Al Keller

Al Keller
Born (1920-04-11)April 11, 1920
Alexandria Bay, New York
Died November 19, 1961(1961-11-19) (aged 41)
Phoenix, Arizona
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality United States American
Active years 19551960
Teams Kurtis Kraft, Kuzma
Entries 6 (5 starts)
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podiums 0
Career points 0
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
First entry 1955 Indianapolis 500
Last entry 1960 Indianapolis 500

Alvah A. Keller (April 11, 1920 in Alexander, New York November 19, 1961 in Phoenix, Arizona) was an American racecar driver.

Keller participated in the NASCAR "Strictly Stock"/"Grand National" (predecessors to the current Sprint Cup) series from 1949 to 1956 with 29 career starts. He won two races during the 1954 season and was the first driver in the history of NASCAR's top division to have won a race in a foreign-built car, winning the 1954 Grand National road-race at the Linden Airport in New Jersey, driving a Jaguar owned by big band leader Paul Whiteman.

In 1954 Keller began a transition to Champ Cars. He drove in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, racing in the 1954-1959 and 1961 seasons with 32 starts, including the Indianapolis 500 races in all but the first of those years. He was involved in the crash that killed Bill Vukovich in 1955. He finished in the top ten 13 times, with his best finish in 2nd position, in 1956 at Atlanta and in 1961 at Milwaukee. His best Indy finish was 5th in 1961.

Keller died as a result of injuries sustained in a fiery Champ Car crash at the Arizona State Fairgrounds track.

Indy 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired
1955 42 22 139.551 17 27 54 0 Crash BS
1956 55 28 141.193 26 14 195 0 Flagged
1957 16 8 141.398 14 27 75 0 Crash T1
1958 52 21 142.931 19 11 200 0 Running
1959 57 28 142.057 27 18 163 0 Piston
1961 19 26 146.157 6 5 200 0 Running
Totals 887 0

Starts 6
Poles 0
Front Row 0
Wins 0
Top 5 1
Top 10 1
Retired 3

World Championship career summary

The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Al Keller participated in 5 World Championship races but scored no World Championship points.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, February 09, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.