Joe Boyer
{{Short description|American racing driver (1890–1924)}}
{{About|the Indianapolis 500 winner|his father, the inventor and industrialist|Joseph Boyer}}
{{Infobox racing driver
| name = Joe Boyer
| image = 1920 Tacoma Speedway Joe Boyer Jr Marvin D Boland Collection G521051.jpg
| caption = Boyer at Tacoma Speedway in 1920
| birth_name = Joseph Boyer Jr.
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1890|05|30}}
| birth_place = St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1924|09|02|1890|05|30}}
| death_place = Tipton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| titles = Major victories
Indianapolis 500 (1924)
| module1 =
{{Infobox Champ Car driver|embed=yes
| Total_Champ_Races = 28
| Years_In_Champ = 7
| Best_Champ_Pos = 21st (tie) (1923)
| First_Champ_Race = 1917 George Washington
Sweepstakes (Ascot Speedway)
| Last_Champ_Race = 1924 Fall Classic (Altoona)
| First_Champ_Win = 1919 Autumn Classic (Uniontown)
| Last_Champ_Win = 1924 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
| Champ_Wins = 3
| Champ_Podiums = 7
| Champ_Poles = 1
}}}}
Joseph Boyer Jr. (May 30, 1890 – September 2, 1924) was an American racing driver, and a winner of the 1924 Indianapolis 500.
Early life
Boyer was born on May 30, 1890, in St. Louis, Missouri and grew up in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Joe Boyer Senior and Clara Libby. He became wealthy due to his father owning Burroughs Adding Machine Company and Chicago Numatic.
Racing career
At the 1924 Indianapolis 500, Boyer participated in two different cars during the race. In his original entry (#9), he qualified 4th. Boyer experienced mechanical troubles, and on the 109th lap he was given relief. His relief driver went on to race that car until lap 176, when he crashed in Turn 1. On lap 111, Boyer took over car #15 from L. L. Corum. Boyer charged to the front of the field, and led the last 24 laps in Corum's car.
Corum and Boyer were scored as "co-winners," the first time in Indianapolis 500 history such a designation had been assigned. In three previous Indianapolis 500s (1911, 1912, 1923), a winning driver had been given relief help during the race, qualifying, starting, and finishing in the same car. 1924 was the first time one driver relieved another entirely, and had gone on to win.
Death
Boyer died on September 2, 1924, from injuries sustained in a crash at Altoona Speedway in Tyrone, Pennsylvania the day before.{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |title=Boyer Fatally Hurt As 70,000 See Race. Detroit Driver, Trying to Overtake Murphy, the Winner, Crashes Through Rail |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/09/02/archives/boyer-fatally-hurt-as-70000-see-race-detroit-driver-trying-to.html |quote=Joe Boyer of Detroit, injured yesterday in the 250-mile automobile classic at the Altoona Speedway, died at a local hospital at 12:23 this morning. |newspaper=New York Times |date=September 3, 1924 |access-date=2012-10-07 }}{{cite news |title=Boyer Died To Avoid Crowd At Auto Race. Glad I Saved Them, Were Last Words of Driver at Altoona. Blow-Out Caused Crash |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/09/03/archives/boyer-died-to-avoid-crowd-at-auto-race-glad-i-saved-them-were-last.html |quote=Joe Boyer, speed king of the automobile world, went to his death on the ... and veteran racing men said it was a little short of miraculous that the car, ... |newspaper=New York Times |date=September 3, 1924 |access-date=2012-10-07 }}
Awards and honors
Boyer has been inducted into the following halls of fame:
- Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1985){{Cite web |title=Joe Boyer |url=https://imsmuseum.org/fame_inductee/joe-boyer/ |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=IMS Museum |language=en-US}}
- Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame (2021){{Cite web |title=Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame - Boyer Jr, Joe 2021 * |url=https://www.mmshof.org/index.php/inductees/inductees/427-boyer-jr-joe-2007 |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=www.mmshof.org}}
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 |
|---|
| 1919
|39 |14 |100.900 |4 |31 |30 |0 |Rear axle |
| 1920
|6 |2 |96.900 |2 |12 |192 |93 |Crash T3 |
| 1921
|7 |3 |96.650 |4 |17 |74 |1 |Rear axle |
| 1923
|3 |13 |98.800 |7 |18 |59 |0 |Differential |
| 1924
|9 |4 |104.840 |4 |18 |176 |0 |Accident |
| 1924
|15 |21 |93.330 |16 |style="background:green;color:white"|1 |91 |25 |Running - relief driver |
| colspan=6|Totals
|622 |119 | |
{{col-break|gap=1em}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |
| Starts
|5 |
|---|
| Poles
|0 |
| Front Row
|2 |
| Wins
|1 |
| Top 5
|1 |
| Top 10
|1 |
| Retired
|4 |
{{col-end}}
References
{{Commons category}}
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.champcarstats.com/drivers/BoyerJoe.htm Joe Boyer - ChampCarStats.com]
- {{Find a Grave|36949195}}
- [http://www.motorsportmemorial.org/focus.php?db=ct&n=85 Joe Boyer - Motorsport Memorial]
- {{Racing-Reference driver|Joe_Boyer}}
{{S-start}}
{{Succession box|before=Tommy Milton|title=Indianapolis 500 Winner|years=1924|after=Peter DePaolo}}
{{S-end}}
{{Indy 500 winners}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyer, Joe}}
Category:Indianapolis 500 drivers
Category:Indianapolis 500 winners
Category:Racing drivers from Detroit
Category:Racing drivers who died while racing
Category:Sports deaths in Pennsylvania
Category:AAA Championship Car drivers