Raffaele "Ralph" DePalma (occasionally spelt De Palma, December 19, 1882 – March 31, 1956) was an American racing driver who won the 1915 Indianapolis 500. DePalma won the 1908, 1909, 1910, and 1911 American AAA national dirt track championships and is credited with winning 25 American Championship car races. When he arrived in the US he was told that, because his father had become a naturalized US citizen, he was automatically a US citizen himself. It was not until March 1920 that it was revealed to him that his father had not completed the paperwork required. He applied for US citizenship and was granted it in August 1920. As a young man, he tried bicycle racing with mixed success, but at the age of twenty-two, he began racing motorcycles before switching to the automobile dirt track racing circuit in 1909, the year that the American Automobile Association established the national driving championship.

thumb|left|DePalma and his riding mechanic pushing their 1910 Mercedes 90 hp that led for 196 laps at the [[1912 Indianapolis 500]]

DePalma was immediately successful in car racing. In 1911, DePalma won the first Milwaukee Mile Championship Car race. However, he is still remembered for the dramatic manner in which he lost the 1912 Indianapolis 500. After taking over the race lead on lap 3 and then leading the race for the next 196 laps, his car, a 1910 Mercedes 90 hp with overhead valves, cracked a piston. With only two laps remaining, he and his mechanic had to push the car across the finish line to take eleventh place. but was almost killed in an accident on October 5 at the Grand Prize held in a road course in Milwaukee. After being impaled by a corn stalk, he was hospitalized for 11 weeks;

thumb|right|Ralph DePalma and his Packard V-12 in 1919

DePalma was an intense competitor but one of the most popular racers with his fellow drivers and the fans because of his good sportsmanship, a quality he displayed on and off the track. In June 1917 he lost to Barney Oldfield in a series of 10 to 25 mile match races at the Milwaukee Mile. On February 12, 1919, at Daytona Beach, Florida, he drove a Packard to a world speed record of over a measured mile (1.6 km). and he led for many laps He was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Film appearances

DePalma had a small role in the 1920 Hollywood film High Speed and in 1924 played the part of the Champion in an action/drama film written by Wilfred Lucas titled Racing for Life. He also had a cameo in The Cool Hot Rod (1953).

Family

DePalma is the brother of Indianapolis 500 competitor John DePalma and the maternal uncle of 1925 Indianapolis 500 winner Peter DePaolo.

Awards

  • In 1973, DePalma was made a posthumous member of the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan.
  • In 1991, DePalma was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
  • DePalma was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.
  • In 2006, DePalma was inducted into the Elgin (IL) Sports Hall of Fame.

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

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

|-

!Year

!Car

!Start

!Qual

!Rank

!Finish

!Laps

!Led

!Retired

|-

!1911

|2

|2

|—

|12

|6

|200

|4

|Running

|-

!1912

|4

|4

|86.020

|5

|11

|198

|196

|Rod

|-

!1913

|21

|12

|76.300

|24

|23

|15

|0

|Bearing

|-

!1915

|2

|2

|98.580

|2

|style="background:green;color:white"|1

|200

|132

|Running

|-

!1919

|4

|4

|98.200

|10

|6

|200

|93

|Running

|-

!1920

|2

|style="background:green;color:white"|1

|99.150

|style="background:green;color:white"|1

|5

|200

|79

|Running

|-

!1921

|4

|style="background:green;color:white"|1

|100.750

|style="background:green;color:white"|1

|12

|112

|108

|Rod

|-

!1922

|17

|3

|99.550

|3

|4

|200

|0

|Running

|-

!1923

|2

|11

|100.420

|5

|15

|69

|0

|Head gasket

|-

!1925

|8

|18

|108.607

|6

|7

|200

|0

|Running

|-

|colspan=6|Totals

|1594

|612

|

|}

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

|-

!Starts

|10

|-

!Poles

|2

|-

!Front Row

|5

|-

!Wins

|1

|-

!Top 5

|3

|-

!Top 10

|6

|-

!Retired

|4

|}

  • DePalma's total of 612 laps led stood as the all-time Indianapolis lap leader record until Al Unser surpassed him on the 200th lap of the 1987 Indianapolis 500.

References

  • Profile on Historic Racing
  • The Greatest 33