Bob Sweikert

Interesting facts

Bob Sweikert won the 1955 Indianapolis 500 from 14th on the grid. That same year, he became the only driver in history to sweep the Indy 500, the AAA big car national championship and the Midwest sprint car championship all in one season. Barely a year after his Indianapolis triumph, he was killed on 17 June 1956 at Salem Speedway: his car clipped a steel beam jutting onto the track, flew off the edge, landed roughly a hundred feet below and burst into flames - he died at the scene, aged just 30. Bob Sweikert raced in Formula 1 from 1952 to 1956, across 5 seasons as an American driver. He scored a total of 8 championship points over his career.