Thomas Edsol Sneva (born June 1, 1948) is an American former race car driver who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1983. He primarily raced in Indy cars, and was named to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005.
A former math teacher and junior high principal from Spokane, Washington, Sneva's win at Indianapolis came after three runner-up finishes and a spectacular crash in 1975. Nicknamed "the Gas Man," he was an outstanding qualifier, winning the pole position three times (1977, 1978, 1984). In 1977, he won the pole position with a new track record, becoming the first driver to break the 200 mph barrier at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was also the fastest qualifier on a fourth occasion in 1981, but because of qualifying rules did not start the race from the pole position that year.
Sneva won two consecutive USAC National Championships for Indy cars in 1977 and 1978.
Career Born in Spokane, to Edsol "Ed" and Joan, Sneva's first powered vehicle was a go-kart, which he received at the age of fourteen; by the age of eighteen, he was racing stock cars. Sneva graduated from Lewis and Clark High School, where he played football and basketball, before attending Eastern Washington State College, where he played a year of college basketball. After graduating from Eastern, he was hired by the high school in Sprague, where he taught math and physical education. Sneva was the eldest of five brothers, all racers; the next oldest was Jerry, who also competed at Indy.
At Indianapolis in 1977, Sneva drove his famed Norton Spirit McLaren M24/Cosworth racer for car owner Roger Penske, and became the first driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 at a speed at or more. His one-lap track record on May 14 was .
Sneva won two races in 1977, including a 1-2 finish for Team Penske at the Pocono 500, and became the first driver in Team Penske history to win a championship. In 1978, Sneva did not win a race but with five second-place finishes and sixteen top-fives, Sneva still won the championship. Despite this, Sneva was released by Penske after the 1978 season. Although it was speculated that his dismissal was for not winning to Penske's expectations, Penske later said in a 2009 Centennial Era interview that, in reality, he and Sneva had disagreements on the direction of the team, and that was the reason for them parting ways.(30) Sneva exercised a stock option on Penske Automotive Group shortly after his dismissial, a prudent decision that paid dividends down the road.
In 1984, Sneva became the first to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 over in his Texaco Star March 84C/Cosworth driving for the new Mayer Motor Racing team. His one and four lap track records on May 12 were and .
Sneva's career at the Indianapolis 500 was known for fast qualifying, second-place finishes, near misses and several crashes. Three times (1977, 1978, 1980) Sneva ended up the bridesmaid by finishing second. Finally, Sneva broke through in dramatic fashion in 1983 after a thrilling late race duel with Penske driver Al Unser and the lapped car of Unser's rookie son, Al Jr. It was Sneva's 1983 win in his Texaco Star March 83C/Cosworth for Bignotti-Cotter Racing that led to his nickname of "the Gas Man." That win was also famous for it being the last of George Bignotti's record seven Indianapolis 500 wins as a chief mechanic. For Sneva, the victory was sweet revenge, as he had been fired by Roger Penske in 1978 despite having won back-to-back USAC championships.
Sneva's second-place finish in 1980 is notable as it is one of only two occasions of such a finish by a driver starting last. It is also one of only three times the driver who started last (33rd) led laps during the race, a record matched by Alex Tagliani in 2016 and James Davison in 2017. Several other times Sneva was in contention for the win, but did not make it to the end of the race. It was during this time that Sneva, racing for Jerry O'Connell, became one of the first drivers at Indianapolis to race with a spotter, an idea Sneva attributed to his time coaching football, where common practice was to have an observer sitting high up in the media center. In 1981, Sneva charged hard from his 20th starting position to lead early in the race, but his untested Blue Poly March 81-C/Cosworth was fragile and his clutch failed early on. One year later, Sneva was in a duel with eventual winner Gordon Johncock and eventual runner-up Rick Mears when his engine in his Texaco Star March 82-C/Cosworth began losing power and eventually failed near the end of the race.
In 1983, Sneva captured his first Indianapolis 500 win, engaging in a duel with Al Unser and his son in the final twenty laps. Al Unser Jr. was widely criticized after the race for trying to impede Sneva to help his father win, as well as having passed several cars under caution, and jumping the final restart for which he received a two-lap penalty. As defending champion in 1984, Sneva dueled with Mears only 32 laps from the finish, but a CV joint failed, enabling Mears to win. The 1985 race was a testament to Sneva's ability as he drove an ill-handling Skoal Bandit Eagle/Cosworth to second place before exiting in a crash with the lapped car of Rich Vogler.
Sneva suffered one of the most famous crashes at Indianapolis during the 1975 race, his second. After touching wheels with Eldon Rasmussen, 26-year-old Sneva flipped up into the catch fence and tore his car in half, but suffered mostly minor burns on 15% of his body in the fiery crash. He walked to the ambulance but was placed in the intensive care unit at Methodist Hospital, mainly for lung issues due to the fire retardant. Describing the crash years later Sneva quipped, "In a situation like that it's important to talk to yourself: 'Faint, you coward, faint!'"
In 1986, Sneva was warming up his car during the pace lap, but lost control and crashed before the race started. In 1987, Sneva crashed three cars, two in practice, and one during the race. He crashed during the Indianapolis 500 in 1975, 1979, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, and 1992, a record for crashes during the race.
After Sneva's Indy victory in 1983, he never finished the race again. He dropped out of the race in 1984–1990, failed to qualify in 1991, and dropped out of the 1992 race as well. Some observers have attributed his decline in success to the switch to radial tires (the series transitioned to radials over a period from 1985 to 1987). His driving style was more apropos to bias ply tires.
Sneva showed his versatility by competing in eight NASCAR Winston Cup Series events in his career, spanning from 1977 to 1987. He earned one top-ten, a seventh in the 1983 Daytona 500.
Sneva's final start was the 1992 Indianapolis 500. He arrived at Indianapolis without a ride for 1993, and was unsuccessful in landing a car for the race. He retired with thirteen career Indycar wins and 14 pole positions.
After Sneva retired from driving, he was a color commentator for ABC television network's Wide World of Sports program and called several Indianapolis 500s. He is also heavily involved in the golf course business where he resides in Paradise Valley, Arizona.
Personal life Sneva's father, Edsol ("Ed") was a local racer in the Spokane region.
Sneva is the oldest of five brothers and one sister: Jerry, Jan, Blaine, Ed ("Babe") and Robin. He said the brothers were always racing something growing up. Babe (1951–1976) succumbed to severe head injuries more than eighteen months after a race crash in
Sneva was an ace in mathematics, and graduated from Eastern Washington State College in nearby Cheney with an education degree. He became a math teacher in a school district outside of Spokane city limits, and drove the school bus.
Motorsports career results
American open-wheel racing (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
USAC Championship Car USAC Championship Car results Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pts 1970 Vollstedt Enterprises Vollstedt 67 Ford 159ci V8t PHX SON TRE INDY MIL LAN CDR MCH IRP ISF MIL ONT DSF INF SED TRE SAC PHX NA - 1971 Larry Kramer Vollstedt 65 Chevrolet 320 ci V8 RAF RAF PHX TRE INDY MIL POC MCH MIL ONT TRE PHX NC 0 1973 Tipke Racing Tipke 73 Offy 159 ci t TWS TRE TRE INDY MIL 31st 30 Carl Gehlhausen Kingfish 72 POC MCH MIL ONT TRE TWS PHX Leader Card Racers Eagle 68 ONT ONT MCH MCH 1974 Grant King Racers Kingfish 73 Offy 159 ci t ONT ONT ONT PHX TRE INDY MIL POC MCH MIL MCH TRE TRE PHX 18th 550 1975 Penske Racing McLaren M16C Offy 159 ci t ONT ONT ONT PHX TRE INDY MIL POC MCH MIL MCH TRE PHX 6th 1830 1976 Penske Racing McLaren M16C Offy 159 ci t PHX TRE INDY MIL POC MCH TWS TRE MIL ONT MCH TWS 8th 1570 Bruce H. Crower Eagle 72 Crower 160 ci F8 PHX 1977 Penske Racing McLaren M24 Cosworth DFX V8t ONT PHX TWS TRE INDY MIL POC MOS MIL PHX 1st 3965 Penske PC-5 MCH TWS ONT MCH 1978 Penske Racing Penske PC-6 Cosworth DFX V8t PHX ONT TWS TRE INDY MOS MIL POC MCH ATL TWS MIL ONT MCH TRE SIL BRH PHX 1st 4153 1979 Jerry O'Connell Racing McLaren M24 Cosworth DFX V8t ONT TWS INDY MIL POC TWS MIL NC 0 1980 Jerry O'Connell Racing McLaren M24 Cosworth DFX V8t ONT INDY MIL POC MOH 2nd 1970 1981–82 Bignotti-Cotter Racing March 81C Cosworth DFX V8t INDY POC ISF DSF INF 11th 635 March 82C INDY 1982–83 Bignotti-Cotter Racing March 83C Cosworth DFX V8t ISF DSF NAZ INDY 1st 1000 1983–84 Mayer Motor Racing March 84C Cosworth DFX V8t DSF INDY 18th 25
PPG Indy Car World Series PPG Indy Car World Series results Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pts Ref 1979 Jerry O'Connell Racing McLaren M24 Cosworth DFX V8t PHX ATL ATL INDY TRE TRE MCH MCH WGL TRE ONT MCH ATL PHX 7th 1360 1980 Jerry O'Connell Racing McLaren M24 Cosworth DFX V8t ONT INDY MIL POC MOH MCH WGL ONT MCH MEX 3rd 2930 Phoenix 80 MIL PHX 1981 Jerry O'Connell Racing Phoenix 80 Cosworth DFX V8t PHX 8th 96 Bignotti-Cotter Racing Phoenix-March MIL ATL ATL March 81C MCH RIV MIL MCH WGL MEX PHX 1982 Bignotti-Cotter Racing March 81C Cosworth DFX V8t PHX ATL 5th 144 March 82C MIL CLE MCH MIL POC RIV ROA MCH PHX 1983 Bignotti-Cotter Racing March 83C Cosworth DFX V8t ATL INDY MIL CLE MCH POC RIV MOH MCH CPL PHX 4th 96 Theodore T83 ROA LAG 1984 Mayer Motor Racing March 84C Cosworth DFX V8t LBH PHX INDY MIL POR MEA CLE MCH ROA POC MOH SAN MCH PHX LAG CPL 2nd 163 1985 Curb-All American Racers Eagle 85GC Cosworth DFX V8t LBH INDY MIL MEA CLE MCH ROA POC MOH MCH MIA 7th 66 Lola T900 POR SAN LAG PHX 1986 Curb Racing March 86C Cosworth DFX V8t PHX LBH INDY MIL POR MEA CLE TOR MCH POC MOH SAN MCH ROA LAG PHX MIA 10th 82 1987 Curb Racing March 87C Cosworth DFX V8t LBH PHX MIL POR MEA CLE TOR MCH POC ROA MOH NAZ LAG 14th 37 March 86C Buick 3300 V6t INDY Group 44 Racing Cosworth DFX V8t MIA 1988 Hemelgarn Racing Lola T88/00 Judd AV V8t PHX LBH INDY MIL POR CLE TOR MEA 45th 0 Cosworth DFX V8t MCH POC MOH ROA NAZ LAG MIA 1989 Vince Granatelli Racing Lola T88/00 Buick 3300 V6t PHX INDY MIL DET MEA TOR MCH POC MOH ROA NAZ LAG 28th 3 March 86C LBH POR CLE 1990 Vince Granatelli Racing Penske PC-18 Buick 3300 V6t PHX LBH INDY MIL DET POR CLE MEA TOR MCH DEN VAN MOH ROA NAZ LAG 44th 0 1991 Team Menard Lola T89/00 Buick 3300 V6t SRF LBH PHX INDY MIL DET POR CLE MEA TOR MCH DEN VAN MOH ROA NAZ LAG NA - 1992 Team Menard Lola T91/00 Buick 3300 V6t SRF PHX LBH INDY DET POR MIL NHA TOR MCH CLE ROA VAN MOH NAZ LAG 62nd 0
Indianapolis 500