Johnny Mantz facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Johnny Mantz
Mantz, circa 1957
Born	John Robert Mantz (1918-09-18)September 18, 1918 Hebron, Indiana, U.S.
Died	October 25, 1972(1972-10-25) (aged 54) Ojai, California, U.S.
Championship titles
USAC Stock Car (1956) Major victories Southern 500 (1950)
AAA/USAC Stock Car career
Years active	1952–1954, 1956–1959
Championships	1
Best finish	1st in 1956
NASCAR Cup Series career
12 races run over 4 years
Best finish	6th (1950)
First race	1950 Race 10 (Hillsboro)
Last race	1956 Race 3 (Lancaster)
First win	1950 Southern 500 (Darlington)
Wins Top tens Poles 1 8 0
Champ Car career
17 races run over 4 years
Best finish	9th (1949)
First race	1948 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Last race	1952 Pikes Peak Hill Climb (Pikes Peak)
First win	1948 Milwaukee 100 (Milwaukee)
Wins Podiums Poles 1 2 1
Formula One World Championship career
Active years	1953
Teams	Kurtis Kraft
Entries	1
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1953 Indianapolis 500

Johnny Mantz (born September 18, 1918 – died October 25, 1972) was a famous American racecar driver. He was known for winning the first-ever Southern 500 race and becoming the first USAC Stock Car national champion.

Racing Career Highlights

Johnny Mantz competed in many different types of races during his career. He was a talented driver who achieved success in several racing series.

Champ Car Races

Johnny Mantz made 17 starts in the AAA Championship Car series between 1948 and 1952. In his very first year, he won a race at the Milwaukee Mile. He also won a special non-championship race called the Indianapolis Sweepstakes.

He raced in the famous Indianapolis 500 twice. In 1948, he started 8th and finished 13th. The next year, in 1949, he started 9th and finished 7th, completing all 200 laps. In 1953, he helped out another driver, Walt Faulkner, by driving part of the race for him.

Carrera Panamericana Adventure

In 1950, Johnny Mantz was part of the Lincoln team for the first Carrera Panamericana race in Mexico. This was a multi-day race across the country. He and his teammate, Bill Stroppe, led for a good part of the race. Near the end, Mantz ran out of spare tires. He had to drive on his wheel rims to cross the finish line, ending up in 9th place.

Stock Car Success

Mantz's Southern 500-winning Plymouth with car owner Hubert Westmoreland

Johnny Mantz became the first national champion of the USAC Stock Car series in 1956.

He also competed in 12 NASCAR Grand National races. His most famous NASCAR win was in his third race, the first-ever Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in 1950. This was a very important race because it was NASCAR's first 500-mile event. Darlington Raceway was also the first "Super Speedway" for NASCAR.

The Southern 500 Win

In the 1950 Southern 500, Mantz and his Plymouth car were the slowest to qualify. They were almost 10 miles per hour slower than the fastest car! Because he qualified on the ninth day of trials, he started way back in 43rd place out of 75 cars.

Mantz had a clever plan: he used strong truck tires that lasted much longer. While other drivers had to stop often for new tires, Mantz didn't. This strategy helped him win the race by a huge margin of 9 laps over the second-place finisher, Fireball Roberts. The race took over six hours to complete. This was his only NASCAR win.

Today, the speedway honors his achievement by giving the Johnny Mantz trophy to the winner of the Southern 500.

Bringing NASCAR West

Johnny Mantz was also the first person to try and bring NASCAR races to the West Coast of the United States. His last stock car race was in Pomona, California, in 1958, which he won.

Ford Spokesperson

In the early 1960s, Johnny Mantz appeared in several magazine advertisements for the Ford car brand.

Death

Johnny Mantz passed away at 54 years old. He died in a car accident near Ojai, California.

Indianapolis 500 Results Summary

World Championship Participation

The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 to 1960. Drivers who raced at Indy during these years were counted as participating in the World Championship. In the 1953 Indianapolis 500, Mantz drove as a relief driver for Walt Faulkner. Because of this, Mantz participated in one World Championship race, but he did not score any World Championship points.