Howdy Wilcox and the Indianapolis 500

Wilcox is sitting in his car, holding the steering wheel

Did you know that a local boy once won the Indianapolis 500? Howard "Howdy" Wilcox, a Crawfordsville native, is pictured in 1919 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway either before or after winning the 1919 Indianapolis 500 on May 31, 1919.. For the race, he started in the 2nd position and led the last 98 laps.

Wilcox was born in Crawfordsville on June 24, 1889. In his short career, he was a race-car driver during the early years of this dangerous sport. Wilcox unfortunately was killed in a crash on September 4, 1923 at Altoona Speedway board track in Tyrone, Pennsylvania. He was buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.