Eddie Johnson (racing driver)

Eddie Johnson

Born	February 10, 1919
Died	June 30, 1974 (aged 55)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	American
Active years	1952–1960
Teams	Trevis, Kurtis Kraft, Turner, Pawl, Kuzma
Entries	9
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	1
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1952 Indianapolis 500
Last entry	1960 Indianapolis 500

Eddie Johnson (February 10, 1919 – June 30, 1974) was an American racecar driver.

Born in Richmond, Virginia, Johnson died in a plane crash near Cleveland, Ohio. The National Transportation Safety Board ruled the probable cause was pilot error, specifically attempting to fly visually in unsuitable weather and structurally overloading the airplane.^[1] He drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1950–1952 and 1955–1966 seasons with 33 starts, including the Indianapolis 500 races in all of those years but the first two. He finished in the top ten 9 times, with his best finish in 3rd position, in 1959 at Trenton. Late in his career, Johnson frequently came to Indianapolis without an assigned car only to be signed on to a team which needed a driver to put a struggling car in the race.^[2] In 1965, Johnson became the last person on the track in the Indianapolis 500 mile race with a naturally aspirated Offenhauser in a roadster. Johnson was flagged to finish in 10th place. Johnson was a high school acquaintance of 1950 Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Parsons.

Indy 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1952 81 24 133.973 30 16 193 0 Flagged 1953* 2 - - - 7 ? ? Running 1954** 2 - - - 22 ? ? Retirement 1955 83 32 134.449 32 13 196 0 Flagged 1956 81 32 139.093 32 15 195 0 Flagged 1957 43 20 140.171 28 25 93 0 Wheel bearing 1958 61 26 142.670 26 9 200 0 Running 1959 19 8 144.000 9 8 200 0 Running 1960 22 7 145.003 10 6 200 0 Running 1961 33 10 145.843 12 18 127 0 Crash T4 1962 32 18 146.592 23 25 38 0 Magneto 1963 88 21 148.509 22 20 112 0 Crash BS 1964 84 24 152.905 11 26 6 0 Fuel Pump 1965 23 28 153.998 32 10 195 0 Flagged 1966 54 29 158.898 28 7 175 0 Stalled Totals 1930 0

Starts 13 Poles 0 Front Row 0 Wins 0 Top 5 0 Top 10 5 Retired 6

* shared drive with Jim Rathmann
** shared drive with Rodger Ward

• During his Indy career, Eddie Johnson drove nearly five thousand miles without leading a lap. Only Chet Miller has completed more laps at Indianapolis without leading a lap.

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. Eddie Johnson participated in 9 World Championship races and scored 1 World Championship point.

References

1. http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=33284&key=0
2. Davidson, Donald. "The Talk of Gasoline Alley". May 8, 2012. Emmis Communications. Retrieved 2012-08-05.