Jimmy Reece
{{short description|American racing driver (1929–1958)}}
{{distinguish|Jimmie Reese}}
{{Infobox racing driver
| name = Jimmy Reece
| image =
| caption =
| nationality =
| birth_name = James Garland Reece
| birth_date = {{birth date|1929|11|17}}
| birth_place = Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1958|09|28|1929|11|17}}
| death_place = Trenton, New Jersey, U.S.
| titles =
| awards =
| module1 = {{Infobox Champ Car driver|child=yes
| years = 1952–1958
| Total_Champ_Races = 58
| Years_In_Champ = 7
| Champ_Car_Team =
| Best_Champ_Pos = 4th (tie) – 1954
| First_Champ_Race = 1952 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
| Last_Champ_Race = 1958 Trenton 100 (Trenton)
| First_Champ_Win =
| Last_Champ_Win =
| Champ_Wins = 0
| Champ_Podiums = 7
| Champ_Poles = 3
}}
| module2 = {{Infobox F1 driver
| child = yes
|Years = {{F1|1952}}, {{F1|1954}}–{{F1|1958}}
|Team(s) = 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
|First win =
|Last win =
|Last race = 1958 Indianapolis 500
}}}}
James Garland Reece Sr.{{Cite web |title=Jimmy Reece |url=http://www.champcarstats.com/drivers/ReeceJimmy.htm |access-date=2023-06-11 |website=www.champcarstats.com}} (November 17, 1929 – September 28, 1958){{Cite web |title=Motorsport Memorial - Jimmy Reece |url=http://www.motorsportmemorial.org/focus.php?db=ct&n=541 |access-date=31 March 2023 |website=Motorsport Memorial}} 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."{{cite news|title=Driver injured in race crash|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=b_NXAAAAIBAJ&pg=5049%2C2396768|newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle|agency=Associated Press|date=November 9, 1954}}
AAA Championship Trail
Reece and Bill Vukovich tied for 4th in the 1954 AAA championship standings. Reece scored 1000 points in 6 races by finishing 2nd, 3rd or 5th; 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.{{cite news|title=Reece killed in Trenton crash|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=G38eAAAAIBAJ&pg=3815%2C4304356|newspaper=Daytona Beach Morning Journal|agency=Associated Press|date=September 29, 1958}}{{cite news|title=Reece killed in Trenton crash|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2FdWAAAAIBAJ&pg=5962%2C6303245|newspaper=Reading Eagle|agency=United Press International|date=September 29, 1958}}
Indianapolis 500 results
{{col-begin|width=auto}}
{{col-break}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |
| 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 |
| colspan=6|Totals
|976 |0 | |
{{col-break|gap=1em}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |
| Starts
|6 |
|---|
| Poles
|0 |
| Front Row
|1 |
| Wins
|0 |
| Top 5
|0 |
| Top 10
|3 |
| Retired
|2 |
{{col-end}}
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. Jimmy Reece participated in 6 World Championship races but scored no World Championship points.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Find a Grave|5859142}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reece, Jimmy}}
Category:American people of Welsh descent
Category:Racing drivers from Oklahoma City
Category:Indianapolis 500 drivers
Category:AAA Championship Car drivers
Category:20th-century American sportsmen
Category:Racing drivers who died while racing
Category:Sports deaths in New Jersey
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