Johnny Mantz
Johnny Mantz (September 18, 1918 – October 25, 1972) was an American racecar driver. Champ car He made 17 starts in the AAA Championship Car series from 1948 to 1952, capturing a victory in his rookie season at the Milwaukee Mile as well as winning the non-championship Indianapolis Sweepstakes at Williams Grove Speedway. Mantz made two starts in the Indianapolis 500. They were 1948 and 1949. He started 8th in 1948 and finished a black-flagged 13th, completing 185 laps. In 1949 he started 9th and finished 7th, completing all 200 laps. In 1953 he drove relief for Walt Faulkner. Carrera Panamericana He was a member of the Lincoln team in the first Carrera Panamericana in Mexico in 1950. He and Bill Stroppe were able to lead quite a bit of the multi-day race. With the finish line in sight and no more spare tires to run, Mantz was forced to run on rims and limped across the finish line ending up 9th. Stock car He was the first USAC Stock Car national champ in 1956. Mantz also made 12 NASCAR Grand National starts from 1950–1951 and 1955-1956. He won in his third NASCAR race, the first Southern 500 held at