He’s the oldest living Indy 500 driver, having competed in the 1955, ’57, ’58 and ’59 races. He’s also a World War II veteran.

I’ll be honest here, I was hoping for more than I was able to get out of him, but that’s not his fault. He doesn’t happen to be a natural storyteller, and there wasn’t that much to say about his racing career. He finished 12^th as a rookie in 1955, and that turned out to be his best performance. He wasn’t a prominent driver, and didn’t have a long career in Indy car racing.

Still, he’s a historical figure, and you can tell he’s the type of guy you’d enjoy sitting with on the front porch and rehashing old times. That’s where he was sitting when we talked on the telephone for this conversation. Maybe I should have driven over to Illinois to record the show in person.

You also can watch a YouTube interview with him here.

First aired 2012

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Tagged with: Chuck Weyant, Indianapolis 500 1955