Willard Saulsbury Holland (December 18, 1907 – May 20, 1984) was an American racing driver from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He won the Indianapolis 500 in 1949 and finished second in 1947, 1948, and 1950. He was runner-up in the 1947 American Automobile Association (AAA) National Championship.
Background
Holland was born on December 18, 1907, the son of fireman and former professional baseball player Willard Holland. He was excellent at skating and tried out for the 1932 Olympics.
Driving career
Early career
Holland began achieving notable results in big cars during 1937. He recorded his first win on July 30, 1938, at Mineola, New York. He won three times in 1939 and nine times in 1940. Holland finished second to Joie Chitwood in the 1940 AAA Eastern Big Car championship and he won the championship in 1941. No racing happened in the United States between 1942 and 1945 due to World War II.
In 1946, Holland won 15 Eastern and 1 Midwestern "big car" (now sprint car) races to finish fourth in the AAA national championship. On July 20, 1946, Holland won the first race at Selinsgrove Speedway in an American Automobile Association-sanctioned event.
Championship car career
Holland nearly won the 1947 Indianapolis 500 as a rookie, but slowed and allowed teammate Mauri Rose to pass him seven laps from the end, mistakenly believing that Rose was a lap down.
In 1949, Holland led late in the race when Rose (still teammate to Holland on Lou Moore's Blue Crown Spark Plug team) began to slowly close on Holland. Moore saw what was happening out on the track and hung out a pit board ordering both drivers to hold their respective positions to the finish. Rose picked up the pace, closing on Holland. But with eight laps to go, Rose suffered a magneto failure and Holland cruised to the victory. When Rose returned to the pits, Moore fired Rose on the spot. 1950 saw him a lap down on lap 138 in second place to Johnnie Parsons when rain fell and ended the race.
On November 14, 1951, Holland was suspended from AAA Indy Car racing for one year after competing in a three-lap Lion's Charity race at Opa-locka, Florida which was a NASCAR event. The American Automobile Association, at the time the sanctioning body for Indy car races, had a strict rule forbidding its drivers from participating in any races other than their own and would blacklist violators. He returned to Indy car racing in 1953.
Holland raced until 1965. He is believed to have achieved more than 40 sprint car feature wins and 150 podiums.
World Drivers' Championship career
The AAA/USAC-sanctioned Indianapolis 500 was included in the FIA World Drivers' Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indianapolis during those years were credited with World Drivers' Championship participation, and were eligible to score WDC points alongside those which they may have scored towards the AAA/USAC National Championship.
Holland participated in two World Drivers' Championship races at Indianapolis. He finished in the top-three once, and scored six World Drivers' Championship points.
Life after racing and death
Holland and his wife Myra ran skating rinks in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They lived briefly in Colorado Springs, Colorado before moving to Tucson, Arizona in the early 1970s.
Holland was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in November 1983 and died from complications of the disease on May 20, 1984. He had remained active throughout his life and would regularly ride a bicycle for 50 miles per day until a year before his death.
Awards and honors
Holland has been inducted into the following halls of fame: Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1992) National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (2005)
In addition, the inaugural USAC Silver Crown Series race held at Selinsgrove Speedway was named the Bill Holland Classic. The race was 74 laps long as it was the 74th year after Holland's victory opened the track.
Motorsports career results
AAA Championship Car results
Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos Points 1946 INDY LAN ATL ISF MIL GOS 4th 1,280 1947 INDY2 MIL1 LAN1 ATL2 BAI2 MIL18 GOS14 MIL8 PIK SPR9 ARLDNQ 2nd 1,610 1948 ARLDNS INDY2 MIL9 LAN11 MILDNQ SPR MIL DUQ ATL PIK SPR DUQ 7th 840 1949 ARL INDY1 MIL9 TRE16 SPR4 MIL DUQ2 PIK SYRDNP DET7 SPR12 LAN9 SAC13 DMR 3rd 1,420 1950 INDY2 MIL LAN SPR MIL PIK SYR DET SPR SAC PHX BAY DAR 13th 552 1953 INDY15 MIL SPR DET SPRDNQ MIL18 DUQ PIK SYR5 ISF SAC PHX 34th 100 1954 INDYDNQ MIL LAN DAR SPR MIL DUQ PIK SYR ISF SAC PHX LVG-0 1946 table only includes results of the six races run to "championship car" specifications. Points total includes the 71 races run to "big car" specifications. Holland did not compete in any championship car events, however, he competed in no less than 41 "big car" events, winning 17. These efforts enabled Holland to finish the anomalous 1946 season ranked fourth in points.
Indianapolis 500 results
YearCarStartQualRankFinishLapsLedRetired194716 8 128.75512 200 143 Running19482 2 129.515 3 2 200 0 Running19497 4 128.673 91200 146 Running19503 10 130.482 21 2 137 8 Running195349 28 137.868 2 15 177 0 Cam gearTotalsBill Holland Indy 500 Race Stats 914 297 Starts5Poles0Front Row1Wins1Top 54Top 104Retired1
Although Holland started the 1947 race from the middle of the third row, he posted the fastest qualifying time.
FIA World Drivers' Championship results
(key) Year Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Pts 1950 Diedt Offenhauser GBR MON 500 SUI BEL FRA ITA 7th 6 1953 Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser ARG 500 NED BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA NC 0
References
External links
Bill Holland – ChampCarStats.com Bill Holland – Motorsport Memorial