# Speed Gardner

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**William H. "Speed" Gardner**[1] (July 2, 1895 – April 25, 1972) was an American [racing driver](/source/Racing_driver) during the [AAA](/source/AAA_Contest_Board) era. His best result was the first [Indianapolis 500](/source/Indianapolis_500) race he managed to qualify for, finishing sixth in [1929](/source/1929_Indianapolis_500) with the help of his relief driver [Chet Gardner](/source/Chet_Gardner),[2] completing the event at an average speed of 88.4 mph in his Miller powered Chromolite car.[3] After two successive mechanical failures in 1930 and 1931, he looked ready to qualify for the [1932 Indianapolis 500](/source/1932_Indianapolis_500),[4] but failed to do so. While attempting to qualify for the [1933 race](/source/1933_Indianapolis_500) he crashed and sustained a [fracture](/source/Bone_fracture) to his left thigh along with severe [bruises](/source/Bruise).[5]

## Motorsports career results

### Indianapolis 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1929 48 28 105.985 27 6 200 0 Running 1930 19 27 95.585 25 35 14 0 Main bearing 1931 17 7 109.820 13 25 107 0 Frame Totals 321 0

Starts 3 Poles 0 Front Row 0 Wins 0 Top 5 0 Top 10 1 Retired 2

## References

1. ["All the facts about the biggest motor race of Motordom"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5116301/speed_gardner_qualifying_bio_1932/). *[The Indianapolis News](/source/The_Indianapolis_News)*. May 28, 1932. Retrieved December 28, 2019.

1. ["Chester Leroy Gardner Bio."](http://www.historicracing.com/driver_detail.cfm?driverID=7890). Historicracing.com. Retrieved December 28, 2019.

1. ["IMS archive"](http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/indy500/history/stats/drivers/?f=Speed&l=Gardner). [IMS](/source/Indianapolis_Motor_Speedway). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20130701124550/http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/indy500/history/stats/drivers/?f=Speed&l=Gardner) July 1, 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 28, 2019.

1. ["Deadline Approaches as Tardy Drivers Urge Cars"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5116416/speed_gardner_expected_to_qualify/). *[The Indianapolis News](/source/The_Indianapolis_News)*. May 27, 1932. Retrieved December 28, 2019.

1. ["Speedway News"](https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=TDB19330526-01.1.2). *[The Daily Banner](/source/The_Daily_Banner)*. May 26, 1933. p. 2. Retrieved December 28, 2019.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Speed Gardner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_Gardner) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_Gardner?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.