Les Spangler
Birth nameLester Spangler
Birth dateJanuary 15, 1906
Birth placeBrook, Indiana, U.S.
Death dateMay 30, 1933 (aged 27)
Death placeSpeedway, Indiana, U.S.
Lester Spangler
Total champ races2
Years in champ2
First champ race1932 Oakland 150 (Oakland)
Last champ race1933 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Champ wins0
Champ podiums0
Champ poles0

Lester Spangler (January 15, 1906 – May 30, 1933) was an American racing driver. Spangler raced with great success at Los Angeles' Legion Ascot Speedway, which led him to move up to AAA Championship Car racing.

Death

Spangler and his riding mechanic Monk Jordan died in Speedway, Indiana, while competing in the 1933 Indianapolis 500. With Spangler on the 132nd lap,[1] the car driven by Malcolm Fox spun coming out of turn one, and was rolling slowly towards the top the track. Spangler tried to get by on the outside, but ran out of room and hit Fox head on. Spangler's car rolled over while still maintaining speed, ejecting the driver and mechanic.[2]

The race was Spangler's second AAA Championship Car start, having made his debut at the Oakland Speedway the previous year.[3]

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

YearCarStartQualRankFinishLapsLedRetired
1933157116.9038261320Crash T1
Totals1320
Starts1
Poles0
Front Row0
Wins0
Top 50
Top 100
Retired1

References

  1. ^ Brown, Allen. "Les Spangler". OldRacingCars.com. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  2. ^ From Motor, The Automotive Business Magazine, June 1933 Archived November 22, 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Les Spangler". www.champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2024-03-11.