Mike Mosley

For the American football player, see Mike Mosley (football).

Mike Mosley (December 13, 1946 - March 3, 1984), was an American racecar driver.

Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Mosley died in an off-road vehicle accident near Riverside, California. His young son, Michael, was also riding in the van Mosley was driving, but was uninjured. He was a driver in the USAC and CART Championship Car series. He raced in 17 consecutive seasons from 1967 through 1983, with 166 combined career starts, including every Indianapolis 500 in that span except 1967 and 1982. He finished in the top ten 80 times and had 5 victories, including 3 at Milwaukee. He was known for a "charger" driving style, and known for his smooth driving technique. He was particularly effective at the flat Milwaukee paved mile oval, where he used an unusual driving line. On his first visit to Indianapolis in 1967, he lied about his age (20 at the time) to gain entry. In 1968 he returned and qualified for the race. Many of his peers felt Mosley never had the opportunity to showcase his talent due to second-rate equipment. Longtime motorsports writer Robin Miller quoted Gary Bettenhausen, a close friend and contemporary of Mosley, as saying: "If Mike had been driving a McLaren (Indianapolis car) in the early 1970s, we would all have been racing for second place."

In 1981 at the Milwaukee Mile, added as a promoter's option, he came from the back of the field to win the race. It was the last win for a normally aspirated engine in the CART/Champ Car era and also the last win in open wheel racing for a Gurney Eagle.

Indy 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1968 90 27 162.449 26 8 197 0 Flagged 1969 90 22 166.113 22 13 162 0 Piston 1970 9 12 166.651 17 21 96 0 Radiator 1971 4 19 169.579 29 13 159 0 Crash T4 1972 98 16 189.145 5 26 56 3 Crash T4 1973 98 21 189.753 28 10 120 0 Rod Bolt 1974 98 6 185.319 7 29 6 0 Blown Engine 1975 12 5 187.833 6 26 94 0 Engine 1976 12 11 187.588 4 15 98 0 Flagged 1977 5 9 190.064 12 19 91 0 Timing Gear 1978 78 25 188.719 26 17 146 0 Turbocharger 1979 36 12 186.278 16 3 200 0 Running 1980 48 26 183.449 25 32 5 0 Gasket 1981 48 2 197.141 4 33 16 0 Radiator 1983 18 2 205.372 2 13 169 1 Crash T1 Totals 1615 4

Starts 15 Poles 0 Front Row 2 Wins 0 Top 5 1 Top 10 3 Retired 12

Persondata
Name	Mosley, Mike
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 13, 1946
Place of birth
Date of death	March 3, 1984
Place of death