Gene Hartley

American racing driver
Gene Hartley
Born(1926-01-28)January 28, 1926
DiedMarch 13, 1993(1993-03-13) (aged 67)
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityUnited States American
Active years1950, 1952–1954, 1956–1957, 1959–1960
TeamsKurtis Kraft, Kuzma, Langley, Lesovsky, Ewing
Entries10 (8 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points0
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1950 Indianapolis 500
Last entry1960 Indianapolis 500

Leslie Eugene "Gene" Hartley[1] (January 28, 1926 – March 13, 1993)[2] was an American racecar driver. He was born and died in Roanoke, Indiana.

Hartley was the son of midget car driver Ted Hartley, who competed into his 60s.[3] "Auto racing is all I’ve ever known," Gene once said in an interview at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.[3]

Racing career

He drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1950 and 1952–1962 seasons with 33 starts. He raced in ten Indianapolis 500 races, in each year but 1955 and 1958. His best finish at Indy was tenth in 1957, although he finished eleventh three times. He finished in the Top 10 nine times, with his best finish in second position in 1956 at Langhorne Speedway.

Hartley was the 1959 USAC National Midget Series champion.[3] His 33 USAC feature wins were eighth best all-time.[3]

Promoter

Hartley co-promoted with Leroy Warriner at the Kitley Avenue Speedrome in Indianapolis after his retirement. They hosted midget races at the track that was specifically built for the small cars.

Career award

Indy 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired
1950 75 31 129.213 32 16 128 0 Flagged
1952 67 18 134.343 24 28 65 0 Exhaust pipe
1953 41 13 137.263 9 28 53 0 Crash T4
1954 31 17 139.061 10 23 168 0 Engine
1955 28 — — — — — — Did not qualify
1956 82 22 142.846 15 11 196 0 Flagged
1957 22 14 141.271 16 10 200 0 Running
1958 24 — — — — — — Did not qualify
1959 88 9 143.575 10 11 200 0 Running
1960 48 24 143.896 16 14 196 0 Flagged
1961 28 15 144.817 22 11 198 0 Flagged
1962 67 20 146.969 15 32 17 0 Crash FS
Totals 1421 0
Entries 12
Starts 10
Poles 0
Front row 0
Wins 0
Top 5 0
Top 10 1
Retired 4

World Championship career summary

The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Gene Hartley entered 10 World Championship races and started 8 of them, with a best finish of tenth.

References

  1. ^ The Talk of Gasoline Alley – 1070-AM WIBC/Network Indiana, May 15, 2007
  2. ^ "Gene Hartley - Formula 1 Statistics". racing-statistics.com. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e Biography Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame


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