| Birth name | Dennis Clayton Nalon |
|---|---|
| Birth date | March 2, 1913 |
| Birth place | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Death date | February 26, 2001 (aged 87) |
| Death place | Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Titles | AAA Eastern Big Car (1938) AAA Midwest Big Car (1941) |
| Total champ races | 34+ |
|---|---|
| Years in champ | 16 |
| Best champ pos | 5th (1948) |
| First champ race | 1937 Syracuse 100 (Syracuse) |
| Last champ race | 1953 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis) |
| Champ wins | 0 |
| Champ podiums | 6 |
| Champ poles | 3 |
| Years | – |
|---|---|
| Teams | Kurtis Kraft |
| Races | 5 (3 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Points | 0 |
| Poles | 1 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First race | 1950 Indianapolis 500 |
| Last race | 1954 Indianapolis 500 |
Dennis Clayton "Duke" Nalon (March 2, 1913 – February 26, 2001) was an American racing driver.[1][2] He competed in midget car, sprint car, and Indy car races. Nicknamed "The Iron Duke," Nalon was part of the "Chicago Gang" along with Tony Bettenhausen and others. These racers toured tracks in the Midwest and East Coast of the United States.[3]
Racing career
Nalon began as a pit crew member for Wally Zale. Nalon occasionally warmed up the car. When Walter Galven needed a driver, Zale convinced Galven to allow Nalon to race. Nalon won the feature event.[3]
Midget cars
Nalon won races on the United States' East Coast in the 1930s. Nalon competed in midget cars throughout his career. He ran his final career race at the only 100-mile (160-kilometre) midget race ever run at Terre Haute. He raced Johnny Pawl’s famous midget to victory. He ended his career the way he started it: with a win.[3]
Sprint cars
Nalon won the 1938 East Coast AAA Sprint car championship;[4] he won the Midwestern championship in 1941.[5][3]
Indy cars
Nalon started ten Indianapolis 500-mile (800-kilometre) races, finishing only three. He started from the pole twice, and was twice the fastest qualifier. In the 1947 Indianapolis 500, he competed in a pre-war Mercedes-Benz W154 Grand Prix car. He also competed in numerous other events on what was them termed the Championship car circuit. In 1949, Nalon was involved in a massive, fiery crash in Turn 3 of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He backed into the wall and the car burst into flames. He survived only because he held his breath (to prevent asphyxiation), and he jumped out of the car while it was still moving. He had severe burns to his legs which gave him trouble until his death in 2001.
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.
Nalon participated in three World Drivers' Championship races at Indianapolis. His best finish was tenth place, and he qualified on the pole once.[1] He scored no World Drivers' Championship points.
Awards and honors
- He was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1987.
- He was named to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1991.
- In 2015, he was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.[6]
Motorsports career results
Indianapolis 500 results
| Year | Car | Start | Qual | Rank | Finish | Laps | Led | Retired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | 43 | 33 | 113.828 | 33 | 11 | 178 | 0 | Flagged |
| 1940 | 21 | 25 | 121.790 | 24 | 22 | 120 | 0 | Rod |
| 1941 | 17 | 30 | 122.951 | 17 | 15 | 173 | 0 | Flagged |
| 1946 | 54 | 32 | 119.682 | 29 | 22 | 45 | 0 | Universal joint |
| 1947 | 46 | 18 | 128.082 | 2 | 16 | 119 | 0 | Piston |
| 1948 | 54 | 11 | 131.603 | 1 | 3rd | 200 | 9 | Running |
| 1949 | 54 | 1 | 132.939 | 1 | 29 | 23 | 23 | Crash T3 |
| 1951 | 18 | 1 | 136.498 | 2 | 10 | 151 | 0 | Stalled BS |
| 1952 | 36 | 4 | 136.188 | 8 | 25 | 84 | 0 | Supercharger |
| 1953 | 9 | 26 | 135.461 | 30 | 11 | 191 | 0 | Spun T3 |
| Totals[7] | 1284 | 32 | ||||||
| Starts | 10 |
|---|---|
| Poles | 2 |
| Front Row | 2 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Top 5 | 1 |
| Top 10 | 2 |
| Retired | 7 |
FIA World Drivers' Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Novi Mobil | Kurtis Kraft | Novi L8 | GBR | MON | 500 DNQ | SUI | BEL | FRA | ITA | NC | 0 | ||
| 1951 | Novi Purelube | Kurtis Kraft | Novi L8 | SUI | 500 10 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | ESP | NC | 0 | |
| 1952 | Novi Pure Oil | Kurtis Kraft | Novi L8 | SUI | 500 25 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | NED | ITA | NC | 0 | |
| 1953 | Novi Governor | Kurtis Kraft | Novi L8 | ARG | 500 11 | NED | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | SUI | ITA | NC | 0 |
| 1954 | Novi Pure Oil | Kurtis Kraft | Novi L8 | ARG | 500 DNQ | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | SUI | ITA | ESP | NC | 0 |
References
- ^ "Duke Nalon". www.champcarstats.com. Retrieved 2023-06-11.
- ^ Brown, Allen. "Duke Nalon". OldRacingCars.com. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
- ^ Biography at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame Archived September 27, 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "AutoRacingRecords.com". www.autoracingrecords.com. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
- ^ "AutoRacingRecords.com". www.autoracingrecords.com. Archived from the original on 2024-03-31. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
- ^ Duke Nalon at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
- ^ Duke Nalon Indy 500 Race Stats Archived May 8, 2006 at the Wayback Machine