Gil Andersen
{{Short description|American racing driver (1879–1930)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox racing driver
| name = Gil Andersen
| image = Gil Andersen in 1910s (cropped).jpg
| caption = Andersen at the 1915 Indianapolis 500
| birth_name = Gulbrand J. Andersen
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1879|11|27}}
| birth_place = Horten, Vestfold, Norway
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1930|09|20|1879|11|27}}
| death_place = Logansport, Indiana, U.S.
| module1 =
{{Infobox Champ Car driver|embed=yes
| Total_Champ_Races = 31
| Years_In_Champ = 8
| First_Champ_Race = 1910 Remy Brassard #1 (Indianapolis)
| Last_Champ_Race = 1917 Uniontown Race #3 (Uniontown)
| First_Champ_Win = 1913 Elgin National Trophy (Elgin)
| Last_Champ_Win = 1915 Astor Cup (Sheepshead Bay)
| Champ_Wins = 3
| Champ_Podiums = 10
| Champ_Poles = 0
}}}}
Gilbert J. Andersen (born Gulbrand, November 27, 1879{{Cite web|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-81WG-J7R?mode=g&i=103&cc=1968530|title=Info Taken From WWI Draft Registration|last=|first=|date=|website=familysearch.org|language=en|access-date=June 3, 2017}}{{dead link|date=November 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} – September 20, 1930) was an American racing driver active during the formative years of auto racing.
Biography
Andersen was born on November 27, 1879, in Horten, Vestfold county, Norway.{{cite news|title=Gil Andersen Dies: Was Famous Auto Racer Years Ago |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90492031/gil-andersen-1879-1930/ |newspaper=The Indianapolis Star |date=September 21, 1930 |location=Indianapolis, IN |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90492031/gil-andersen-1879-1930/ 1], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90492069/gil-andersen-1879-1930/ 7] |via = Newspapers.com |accessdate=December 12, 2021}} {{Open access}} Andersen and his family emigrated to Chicago, Illinois, in 1895, whereupon Andersen took the name Gilbert. He became a citizen of the United States in 1900. He married Elsie Olsen on March 3, 1909, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.{{Cite web|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FDD3-MZ6|title=Minnesota Marriages 1849 - 1950|last=|first=|date=|website=FamilySearch|access-date=}} He competed in the first six Indianapolis 500 races, appearing in annual races from 1911 through 1916.
One of Andersen's major victories was in the 1913 Elgin National Road Races, which he won at an average speed of 71 mph.{{cite news|title=STUTZ WINS ELGIN RACE.; Anderson Drives Winning Car at 71 1/2 Miles an Hour.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1913/08/31/archives/stutz-wins-elgin-race-anderson-drives-winning-car-at-71-12-miles-an.html|accessdate=January 28, 2013|newspaper=New York Times|date=August 31, 1913}} On October 9, 1915, he set a new auto speed record of 102.6 mph, winning the first Astor Cup race at Sheepshead Bay. New York.The Encyclopedia of American Facts & Dates, Gordon Carruth, Eighth Edition, Harper & Row In 1928 Andersen established a new American stock car speed record, when he clocked 106.52 mph in a Stutz Blackhawk on the measured mile at Daytona Beach, Florida.{{cite news|title=Andersen to Pilot Stutz in Dual Stock Car Race|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=a1tQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8g4EAAAAIBAJ&dq=gil%20andersen%20stutz&pg=6993%2C2991299|accessdate=January 28, 2013|newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel|date=March 18, 1928}}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
Andersen worked as an engineer for the Stutz Motor Company. Stutz was in operation from 1911 and continued through 1935. He also was an engineer for the ReVere Motor Company,{{Cite web|url=https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hcc/2006/02/ReVere-s-Ride/1282137.html|title=History of the ReVere Automobile Company from Hemming's Auto Magazine|last=|first=|date=|website=www.hemmings.com|access-date=June 3, 2017}} located in Logansport, Cass County, Indiana.Gil Andersen (The Indy 500 drivers — Where are they now?[http://www.oldracingcars.com/driver/Gil_Andersen])
Andersen died of pulmonary tuberculosis on September 20, 1930, in Logansport, Indiana, at age 50.
Motorsports career results
= Indianapolis 500 results =
{{col-begin|width=auto}}
{{col-break}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |
| Year
!Car !Start !Qual !Rank !Finish !Laps !Led !Retired |
|---|
| 1911
|10 |10 |— |— |11 |200 |0 |Running |
| 1912
|1 |style="background:green;color:white"|1 |80.930 |12 |16 |80 |0 |Crash T3 |
| 1913
|3 |14 |82.630 |11 |12 |187 |18 |Camshaft gears |
| 1914
|24 |16 |90.490 |11 |26 |42 |0 |Cylinder bolts |
| 1915
|5 |5 |95.140 |5 |3 |200 |26 |Running |
| 1916
|28 |3 |95.940 |3 |13 |75 |0 |Oil line |
| colspan=6|Totals
|784 |44 | |
{{col-break|gap=1em}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |
| Starts
|6 |
|---|
| Poles
|1 |
| Front Row
|2 |
| Wins
|0 |
| Top 5
|1 |
| Top 10
|1 |
| Retired
|4 |
{{col-end}}
Gallery
File:Stutz wrecked - Indianapolis LCCN2014690425.jpg|Gil Andersen's crashed Stutz at T3 in the 1912 Indianapolis 500
File:Gil Andersen in 1910s.jpg|Gil Andersen at the 1915 Indianapolis 500
File:1916Indianapolis500Field.jpg|Andersen's #28 car (second from left), preparing for the 1916 Indianapolis 500
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Racing-Reference driver|Gil_Andersen}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080703191817/http://casscountyin.tripod.com/history.htm The ReVere Motor Company]
- [http://www.stutzclub.org/ Stutz Club]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andersen, Gil}}
Category:Sportspeople from Horten
Category:Norwegian emigrants to the United States
Category:Indianapolis 500 drivers
Category:Indianapolis 500 polesitters