Duke Nalon : biography
Dennis "Duke" Nalon (March 2, 1913 – February 26, 2001) was a midget car, sprint car, and Indy 500 driver from Chicago, Illinois, United States.
Indy 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 | 3 | 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 | 1284 | 32 |
Starts | 10 |
---|---|
Poles | 2 |
Front Row | 2 |
Wins | 0 |
Top 5 | 1 |
Top 10 | 2 |
Retired | 7 |
Awards
- 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.
World Championship career summary
The Indianapolis 500 was idered part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Duke Nalon participated in 3 World Championship races. He started on the pole once but scored no World Championship points.
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.
Nalon was nicknamed "The Iron Duke." Nalon was part of the "Chicago Gang" with Tony Bettenhausen. They toured tracks in the Midwest and East Coast of the United States.
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 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.
Sprint cars
He won the 1938 East Coast AAA Sprint car championship.
Indy cars
Nalon started ten Indianapolis races, finishing only 3. He started from the pole twice, and was twice the fastest qualifier.