Chester Leroy Gardner (March 16, 1898 – September 3, 1938) was an American racing driver, named by promoters as "The Grand Old Man of Auto Racing."He was also known as the "King of the Money Makers" because in the 1930s he was one of only several drivers that made good money at racing.
Gardner was killed in an accident during a time trial at the Flemington Fair Speedway when he swerved to avoid a child that had run onto the racetrack.
Racing career
Gardner started racing in 1922 in Colorado. In 1933, he won the Midwest AAA Sprint Car Championship. He was named "Southern Dirt Racing King" twice.
Between 1928 and 1938, Gardner made 25 starts in the AAA series, where his best result was third. From 1930 to 1938 he competed in the Indianapolis 500.
Motorsports career results
Indianapolis 500 results
YearCarStartQualRankFinishLapsLedRetired1930185105.81173810Spun T119332115112.3192242000Running193445114.786921720Rod1935189114.5561772000Running1936618116.0001229380Clutch1937319117.34228111990Flagged19383818120.4351752000RunningTotals9100
Starts7Poles0Front Row0Wins0Top 52Top 103Retired3
Ref.:
Sources
External links
"King of the Money Drivers" Popular Mechanics, April 1936, pp. 554-556