George Reggie "Little George" Amick[1] (October 24, 1924 – April 4, 1959) was an American racecar driver, mainly competing in the American National Championship.[2] He was killed in a crash in a USAC 100-mile (160 km) race at Daytona International Speedway.[2]
| George Amick | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| Born | George Reggie Amick, Jr. October 24, 1924 Vernonia, Oregon, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | April 4, 1959 (aged 34) Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. | ||||||
| Champ Car career | |||||||
| 43 races run over 5 years | |||||||
| Years active | 1955–1959 | ||||||
| Best finish | 2nd – 1958 | ||||||
| First race | 1955 Rex Mays Classic (Milwaukee) | ||||||
| Last race | 1959 Daytona 100 (Daytona) | ||||||
| First win | 1956 Langhorne 100 (Langhorne) | ||||||
| Last win | 1957 Atlanta 100 (Lakewood) | ||||||
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| Formula One World Championship career | |||||||
| Active years | 1957–1958 | ||||||
| Teams | Snowberger, Epperly | ||||||
| Entries | 2 (1 start) | ||||||
| Championships | 0 | ||||||
| Wins | 0 | ||||||
| Podiums | 1 | ||||||
| Career points | 6 | ||||||
| Pole positions | 0 | ||||||
| Fastest laps | 0 | ||||||
| First entry | 1957 Indianapolis 500 | ||||||
| Last entry | 1958 Indianapolis 500 | ||||||
Racing career edit
Amick began racing in jalopies in the Northwestern United States before switching to midget car racing.[2] He competed in USAC National midgets for three seasons, finishing in the top ten points each season, and won 16 feature races.[2] He totaled 38 wins including the 1957 Turkey Night Grand Prix.[2]
He moved to Indy cars and won three times in 43 starts.[2] In his rookie appearance at the Indianapolis 500 in 1958, Amick was assigned a "lay-down" roadster commissioned by car owner Norm Demler, designed by Quinn Epperly, and built by master Indianapolis chief mechanic George Salih. Amick found himself running a comfortable second to leader Jimmy Bryan with just 20 laps remaining. Demler and Salih felt Amick was in a position to catch Bryan and perhaps even win, but decided against pushing their rookie driver into a potentially fatal mistake, and Amick came home an easy second. He was named the 1958 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year.[3]
Death edit
Amick was competing in the only Indy Car race ever run at the Daytona International Speedway and was killed in an accident on the final lap.[2]He is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.[4][5]
Awards edit
Amick was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2009.[2]
Complete AAA/USAC Championship Car results edit
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | INDY | MIL 7 | LAN 18 | SPR 4 | MIL 20 | DUQ 3 | PIK | SYR 3 | ISF 3 | SAC 12 | PHX 3 | 9th | 750 | ||
| 1956 | INDY DNP | MIL DNQ | LAN 1 | DAR 4 | ATL 13 | SPR DNQ | MIL 6 | DUQ 5 | SYR 5 | ISF 12 | SAC 13 | PHX 1 | 4th | 1.050 | |
| 1957 | INDY DNQ | LAN 5 | MIL 6 | DET 2 | ATL 1 | SPR 3 | MIL 5 | DUQ 16 | SYR 5 | ISF 3 | TRE 3 | SAC 4 | PHX 11 | 3rd | 1.400 |
| 1958 | TRE 6 | INDY 2 | MIL 6 | LAN 14 | ATL 2 | SPR 18 | MIL 4 | DUQ 18 | SYR 2 | ISF Wth | TRE 19 | SAC 4 | PHX 15 | 2nd | 1.640 |
| 1959 | DAY 4 | TRE | INDY | MIL | LAN | SPR | MIL | DUQ | SYR | ISF | TRE | SAC | PHX | 36th | 120 |
Indianapolis 500 results edit
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Complete Formula One World Championship results edit
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Federal Engineering | Snowberger | Offenhauser L4 | ARG | MON | 500 DNQ | FRA | GBR | GER | PES | ITA | NC | 0 | |||
| 1958 | Norman Demler | Epperly Indy Roadster | Offenhauser L4 | ARG | MON | NED | 500 2 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | POR | ITA | MOR | 15th | 6 |
References edit
- ^ "George Amick". www.champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2023-06-06.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Plaque" (Press release). National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame. 2009.
- ^ "George Amick Wins Rookie Award Prize". The Star Press. United Press International. June 1, 1958. p. C1. Retrieved December 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com
. - ^ "Indianapolis Auto greats" (PDF). Celebrating Automotive Heritage at Crown Hill Cemetery. Crown Hill Cemetery. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 13, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
- ^ "Racing Fraternity Pays Tribute To George Amick At Final Rites". The Indianapolis Star. April 10, 1959. p. 3. Retrieved July 29, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- George Amick driver statistics at Racing-Reference