Henry Edwin Banks (June 14, 1913 – December 18, 1994) was an American racing driver. He competed in various disciplines of open-wheel motorsport. Banks is best remembered for winning the 1950 AAA National Championship, and for his later career as a USAC race official.

Early life

Henry Banks was born in England, but brought up in Royal Oak, Michigan. He was the son of an early European race-driver.

Driving career

Early career

Banks began competing in 1932, when he was 19 years old, and became successful in midget cars.

Banks was the first driver to pass the qualifying "rookie test" instituted at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway beginning in 1936. and he scored no World Drivers' Championship points.

Post-driving life

thumb|left|Banks tested the first-ever turbine-powered car at Indianapolis in 1955

After Banks retired from competition, he occasionally tested other automobiles. Later, he became the USAC Director of Competitions. He died in Indianapolis in 1994.

Actor

thumb|Banks (center), with [[Ralph DePalma and Troy Ruttman in 1952]]

Banks appeared in two racing-related films during his career. The first was To Please A Lady, starring Clark Gable. The second was Roar of the Crowd, starring Howard Duff.

Awards and honors

Banks has been inducted into the following halls of fame:

  • Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame (1982)
  • Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1985)
  • National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1987)
  • United States Auto Club (USAC) Hall of Fame (2013)
  • Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2023)

Banks has been awarded the following honors:

  • Automotive Hall of Fame Distinguished Service Citation (1978)

Motorsports career results

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

|-

! 1946

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| INDY<br><small>27</small>

| LAN<br><small>DNS</small>

| ATL

| ISF

| MIL

| GOS

|colspan=9|

! -

! 0

|-

! 1947

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| INDY<br><small>24</small>

| MIL

| LAN

| ATL

| BAI

| MIL

| GOS

| MIL

| PIK

| SPR

| ARL

|colspan=4|

! -

! 0

|-

! 1948

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| ARL<br><small>13</small>

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| INDY<br><small>DNQ</small>

| MIL

| LAN

| MIL

| SPR

| MIL

| DUQ

| ATL

| PIK

| SPR

| DUQ

|colspan=3|

! -

! 0

|-

! 1949

| ARL

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| INDY<br><small>DNQ</small>

| MIL

| TRE

| SPR

| MIL

| DUQ

| PIK

| SYR

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| DET<br><small>DNQ</small>

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| SPR<br><small>DNQ</small>

| LAN

| SAC

| DMR

|colspan=1|

! -

! 0

|-

! 1950

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| INDY<br><small>25</small>

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| MIL<br><small>5</small>

|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| LAN<br><small>2</small>

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| SPR<br><small>DNQ</small>

|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| MIL<br><small>2</small>

| PIK

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| SYR<br><small>DNQ</small>

|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| DET<br><small>1</small>

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| SPR<br><small>18</small>

|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| SAC<br><small>3</small>

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| PHX<br><small>12</small>

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| BAY<br><small>4</small>

|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| DAR<br><small>3</small>

|colspan=2|

!style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 1st

!style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 1,390

|-

! 1951

|style="background:#CFEAFF;"| INDY<br><small>6</small>

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MIL<br><small>11</small>

|style="background:#CFEAFF;"| LAN<br><small>10</small>

|style="background:#CFEAFF;"| DAR<br><small>7</small>

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| SPR<br><small>4</small>

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| MIL<br><small>5</small>

|style="background:#CFEAFF;"| DUQ<br><small>6</small>

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| DUQ<br><small>5</small>

| PIK

|style="background:#CFEAFF;"| SYR<br><small>6</small>

|style="background:#CFEAFF;"| DET<br><small>9</small>

|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| DNC<br><small>2</small>

|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| SJS<br><small>3</small>

|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| PHX<br><small>2</small>

|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| BAY<br><small>3</small>

!style="background:#DFDFDF;"| 2nd

!style="background:#DFDFDF;"| 1,856.6

|-

! 1952

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| INDY<br><small>19</small>

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| MIL<br><small>DNQ</small>

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| RAL<br><small>10</small>

|style="background:#CFEAFF;"| SPR<br><small>7</small>

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| MIL<br><small>4</small>

|style="background:#CFEAFF;"| DET<br><small>6</small>

|style="background:#CFEAFF;"| DUQ<br><small>7</small>

| PIK

|style="background:#CFEAFF;"| SYR<br><small>8</small>

|style="background:#CFEAFF;"| DNC<br><small>8</small>

|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| SJS<br><small>17</small>

|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| PHX<br><small>5</small>

|colspan=3|

!style="background:#CFEAFF;"| 10th

!style="background:#CFEAFF;"| 700

|-

! 1953

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| INDY<br><small>DNQ</small>

|style="background:#DFC484;"| MIL<br><small>Wth</small>

| SPR

| DET

| SPR

| MIL

| DUQ

| PIK

| SYR

| ISF

| SAC

| PHX

|colspan=3|

! -

! 0

|-

! 1954

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| INDY<br><small>DNQ</small>

| MIL

| LAN

| DAR

| SPR

| MIL

| DUQ

| PIK

| SYR

| ISF

| SAC

| PHX

| LVG

|colspan=2|

! -

! 0

|}

  • 1946 table only includes results of the six races run to "championship car" specifications. Points total includes the 71 races run to "big car" specifications.

Indianapolis 500 results

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|-

!Year

!Car

!Start

!Qual

!Rank

!Finish

!Laps

!Led

!Retired

|-

!1938

|33

|31

|116.279

|31

|21

|109

|0

|Rod bearing

|-

!1946

|3

|21

|120.220

|25

|27

|32

|0

|Pinion shaft

|-

!1947

|43

|26

|120.923

|18

|24

|36

|0

|Oil line

|-

!1950

|12

|21

|129.646

|29

|25

|112

|0

|Flagged

|-

!1951

|1

|17

|133.899

|12

|6

|200

|0

|Running

|-

!1952

|2

|12

|135.962

|12

|19

|184

|0

|Flagged

|-

|colspan=6|Totals

|673

|0

|

|}

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|-

!Starts

|6

|-

!Poles

|0

|-

!Front Row

|0

|-

!Wins

|0

|-

!Top 5

|0

|-

!Top 10

|1

|-

!Retired

|3

|}

FIA World Drivers' Championship results

(key)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"

! Year

! Entrant

! Chassis

! Engine

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

!

! Pts

|-

| 1950

! Indianapolis Race Cars

! Maserati 8CL

! Offenhauser 3.0 L4s

| GBR

| MON

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 500<br>

| SUI

| BEL

| FRA

| ITA

|

|

! NC

! 0

|-

| 1951

! Blue Crown Spark Plug / Hopkins

! Moore

! Offenhauser 4.5 L4

| SUI

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 500<br>

| BEL

| FRA

| GBR

| GER

| ITA

| ESP

|

! NC

! 0

|-

| 1952

! Blue Crown Spark Plug / Hopkins

! Lesovsky

! Offenhauser 4.5 L4

| SUI

|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| 500<br>

| BEL

| FRA

| GBR

| GER

| NED

| ITA

|

! NC

! 0

|-

| 1953

! Hopkins / Motor Racers

! Lesovsky

! Offenhauser 4.5 L4

| ARG

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| 500<br>

| NED

| BEL

| FRA

| GBR

| GER

| SUI

| ITA

! NC

! 0

|-

| 1954

! Hopkins / Motor Racers

! Lesovsky

! Offenhauser 4.5 L4

| ARG

|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| 500<br>

| BEL

| FRA

| GBR

| GER

| SUI

| ITA

| ESP

! NC

! 0

|-

!colspan=15|

|}

References

  • Henry Banks - ChampCarStats.com
  • Henry Banks - Motorsport Memorial