- Mauri Rose
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Mauri Rose Born May 26, 1906 Died January 1, 1981 (aged 74) Formula One World Championship career Nationality American
Active years 1950–1951 Teams Deidt Races 2 Championships 0 Wins 0 Podiums 1 Career points 4 Pole positions 0 Fastest laps 0 First race 1950 Indianapolis 500 Last race 1951 Indianapolis 500 Mauri Rose (May 26, 1906 Columbus, Ohio – January 1, 1981 Royal Oak, Michigan) was an American racecar driver.
He started from the pole position driving a Maserati in the 1941 Indianapolis 500, but spark plug problems put him out of the race after sixty laps. He then took over the Wetteroth/Offenhauser car being driven by Floyd Davis that had started in 17th place. Rose went on to win. In 1947 and 1948, Rose captured back-to-back Indy 500's driving one of the Deidt/Offenhauser Blue Crown Spark Plug Specials, owned and prepared by veteran driver/car owner Lou Moore.
Late in the 1947 race, Rose found himself lying second to his rookie teammate, Bill Holland. But Holland, still unfamiliar with how to read the scoring pylon near the front straightaway, thought he had more than a lap lead on Rose, instead of just a few seconds. Rose closed on Holland and to his amazement, Holland gave way without a battle and even gave Rose a friendly wave as he went past on his way to victory. Holland was furious afterward, but learned a valuable (if bitter) lesson.
In 1949, with Holland leading and Rose again running second late in the race, Rose set out to overtake his now-veteran teammate. Rose ignored car owner Lou Moore's "EZ" signs from the pits and continued to push in pursuit of Holland. Finally Rose's car broke, Holland cruised home to victory -- and Moore fired Rose on the spot after the race for disobeying team orders.
Mauri Rose made his fifteenth and final Indianapolis 500 start in the 1951 race. Knocked out from an accident after 126 laps, the forty-five-year-old Rose retired to a home in California. For the 1967 race, officials of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway invited him to drive the Chevrolet Camaro Pace Car.
While his career in racing was filled with success, Rose considered his most important accomplishment to be his invention of a device that made it possible for amputees to drive an automobile.
Contents
Indy 500 results
Year[1] Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1933 3 42 117.649 6 35 48 0 Timing gears 1934 9 4 116.044 7 2 200 68 Running 1935 2 10 116.470 9 20 103 0 Studs 1936 36 30 113.890 21 4 200 0 Running 1937 1 8 118.540 19 18 127 0 Oil line 1938 27 9 119.796 20 13 165 0 Supercharger 1939 16 8 124.896 13 8 200 0 Running 1940 7 3 125.624 3 3 200 5 Running 1941 3 1 128.691 1 26 60 6 Spark plugs 16 17 121.106 25 1 128 39 Running 1946 8 9 124.065 10 23 40 8 Crash T3 1947 27 3 120.040 20 1 200 34 Running 1948 3 3 129.129 4 1 200 81 Running 1949 3 10 127.759 19 13 192 0 Magneto strap 1950 31 3 132.319 6 3 137 15 Running 1951 16 5 133.422 18 14 126 0 Crash T4 Totals 2326 256 Starts 15 Poles 1 Front Row 5 Wins 3 Top 5 6 Top 10 7 Retired 8 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. Mauri Rose participated in 2 World Championship races. He finished on the podium once and scored 4 World Championship points.
Awards
- In 1994, he was posthumously inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
- He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1996.
- In 2007 Rose, who was Jewish, was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
See also
References
Preceded by
Wilbur ShawIndianapolis 500 Winner
1941Succeeded by
George RobsonPreceded by
George RobsonIndianapolis 500 Winner
1947–1948Succeeded by
Bill HollandExternal Links
Categories:- 1906 births
- 1981 deaths
- American racecar drivers
- Indianapolis 500 drivers
- Indy 500 pole-sitters
- Indy 500 winners
- International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees
- Jewish American sportspeople
- Jewish racecar drivers
- People from Columbus, Ohio
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