العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
EspañolTOM SNEVA
'Tom Sneva' (born 'Thomas E. Sneva': June 1, 1948) is a former Indy Car driver from Spokane, WA. Sneva is best remembered for winning the 1983 Indianapolis 500. Nicknamed "The Gasman," Sneva won the pole position for the Indianapolis 500 three times (1977, 1978, 1984).
Sneva was born June 1, 1948 in Spokane, Washington, and worked as a school principal before becoming an auto racer.
On May 14, 1977, Sneva became the first driver to qualify at the Indianapolis 500 over 200 mph. His one lap track record was 200.535 mph.
On May 12, 1984, Sneva became the first driver to qualify at Indianapolis 500 over 210 mph. His one and four lap track records were 210.689 mph and 210.029 mph.
Sneva's career at the Indianapolis 500 was known for fast qualifying, second place finishes, and several crashes. Three times (1977, 1978, 1980) Sneva finished second, before finally winning in 1983. Sneva's second place finish in 1980 is notable as it is one of only two occasions of such a finish by a driver starting last.
He suffered one of the most famous crashes at Indianapolis during the 1975 race. After touching wheels with Eldon Rasmussen, Sneva flipped up into the catch fence and tore his car in half. Sneva would walk away with only minor burns. In 1986, Sneva was warming up his car during the pace lap, but lost control and crashed before the race started. In 1987, Sneva crashed three cars, two in practice, and one during the race. He would ultimately suffer crashes during the Indianapolis 500 in 1975, 1979, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, and 1992, a record for crashes during the race. Sneva retired after the 1992 race with 13 Indy car wins and 14 pole positions.
Sneva also competed in 8 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series (then Winston Cup) events in his career, spanning from 1977 to 1987. He earned one top-ten, a 7th in the 1983 Daytona 500.
His brother, driver Jerry Sneva, also competed at Indy.
He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005.
★ NASCAR Stats from Racing-Reference.info
Sneva was born June 1, 1948 in Spokane, Washington, and worked as a school principal before becoming an auto racer.
On May 14, 1977, Sneva became the first driver to qualify at the Indianapolis 500 over 200 mph. His one lap track record was 200.535 mph.
On May 12, 1984, Sneva became the first driver to qualify at Indianapolis 500 over 210 mph. His one and four lap track records were 210.689 mph and 210.029 mph.
Sneva's career at the Indianapolis 500 was known for fast qualifying, second place finishes, and several crashes. Three times (1977, 1978, 1980) Sneva finished second, before finally winning in 1983. Sneva's second place finish in 1980 is notable as it is one of only two occasions of such a finish by a driver starting last.
He suffered one of the most famous crashes at Indianapolis during the 1975 race. After touching wheels with Eldon Rasmussen, Sneva flipped up into the catch fence and tore his car in half. Sneva would walk away with only minor burns. In 1986, Sneva was warming up his car during the pace lap, but lost control and crashed before the race started. In 1987, Sneva crashed three cars, two in practice, and one during the race. He would ultimately suffer crashes during the Indianapolis 500 in 1975, 1979, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, and 1992, a record for crashes during the race. Sneva retired after the 1992 race with 13 Indy car wins and 14 pole positions.
Sneva also competed in 8 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series (then Winston Cup) events in his career, spanning from 1977 to 1987. He earned one top-ten, a 7th in the 1983 Daytona 500.
His brother, driver Jerry Sneva, also competed at Indy.
| Contents |
| Indy 500 results |
| Award |
| External links |
Indy 500 results
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Award
He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005.
External links
★ NASCAR Stats from Racing-Reference.info
This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.
psst.. try this: add to faves
