I couldn't believe it was that bad. May 1973 arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with even more hype than usual, Clouds threatened again but sun broke through and the track dried. Find the obituary of Art Pollard (1957 - 2019) from Commerce City, CO. Leave your condolences to the family on this memorial page or send flowers to show you care. Learn more about merges. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. He lived with his brother Charles and later in an apartment in Greenwich Village with his brother Sanford and Sanfords wife. safety truck, speeding up pit road in the opposite direction of normal traffic, hit Teran Granatelli was the CEO and affable pitchman of the car's sponsor, STP oil products. He finished in the top ten 30 times, with two victories, at Milwaukee and Dover, both in 1969. Johnny Rutherford remembers May 12, 1973, the day of Arts fatal accident: I was the first one by the scene of the accident where he crashed, I could tell it was not good. google_ad_height = 90; Art Pollard As I See Him by Andy Granatelli, Auto Racing Magazine Of The Worlds Greatest Sport, August 1969. "It's a sad thing to say, but it is.". Although the tragic '73 race left the whole sport in a sour mood, nobody recalls having doubts about going back in '74. READ MORE. The impact tore off two wheels immediately, and the wings were also torn off during the slide. Car trouble ends his day early on lap 28. In the Saturday morning practice session on May 12th, Pollard was running 191.4 mph when he lost control of his Dan Gurney Eagle car and smashed into the outside retaining wall at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Pollard's wreck (when he broke his leg in 1972) was a direct result of a broken right rear hub on his STP-Lola. google_ad_format = "728x90_as"; Try again later. We got treated terrible until we qualified. 2. He went on to become a popular super-modified champion in the Western States in the 1960sand finally, the Indy Racing circuitachieving the pinnacle of racing, the famed BrickyardIndianapolis Motor Speedway in 1967. Please enter your email and password to sign in. google_color_url = "0033FF"; She is the daughter of Art Pollard. Year should not be greater than current year. google_ad_channel ="0983136519"; From a small hydroplane on Oregon's Umpqua River to micro-midgets and modified stock cars on a half-mile oval in Roseburg, Oregon. Pollard raced at Indy seven times, finishing eighth in the 1967 race. And that was the most impressive thing, Bobby Plump said. Born in Dragon, Utah, and raised in the Portland, Oregon area, Pollard drove in the USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1965-1973 seasons, with 84 career starts, including the 1967-1971 Indianapolis 500 races. The race recommenced an hour later. 1970 Indianapolis 500 [ESPN Classic Telecast Version] (Full Race), 5. Among his contemporaries, he was respected for his deeply personal and totally uncompromising commitment to the art of painting. Rene Thomas, the 1914 race winner, was driven around the track. I just walked away.". Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. Death 12 May 1973 (aged 46) Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, USA. Arts son, Mike, turned away from the flatbed truck he was working on when the radio newsman uttered his fathers name. |, Copyright 1999-2006 Pollard raced a wide variety of both cars and other machinery; this included hydroplanes, micro midgets and super modified stock cars. A month later, after Savage's kidneys had failed, he died of pneumonia. None of the men ever forgot about May 12, nor did they let their glowing recollections of the man they called friendly, loving and one of a kind fade. Bob and his wife Karen reside in Hillsboro, Oregon. Once I got the news I called the hospital, and by then he had passed away.. And I think it was a tribute to him and the fact that he cared. I thought you might like to see a memorial for Art Lee Pollard Jr. You will then receive an email that helps you regain access. interrupted again by rain, which, mercifully, caused it to be stopped at Lap 133 of the Fast forward 36 years. Rutherford google_ad_channel ="0983136519"; Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. friends . He earned 300 points and $17,362.00. Pollard's lap prior to the crash was timed at a speed above 192 miles per hour (309km/h). After four years in the Navy, he went to work at Hansen Chevrolet, where Art was a mechanic. observers. But after the wreck, I looked like I was fifteen years old again. He moved up the ranks, eventually testing himself against the best in the United States Auto Club Championship Car Series. Can You Match These Lesser-Known Paintings to Their Artists? Jackson Pollock lived in New York after moving there in 1930 to study art. He is our most famous son, and whether you were privileged to know him or not you can take pride in the fact that Art was one of us., Our promise to Mike and Judy, and all who all knew him best, is as long as there is a Pacific Racing Association, Art Pollard will never be forgotten, both for the kind of guy he was and for his contributions to the sport we all love so much., (In early 1960s) I felt more comfortable running wheel-to-wheel with Art than anyone in history. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. "He was kind of cheering me on and was happy I was in a car, because we were google_color_link = "0033FF"; Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. His father, LeRoy Pollock, was. This browser does not support getting your location. For a moment it was up in the air and then it spun sideways and came down on fire. These spiritual explorations prepared him to embrace the theories of the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung and the exploration of unconscious imagery in his paintings in subsequent years. Mud and sodden trash was everywhere. But the luck and success ran out preparing for the 1973 Indy 500, a race remembered for deadly accidents. . He was a real nice guy and we got along very well, Green said. What I really admired about Bob Christie was that he was such a gentleman on the track. I told 'em I was at the Indy 500. A crowd estimated at 250,000 swarmed Indianapolis Motor Speedway's grandstands, suites and infield on May 12, 1973. And it was like talking to your next door neighbor. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Art qualified in 6th spot in 1970. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Art Pollard (7232111)? His racing career started in Roseburg racing hydroplanes on the Umpqua River, and micro-midgets at the fairgrounds. An accident had not killed a driver here since 1973, when Art Pollard died on the first day of qualifications and Swede Savage died of injuries sustained in an accident during the race. The Art Pollard Day in May continued for decades after dads death. "Probably after me and you are dead and gone, that stuff they'll be racing will be Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. It was a quick input on the wheel to the right, and it came right backit only happened that one time. 'George, he was a great lover of . google_ad_client = "pub-8002195670072149"; Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. As the race started, Salt Walther and Jerry Grant touched wheels, launching Walther's car into the catch fence . In 1968, he teamed up to drive one of Andy Granatelli's famous STP Lotus Turbines. Jackson Pollock, in full Paul Jackson Pollock, (born January 28, 1912, Cody, Wyoming, U.S.died August 11, 1956, East Hampton, New York), American painter who was a leading exponent of Abstract Expressionism, an art movement characterized by the free-associative gestures in paint sometimes referred to as action painting. During his lifetime he received widespread publicity and serious recognition for the radical poured, or drip, technique he used to create his major works. On lap 57, Savage pitted and took on a full fuel load. Some of the pieces flew up in the stands. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. recalled pole-sitter Johnny Rutherford. (HTTP response code 503). Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. A fire truck traveling at an estimate 60 mph in the wrong direction hit Teran, who suffered crushed ribs and a fractured skull. He was always racing. The grandstand was showered in debris and burning fuel. Johncock's celebration wasn't much of a party. It was a needed and welcome improvement. It consisted mostly of small landscapes and figurative scenes such as Going West (193435), in which Pollock utilized motifs derived from photographs of his birthplace at Cody. wrong," said Dan Gurney, himself a driver until 1970 and later an owner and car Hell, we'd take him on hunting trips, fishing trips, everywhere. google_ad_client = "pub-8002195670072149"; Time trials began on time, at 11 a.m. Rutherford qualified at 198.413 to set a track record and take the pole. A popular super-modified champion in the Western States in the 1960s to ultimately the Championship Car Series achieving the pinnacle of racing at the famed Brickyard in Indiana. In the fall of 1930 Pollock followed his brother Charles, who left home to study art in 1922, to New York City, where he enrolled at the Art Students League under his brothers teacher, the regionalist painter Thomas Hart Benton. One of the top athletes probably in the country. May, 1972 - On May 7th Art Pollard became the 13th member of the 180 . If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. Were it not for the lessons taught by tragedy, the race would be better forgotten. Pollard's was an uncommon touch. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? His work and example had enormous influence on them and on many subsequent art movements in the United States. "I tried to keep an upbeat conversation: 'The seat's here for you, Swede, I'm just Maybe not to dad, because I think he took the relationships he had for granted, because he was that way though his whole life. It was pole day for the Indianapolis 500, a sunny Saturday bright with the promise of speed. IndySpeedway.com They saw, instead, the fatal first day of the old track's deadliest May since 1937. Being a big race fan, I was fortunately allowed to go. he also had the rookie of the year, Graham McRae, who finished 16th. while injuring a dozen spectators. Art Pollard (born 05 May 1927 Dragon, Utah; died 12 May 1973 Indianapolis, Indiana). Paul Jackson Pollock was the fifth and youngest son of Stella May McClure and LeRoy Pollock, who were both of Scotch-Irish extraction (LeRoys original surname was McCoy before his adoption about 1890 by a family named Pollock) and born and raised in Iowa. The rain came while workers were still cleaning the track. June 8, 1969 The STP team showed up at Milwaukee with Greg Weld in the #57 STP Gerhardt Offy and it was a good thing. It was the Golden Era of IndyCar racing. ,