Donald Davidson (historian)

For other individuals with this name, see Donald Davidson (disambiguation).
Donald Davidson
Davidson in 2016
Born
Salisbury, England
OccupationHistorian
AwardsSagamore of the Wabash

Donald C. Davidson[1][2] (born 1942-43[3][4]) was the historian of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1998 to 2020,[5][6] the only person to hold such a position on a full-time basis for any motorsports facility in the world.[7] Davidson started his career as a statistician, publicist, and historian at USAC. His radio program, The Talk of Gasoline Alley, is broadcast annually throughout the "Month of May" on WFNI in Indianapolis, and he is part of the IMS Radio Network.

Davidson is a member of the Auto Racing Hall of Fame, the Richard M. Fairbanks Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame,[8] and the USAC Hall of Fame.[9] In 2016, he was named a Sagamore of the Wabash by Governor Mike Pence.

  1. ^ Silver, Matthew (April 21, 2014). "Donald C. Davidson – Nine Jones in 500, nary a Smith". Senior Life Newspapers. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2014.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^ Graves, Gary (May 22, 2009). "The Brickyard at 100: Retaining tradition, embracing innovation". USA Today. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  3. ^ Brown, Nathan. "Donald Davidson, who turned his love of the Indy 500 into a career, will retire as IMS historian". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  4. ^ Keefer, Zak. "Donald Davidson: The biggest fan of the Indy 500 there ever was". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
  5. ^ "Legendary IMS historian Davidson to retire at year's end". www.motorsport.com. 2020-12-07. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  6. ^ Speedway, Indianapolis Motor. "Beloved IMS Historian Davidson Retiring Dec. 31". www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com. Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  7. ^ Davidson, Tim (2009). "The Answer Man: A Brief History of IMS Historian Donald Davidson". 2009 Indianapolis 500 Official Program. Indy Publications. pp. 42–47.
  8. ^ "Indiana Broadcasting Hall To Induct IMS Historian Davidson". IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com. 2013-09-25. Retrieved 2013-09-26.
  9. ^ "8 Initial 2017 USAC Hall of Fame Inductees Announced". USAC Racing. June 19, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2017.