1955 Indianapolis 500 Champion Bob Sweikert To Be Inducted Into Motorsports Hall Of Fame Of America June 29
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Sweikert is being inducted in the
Historic Category, which honors achievements prior to 1976. In 1955,
Sweikert had a season for the ages winning the Indianapolis 500, the AAA
“Big Car” National Championship and the Midwest Sprint Car
Championship. He was the first driver to sweep all three honors in a single
season.Sweikert also was the first driver to exceed 100 mph on a one-mile oval track. His career was halted at the age of 30, his full potential unrealized, when he died in June 1956 after a Sprint Car accident at Salem (Indiana) Speedway.
“It is always a thrill to induct a past Indy 500 winner,” said MSHFA President Ron Watson. “But his other accomplishments in 1955 really put an exclamation point on his short career.”
Sweikert was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 1994 and the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1995.
Sweikert joins Everett Brashear, Richard Childress, Gary Gabelich, Chip Ganassi, Dave McClelland and Sam Posey in the 2016 MSHFA class of inductees.
Tickets for the 2016 Induction Ceremony can be purchased by calling 248.349.7223 or through the MSHFA website at www.mshf.com.
About the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America:
The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) held its first induction ceremony in 1989; the facility was headquartered in Novi, Michigan from 1989-2015 and relocated to Daytona Beach, Florida in 2016. The MSHFA is the only hall of fame that encompasses the full spectrum of American motorsports: cars, motorcycles, off-road, powerboats and airplanes. The overriding mission of the MSHFA is to celebrate and instill the American core values of leadership, creativity, originality, teamwork and spirit of competition embodied in motorsports. The MSHFA is operated by the nonprofit Motorsports Museum and Hall of Fame of America Foundation Inc.