Traditional Sprint Car Race Moves to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park
The 63rd running of the Joe James / Pat O’Connor Memorial will find a new home for the first time in over 30 years as the traditional event will move to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in 2022. The historic sprint car race is the second oldest pavement sprint car race in the world, only behind the Lucas Oil Little 500 Presented by UAW. The event will also see a new sanctioning body as the 500 Sprint Car Tour presented by Auto Value Bumper to Bumper Part Stores, in its inaugural season, will take the reins. This year’s race will be held on August 1st and will be the seventh race on the 500 Sprint Car Tour’s 10 race schedule.
“We are excited and honored to host the Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial on August 1,” said Kasey Coler, general manager of Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. “The winners list across the history of this event includes some of auto racing’s most decorated drivers, and we look forward to welcoming the event to our historic oval.”
Since the inception of the event, it has taken place at Salem Speedway in Salem, Indiana. The event originated in 1953 as a AAA sprint car race in honor of Joe James who perished in a racing accident at San Jose Speedway in San Jose, California on November 5, 1952. In 1956, the United States Auto Club (USAC) took the reins from AAA as the sanctioning body of the event. After Pat O’Connor’s 1958 fatal accident at the Indy 500, his name was added to the memorial race. O’Connor won the second running of the race in 1954 and became a two-time winner one year prior to his death in 1957.
The Joe James / Pat O’Connor Memorial has attracted the caliber of talent unlike any sprint car race in the world. After USAC took over in 1956, some of the best drivers in the world made their way to Salem, Indiana. Eddie Sachs won the event in 1956 and 1958 before going on to sit on Pole position for the Indy 500 in 1960 and 1961. A.J. Foyt began an impressive streak of future Indy 500 winners and legendary drivers alike to have competed in and won the Joe James / Pat O’Connor Memorial.
After Foyt’s first win in 1961, Parnelli Jones won the event in consecutive years in 1960 and 1961. Foyt went on to win again for the final time in 1962. Mario Andretti claimed first place twice in 1964 and 1966, with Bobby Unser splitting Andretti’s victories with a win in 1965. Pancho Carter became the first driver to win three races in a row between 1974-1976 and then topped off his run with a fourth in a row in 1977. A ten year span from 1988-1998 saw victories by Bob Frey, Tony Stewart, and Dave Steele. The first decade of the new millennium saw Eric Gordon, Ed Carpenter, and Bryan Clauson in victory lane as well as a second victory for Dave Steele in 2004. The 2010 event would end a decades long era as it was the last event sanctioned by USAC until 2016.
2011 began a new era for the Joe James / Pat O’Connor Memorial as the event switched to winged sprint cars, sanctioned by Must See Racing. The series sanctioned the race for five years before non winged sprint cars and USAC returned to the famed track as the sanctioning body of the traditional event. The next five years were dominated by USAC Silver Crown Champion and three time Little 500 winner, Kody Swanson. As a full time driver in the new 500 Sprint Car Tour Presented by Auto Value & Bumper to Bumper Parts Stores, Swanson will look to take the dominance he held in this event to its new track.
“The Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial is such a special race, honoring the lives of two great racers, and has been a highlight in the open wheel racing community for over 60 years” Swanson said when asked what the event means to him. “I’m excited that we now have the opportunity to continue to race the Joe James/Pat O’Connor Memorial in their memory, and build upon the history & tradition of this iconic event”.
As the race moves to a different pavement track for the first time since its inception, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park and the 500 Sprint Car Tour intend on embracing the event’s history and continuing to move the event forward. As the sanctioning body of the two longest running pavement sprint car races in the world, the 500 Sprint Car Tour Presented by Auto Value & Bumper to Bumper Parts Stores looks for the Joe James / Pat O’Connor Memorial to be a staple on the series’ schedule along with the Lucas Oil Little 500 Presented by UAW.
The event will be held on Monday, August 1st and is a reschedule from the postponed March 26th event. It will be an evening full of open wheel racing as the National Pavement Midget Championship will compete in its penultimate race of the season while the 500 Sprint Car Tour hits the track for their second of three points-paying races at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in 2022. General admission tickets are free for fans thanks to Bald Spot Sports and reserved seats are still available with a $25 food and drink ticket, as well as pit passes for $35. The event will also be aired live on MAVTV Network.