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Walt Faulkner | |||||||
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Born | Walter Faulkner February 6, 1918 Tell, Texas, U.S. | ||||||
Died | April 22, 1956 Vallejo, California, U.S. | (aged 38)||||||
Champ Car career | |||||||
35 races run over 7 years | |||||||
Years active | 1949-1955 | ||||||
Best finish | 2nd – 1950 | ||||||
First race | 1950 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis) | ||||||
Last race | 1955 Springfield 100 (Springfield) | ||||||
First win | 1950 Milwaukee 200 (Milwaukee) | ||||||
Last win | 1951 Milwaukee 200 (Milwaukee) | ||||||
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Formula One World Championship career | |||||||
Active years | 1950 – 1955 | ||||||
Teams | Kurtis Kraft, Kuzma, Pankratz, Lesovsky, Ferrari | ||||||
Entries | 6 (5 starts) | ||||||
Championships | 0 | ||||||
Wins | 0 | ||||||
Podiums | 0 | ||||||
Career points | 1 | ||||||
Pole positions | 1 | ||||||
Fastest laps | 0 | ||||||
First entry | 1950 Indianapolis 500 | ||||||
Last entry | 1955 Indianapolis 500 |
Walter Faulkner[1] (February 6, 1918[2] – April 22, 1956)[3] was an American racing driver from Tell, Texas. He moved to Milledgeville, Georgia at the age of two-and-a-half, and to Lake Wales, Florida at the age of eight. He then moved to San Diego, California in 1936. Faulkner competed mainly in the National Championship and in stock car races. In 1950 Faulkner became the first rookie to win pole position at the Indianapolis 500. He died in 1956 after a qualifying crash at a USAC Stock Car event in Vallejo, California.
Earlier in his career, Faulkner raced motorcycles, then switched to midget cars, later driving for the Edelbrock dirt track racing team. He had great success in midget car racing and was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2007. Faulkner was also inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2006.[4]