Eylard Theodore Horn (February 27, 1910 – October 10, 1948) was an American racing driver. Widely considered one of the greatest racers of his era, he was the first person in history to win the AAA National Championship three times consecutively, doing so in 1946, 1947 and 1948.
Early life and career
Eylard Theodore Horn was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Horn's family moved several times during his childhood, finally settling in Los Angeles. At 15 years of age, he found work at the Los Angeles Times newspaper.
On his way to work one day Horn was pulled over for speeding. Try as he might, he could not get out of this situation easily. The policeman gave him a fairly unusual punishment for the infraction. The young man was to travel to a race track called San Jose Speedway where usually there were more cars than drivers, then find a willing car owner to let him drive. Once he got all the speed he had out of his system, he could pick up his impounded car. Horn would heed the advice of the policeman and would eventually return to pick up his car. But he found a new passion in auto racing and would never "get the speed he had out of his system."
Championship car career
In 1934 in preparation for the Indianapolis 500, Horn practiced in a car called the Mick Special. However, he did not feel comfortable with the car and decided against trying to qualify it. Throughout that summer he campaigned a sprint car on a rigorous schedule once again in the east and midwest. He was successful enough to attract the attention of Harry Miller. Preston Tucker was putting together an ambitious effort with Miller and the Ford Motor Company for the 1935 Indianapolis 500. When asked by Miller, Horn accepted a ride in one of the new Miller Ford V8 cars. He did make the field for the 1935 Indianapolis 500. He was 38. The Southern Illinois 100 was known as the Ted Horn Memorial from 1952 until 1983.
Awards and honors
Horn has been inducted into the following halls of fame:
- Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1964)
- Eastern Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame (1987)
- National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (1991)
- Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1993)
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
! Pos
! Points
|-
! rowspan=1| 1934
|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| INDY<br><small>DNQ</small>
| SPR
| SYR
| MYF
|colspan=8|
!style="background:#FFCFCF;"| NR
!style="background:#FFCFCF;"| 0
|-
! rowspan=1| 1935
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| INDY<br><small>16</small>
|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| MIN<br><small>DNQ</small>
| SPR
| SYR
| ALT
| LAN
|colspan=6|
!style="background:#FFCFCF;"| NR
!style="background:#FFCFCF;"| 0
|-
! rowspan=1| 1936
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| INDY<br><small>2</small>
|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| GTP<br><small>DNQ</small>
|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| SYR<br><small>DNQ</small>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| GVC<br><small>36</small>
|colspan=8|
!style="background:#FFDF9F;"| 3rd
!style="background:#FFDF9F;"| 450
|-
! rowspan=1| 1937
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| INDY<br><small>3</small>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| GVC<br><small>17</small>
|style="background:#CFEAFF;"| SYR<br><small>6</small>
|colspan=9|
!style="background:#DFDFDF;"| 2nd
!style="background:#DFDFDF;"| 750
|-
! rowspan=1| 1938
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| INDY<br><small>4</small>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| SYR<br><small>4</small>
|colspan=10|
!style="background:#DFFFDF;"| 4th
!style="background:#DFFFDF;"| 660
|-
! rowspan=1| 1939
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| INDY<br><small>4</small>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MIL<br><small>14</small>
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| SYR<br><small>3</small>
|colspan=9|
!style="background:#FFDF9F;"| 3rd
!style="background:#FFDF9F;"| 685
|-
! rowspan=1| 1940
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| INDY<br><small>4</small>
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| ILL<br><small>2</small>
|style="background:#CFEAFF;"| SYR<br><small>6</small>
|colspan=9|
!style="background:#DFFFDF;"| 4th
!style="background:#DFFFDF;"| 625
|-
! rowspan=1| 1941
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| INDY<br><small>3</small>
| MIL
| SYR
|colspan=9|
!style="background:#DFDFDF;"| 2nd
!style="background:#DFDFDF;"| 675
|-
! rowspan=1| 1946
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| INDY<br><small>3</small>
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| LAN<br><small>3</small>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| ATL<br><small>6</small>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| ISF<br><small>4</small>
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| MIL<br><small>2</small>
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| GOS<br><small>2</small>
|colspan=6|
!style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 1st
!style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 2,448
|-
! rowspan=1| 1947
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| INDY<br><small>3</small>
|style="background:#FFCFCF;"| MIL<br><small>DNQ</small>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| LAN<br><small>5</small>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| ATL<br><small>4</small>
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| BAI<br><small>1</small>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MIL<br><small>6</small>
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| GOS<br><small>2</small>
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| MIL<br><small>1</small>
| PIK
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| SPR<br><small>2</small>
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| ARL<br><small>1</small>
|colspan=1|
!style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 1st
!style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 1,920
|-
! rowspan=1| 1948
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| ARL<br><small>1</small>
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| INDY<br><small>4</small>
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| MIL<br><small>3</small>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| LAN<br><small>9</small>
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| MIL<br><small>3</small>
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| SPR<br><small>1</small>
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| MIL<br><small>3</small>
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| DUQ<br><small>3</small>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| ATL<br><small>12</small>
| PIK
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| SPR<br><small>3</small>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| DUQ<br><small>17</small>
!style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 1st
!style="background:#FFFFBF;"| 1,890
|}
- 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
!Chassis
!Engine
|-
!1934
|53
|DNQ
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Duesenberg
| Duesenberg
|-
!1935
|43
|26
|113.213
|27
|16
|145
|0
|Steering
| Miller
| Ford
|-
!1936
|22
|11
|116.564
|8
|2
|200
|16
|Running
| Wetteroth
| Miller
|-
!1937
|3
|32
|118.608
|17
|3
|200
|0
|Running
| Wetteroth
| Miller
|-
!1938
|2
|6
|121.327
|12
|4
|200
|0
|Running
| Wetteroth
| Miller
|-
!1939
|4
|4
|127.723
|6
|4
|200
|4
|Running
| Miller
| Miller
|-
!1940
|3
|4
|125.545
|4
|4
|199
|0
|Flagged
| Miller
| Miller
|-
!1941
|4
|28
|124.297
|8
|3
|200
|0
|Running
| Adams
| Sparks
|-
!1946
|29
|7
|123.980
|11
|3
|200
|0
|Running
| Maserati
| Maserati
|-
!1947
|1
|style="background:green;color:white"|1
|126.564
|3
|3
|200
|0
|Running
| Maserati
| Maserati
|-
!1948
|1
|5
|126.565
|9
|4
|200
|74
|Running
| Maserati
| Maserati
|-
|colspan=6|Totals
|1944
|94
|colspan=3|
|}
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Starts
|10
|-
!Poles
|1
|-
!Front Row
|1
|-
!Wins
|0
|-
!Top 5
|9
|-
!Top 10
|9
|-
!Retired
|1
|}
- Horn has the best 10-year streak of finishes in Indianapolis 500 history.
- Over his Indianapolis 500 career, Horn completed 1944 out of a possible 2000 laps (97%).
- Although Horn started the 1947 race from the pole position, his was the third fastest qualifying speed behind Bill Holland and Duke Nalon.
- Horn qualified for the prestigious 100 mph Club a record eight times.
References
External links
- David Malsher-Lopez – Ted Horn's sad lesson for IndyCar
- Ted Horn – ChampCarStats.com
- Ted Horn – Motorsport Memorial