Robert Kay Ball (August 26, 1925 – February 27, 1954) was an American racecar driver.
Early life
Ball's parents divorced when he was a year old. He was raised by his grandmother, who enrolled him in a military academy as a teenager in an attempt to take his mind off cars and motorcycles. On January 4, 1953, he was involved in an accident at Carrell Speedway in Los Angeles which left him with terrible head injuries. Ball remained in a coma, first at the UCLA Medical Center and then at home in Phoenix, but died 14 months later of an infection. Driver Jack McGrath was killed in an accident during the 1955 race. Starting in 1956, the race was sanctioned by USAC, and continued as a 100-mile contest at the fairgrounds through its 1963 edition. In 1964, the race moved to the newly opened Phoenix International Raceway and was run at a distance of 200 miles. It continued as a 200-mile race through the 1969 edition, then was run at a 150-mile distance starting with the 1970 edition, which was won by Swede Savage. The October 1971 edition was won by A. J. Foyt, after which, the race was renamed through sponsorship from Best Western for its 1972 edition. Bobby Ball naming returned for the 1976–1978 editions, the last of which was title sponsored by Miller High Life.
Complete AAA Championship Car results
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
! Year
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! 12
! 13
! 14
! 15
! Pos
! Points
|-
! rowspan=1| 1950
| INDY<br>
| MIL<br>
| LAN<br>
| SPR<br>
| MIL<br>
| PIK
| SYR<br>
| DET<br>
| SPR<br>
| SAC<br>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;" | PHX<br><small>15</small>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;" | BAY<br><small>12</small>
|style="background:#FFCFCF;" | DAR<br><small>DNQ</small>
|colspan=2|
!style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 49th
!style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 15
|-
! rowspan=1| 1951
|style="background:#DFFFDF;" | INDY<br><small>5</small>
|style="background:#FFCFCF;" | MIL<br><small>DNQ</small>
| LAN<br>
| DAR<br>
| SPR<br>
| MIL<br>
| DUQ<br>
| DUQ<br>
| PIK
| SYR<br>
| DET<br>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;" | DNC<br><small>5</small>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;" | SJS<br><small>11</small>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;" | PHX<br><small>15</small>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;" | BAY<br><small>13</small>
!style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 13th
!style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 620
|-
! rowspan=1| 1952
|style="background:#EFCFFF;" | INDY<br><small>32</small>
|style="background:#CFCFFF;" | MIL<br><small>11</small>
|style="background:#FFCFCF;" | RAL<br><small>DNQ</small>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;" | SPR<br><small>15</small>
|style="background:#CFEAFF;" | MIL<br><small>10</small>
|style="background:#CFEAFF;" | DET<br><small>9</small>
|style="background:#CFEAFF;" | DUQ<br><small>6</small>
| PIK
|style="background:#FFDF9F;" | SYR<br><small>3</small>
|style="background:#FFDF9F;" | DNC<br><small>3</small>
|style="background:#FFFFBF;" | SJS<br><small>1</small>
|style="background:#FFDF9F;" | PHX<br><small>3</small>
|colspan=3|
!style="background:#CFEAFF;" | 8th
!style="background:#CFEAFF;" | 820
|}
Indianapolis 500 results
{|
|----- valign="top"
|
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Year
!Car
!Start
!Qual
!Rank
!Finish
!Laps
!Led
!Retired
|-
!1951
|52 ||29 ||134.098 ||9 ||5 ||200 ||0 ||Running
|-
!1952
|55 ||17 ||134.725 ||23 ||32 ||34 ||0 ||Gear case
|-
|colspan="6"|Totals ||234 ||0 ||
|}
|
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Starts
|2
|-
!Poles
|0
|-
!Front Row
|0
|-
!Wins
|0
|-
!Top 5
|1
|-
!Top 10
|1
|-
!Retired
|1
|}
|}
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%"
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! WDC
! Points
|-
| 1951
! Blakely Oil
! Schroeder
! Offenhauser L4
| SUI<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| 500<br><small>5</small>
| BEL<br>
| FRA<br>
| GBR<br>
| GER<br />
| ITA<br />
| ESP<br>
! 19th
! 2
|-
| 1952
! Ansted Rotary
! Stevens
! Offenhauser L4
| SUI<br />
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 500<br><small>32</small>
| BEL<br>
| FRA<br>
| GBR<br>
| GER<br />
| NED<br>
| ITA<br />
! NC
! 0
|}