Don Branson

Don Branson
Nationality United States American
Born (1920-06-02)June 2, 1920
Rantoul, Illinois
Died November 12, 1966(1966-11-12) (aged 46)
Gardena, California
Championship titles
1959, 1964 USAC Sprint Car Series
Awards
Inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (1994)
Inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame (2012)
Champ Car career
128 races run over 11 years
Years active 1956-1966
Team(s) Leader Card
Wins Podiums Poles
7 ? ?
Formula One World Championship career
Active years 19591960
Teams Phillips
Entries 2
Career points 3
First entry 1959 Indianapolis 500
Last entry 1960 Indianapolis 500

Donald L. Branson (June 2, 1920 – November 12, 1966) was an American racecar driver.

Career

Born in Rantoul, Illinois, Branson drove in the USAC Championship Car series and also in sprint cars, racing champ cars in the 1956–1966 seasons with 128 starts, including the 1959–1966 Indianapolis 500 races. He finished in the top ten 85 times, with 7 victories.

Branson was also the 1959 and 1964 USAC Sprint Car Series Champion.

He was killed in 1966 in a crash at a sprint car race at Ascot Park in Gardena, California, along with fellow driver Dick Atkins. 1966 was to be his last year of competition, and the fatal wreck occurred with only a few races left in the season for the USAC series.

Awards

He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1994 and the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2012.[1]

Indianapolis 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired
1959 9 10 143.312 12 24 112 0 Torsion bar
1960 7 8 144.753 11 4 200 0 Running
1961 3 2 146.843 3 33 2 0 Bent Valves
1962 14 11 147.312 11 12 200 0 Running
1963 4 3 150.188 4 5 200 0 Running
1964 5 9 152.672 12 12 187 0 Clutch
1965 4 18 155.501 16 8 197 0 Flagged
1966 4 9 160.385 12 23 0 0 Crash FS
Totals 1098 0

Starts 8
Poles 0
Front Row 2
Wins 0
Top 5 2
Top 10 3
Retired 4

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 WDC Points
1959 Bob Estes Phillips Offenhauser L4 MON
500
24
NED
FRA
GBR
GER
POR
ITA
USA
NC 0
1960 Bob Estes Phillips Offenhauser L4 ARG
MON
500
4
NED
BEL
FRA
GBR
POR
ITA
USA
21st 3

References


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