve in the war effort, then return to race again after the war. It has also been conjectured that Hanks may have been a distant relative to Abraham Lincoln.[6]

Having experienced ill health for three years, Hanks died at his home in Pacific Palisades, California on June 27, 1994, aged 79.[2]

Awards and honors

Hanks has been inducted into the following halls of fame:

Hanks has been awarded the following honors:

Motorsports career results

AAA/USAC Championship Car results

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Pos Points
1946 INDY
31		 LAN ATL ISF MIL GOS - 0
1947 INDY
DNQ		 MIL LAN ATL BAI MIL GOS MIL PIK SPR ARL - 0
1948 ARL INDY
26		 MIL LAN MIL SPR MIL DUQ ATL PIK SPR DUQ - 0
1949 ARL INDY
30		 MIL
DNQ		 TRE SPR MIL
DNQ		 DUQ
DNQ		 PIK SYR DET SPR LAN SAC
DNQ		 DMR
DNP		 - 0
1950 INDY
30		 MIL
DNQ		 LAN SPR MIL PIK SYR DET SPR SAC PHX BAY
2		 DAR 23rd 240
1951 INDY
12		 MIL LAN DAR SPR MIL DUQ
5		 DUQ
3		 PIK SYR
DNQ		 DET
5		 DNC
10		 SJS
DNQ		 PHX BAY 16th 421.4
1952 INDY
3		 MIL
DNQ		 RAL
18		 SPR
3		 MIL
14		 DET
DNQ		 DUQ
2		 PIK SYR
12		 DNC
4		 SJS
5		 PHX
2		 3rd 1,390
1953 INDY
3		 MIL
10		 SPR
2		 DET
4		 SPR
1		 MIL
22		 DUQ
1		 PIK SYR
4		 ISF
5		 SAC
3		 PHX
3		 1st 1,659.5
1954 INDY
20		 MIL
DNQ		 LAN
3		 DAR
8		 SPR
7		 MIL
6		 DUQ
1		 PIK SYR ISF
3		 SAC
15		 PHX
5		 LVG
DNQ		 8th 858.5
1955 INDY
19		 MIL LAN SPR MIL DUQ PIK SYR ISF SAC PHX
DNQ		 - 0
1956 INDY
2		 MIL LAN DAR ATL SPR MIL DUQ SYR ISF SAC PHX 9th 800
1957 INDY
1		 LAN MIL DET ATL SPR MIL DUQ SYR ISF TRE SAC PHX 9th 1,000
  • 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.[15][16]

Indianapolis 500 results

* Shared drive with Duane Carter[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Sam Hanks". National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum. Archived from the original on 2019-06-19.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Glick, Shav (June 29, 1994). "Hanks, 79, winner of '57 Indy 500, dies". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2019-12-22.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Sam Hanks". National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05.
  4. ↑ "RetroIndy: Indy 500 drivers who served in the military". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  5. ↑ "Mr Adams and Eve (1957–58)". The Classic TV Archive. Archived from the original on 2021-08-18. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  6. ↑ Davidson, Donald (May 23, 1999). "Indy 500 winner Hanks linked (maybe) to a presidential past". SpeedNet. Indianapolis Star/News. Archived from the original on 1999-11-14. Retrieved 2014-04-09.
  7. ↑ "Sam Hanks". IMS Museum. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  8. ↑ "Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame - Hanks, Sam 1984 *". mmshof.org. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  9. ↑ "Sam Hanks". www.sprintcarhof.com. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  10. ↑ "Sam Hanks". www.mshf.com. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  11. ↑ "Hall of Fame – West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame". Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  12. ↑ "StockcarReunion.com". www.stockcarreunion.com. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  13. ↑ "Alhambra High School Hall of Fame - Sam Hanks - 1931". ahshalloffame.com. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  14. ↑ "» Sam Hanks | Automotive Hall of Fame". www.automotivehalloffame.org. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  15. ↑ "1946 AAA National Championship Trail". www.champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  16. ↑ Capps, Capps (October 2009). "The Curious Case of the 1946 Season: An Inconvenient Championship" (PDF). Rear View Mirror. 7 (2): 1–16.
  17. ↑ "Sam Hanks Indianapolis 500 stats". IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com. Archived from the original on 2019-08-01.
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