| Birth name | James Garland Reece |
|---|---|
| Birth date | November 17, 1929 |
| Birth place | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Death date | September 28, 1958 (aged 28) |
| Death place | Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Years | 1952–1958 |
|---|---|
| Total champ races | 58 |
| Years in champ | 7 |
| Best champ pos | 4th (tie) – 1954 |
| First champ race | 1952 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis) |
| Last champ race | 1958 Trenton 100 (Trenton) |
| Champ wins | 0 |
| Champ podiums | 7 |
| Champ poles | 3 |
| Years | , – |
|---|---|
| Teams | Pankratz, Kurtis Kraft, Watson, Lesovsky |
| Races | 6 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Points | 0 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First race | 1952 Indianapolis 500 |
| Last race | 1958 Indianapolis 500 |
James Garland Reece Sr.[1] (November 17, 1929 – September 28, 1958)[2] was an American racecar driver. He died in an accident during a 1958 Champ Car race at Trenton Speedway.
1954 Bobby Ball Memorial race
On November 8, 1954, Reece crashed during the Bobby Ball Memorial, an AAA Champ Car event held at the Arizona State Fairgrounds, sustaining "a punctured lung, fractured right shoulder and possible internal injuries when his car flipped coming out of the south turn [...] and crashed into the east wall."[3]
AAA Championship Trail
Reece and Bill Vukovich tied for fourth in the 1954 AAA championship standings. Reece scored 1000 points in six races by finishing second, third or fifth; Vukovich scored 1000 points for winning the Indianapolis 500.
Death
On September 28, 1958, Reece was killed during a USAC Champ Car race held at Trenton Speedway. On the first turn of the last lap, Reece's inside wheels got into the dirt next to the concrete track, causing his car to change its direction and run up an embankment. After bursting through a two-foot wooden fence on the edge of the track, the Kurtis 500G spiraled through the air and smashed down on a hurricane fence, having ejected Reece, who died of multiple injuries in an ambulance.[4][5]
Indianapolis 500 results
| Year | Car | Start | Qual | Rank | Finish | Laps | Led | Retired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | 37 | 23 | 133.993 | 29 | 7 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 1954 | 25 | 7 | 138.312 | 18 | 17 | 194 | 0 | Flagged |
| 1955 | 5 | 15 | 139.991 | 12 | 33 | 10 | 0 | Rod |
| 1956 | 26 | 21 | 142.885 | 14 | 9 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 1957 | 5 | 6 | 142.006 | 11 | 18 | 182 | 0 | Throttle |
| 1958 | 16 | 3 | 145.513 | 3 | 6 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| Totals | 976 | 0 | ||||||
| Starts | 6 |
|---|---|
| Poles | 0 |
| Front Row | 1 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Top 5 | 0 |
| Top 10 | 3 |
| Retired | 2 |
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. Reece participated in six World Championship races but scored no World Championship points.
References
- ^ "Jimmy Reece". www.champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2023-06-11.
- ^ "Motorsport Memorial - Jimmy Reece". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- ^ "Driver injured in race crash". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. November 9, 1954.
- ^ "Reece killed in Trenton crash". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Associated Press. September 29, 1958.
- ^ "Reece killed in Trenton crash". Reading Eagle. United Press International. September 29, 1958.