Roger McCluskey explained

Roger McCluskey
Birth Name:	Roger Frank McCluskey
Birth Date:	24 August 1930
Birth Place:	San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Death Place:	Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Titles:	USAC Sprint Car (1963, 1966) USAC Stock Car (1969, 1970) USAC Championship Car (1973) Major victories California 500 (1972)
Module1:	Embed: yes Total Champ Races: 229 Years In Champ: 21 Best Champ Pos: 1st (1973) First Champ Race: 1960 Langhorne 100 (Langhorne) Last Champ Race: 1979 Tony Bettenhausen 200 (Milwaukee) First Champ Win: 1966 Langhorne 150 (Langhorne) Last Champ Win: 1979 Tony Bettenhausen 200 (Milwaukee) Champ Wins: 5 Champ Podiums: 30 Champ Poles: 3 Module2: Embed: yes Years Active: 1968–1979 Championships: 2 Best Finish: 1st Year: 1969, 1970 Module3: Embed: yes Total Cup Races: 4 Years In Cup: 4 First Cup Race: 1969 Motor Trend 500 (Riverside) Last Cup Race: 1977 Los Angeles Times 500 (Ontario) Cup Wins: 0 Cup Top Tens: 1 Cup Poles: 0 Module4: Embed: yes Years: 1967 Best Finish: DNF Class Wins: 0

Roger McCluskey^[1] (August 24, 1930 – August 29, 1993) was an American IndyCar driver. He was raised in Tucson, Arizona.

He won championship titles in three divisions of the United States Auto Club: Sprints, Stocks, and Champ Cars. He won the USAC Sprint Car title in 1963 and 1966, the USAC Stock Car title in 1969 and 1970. The Champ Car title in 1973. His first USAC Stock Car start resulted in a runner-up finish in Phoenix, Arizona in January 1968, when he drove as a substitute driver for Norm Nelson.

McCluskey earned four USAC Midget Car wins, 23 USAC Sprint Car wins, 23 USAC Stock Car wins and five USAC Championship Car (national championship) wins (including his last start at Milwaukee in 1979, which is a rarity since most drivers don't win their last race in their career). He was the USAC national champion in 1973. He started every Indianapolis 500 race from 1961 to 1979 except 1964, with a best finish of 3rd in 1973.

He also made four NASCAR Grand National Series starts from 1969 to 1977 with a best finish of second in 1970 at Riverside International Raceway.

He represented the USAC series in the 1974 International Race of Champions.

McCluskey raced for the Holman and Moody team in a Ford GT40 Mk.IIB at the 1967 LeMans 24hrs of Endurance, France. During this event, McCluskey is credited with pulling Mario Andretti to safety-and thus saving his life-after Andretti had seriously crashed his Ford GT40 Mk.IV when a front brake locked.

McCluskey died of cancer in Indianapolis, on August 29, 1993, just five days after his 63rd birthday. In 2004, the local United Sports Arizona Race Park hosted the Roger McCluskey Sprint Car Classic in his honor.

Award

He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1993.

He was also inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 2002.

He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2011.^[2]

Racing record

Complete USAC Championship Car results

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	Pos	Points
1956	Harry Allen Chapman	INDY	MIL	LAN	DAR	ATL	SPR	MIL	DUQ	SYR	ISF	SAC DNQ	PHX																	-	0
1960	Art Koopman	TRE	INDY	MIL DNQ	LAN 5	SPR 13	MIL DNQ	DUQ 15																						19th	320
	Harlan Fike								SYR DNQ	ISF 6	TRE 11	SAC 4	PHX DNQ
1961	Harlan Fike	TRE 6			LAN 5																									15th	370
	Racing Associates		INDY 27	MIL 17		MIL DNQ	SPR				TRE 7
	John R. Willis							DUQ 15	SYR 8	ISF 14
	Fred Sclavi											SAC 11	PHX 7
1962	Fred Sclavi	TRE 8	INDY 16	MIL 5	LAN 14	TRE DNQ																								12th	690
	Bruce Homeyer						SPR 15	MIL 6	LAN 5	SYR 6	ISF 4	TRE 21	SAC 18	PHX 6
1963	Bruce Homeyer	TRE 8	INDY 15	MIL 18	LAN 10	TRE 7	SPR 4	MIL 6	DUQ 11																					8th	750
	Gordon Van Liew									ISF 6	TRE 18	SAC 5	PHX 5
1964	Gordon Van Liew	PHX 2	TRE	INDY	MIL	LAN	TRE DNS	SPR	MIL	DUQ	ISF	TRE 8	SAC 7	PHX DNS																22nd	238
1965	All American Racers	PHX 21	TRE	INDY 30	MIL 6	LAN 13	PIP	TRE 17	IRP 3	ATL 9	LAN DNQ	MIL 5	SPR	MIL 4	DUQ		TRE 4		PHX 26											8th	1.060
	Bursac-Pusilo															ISF DNS
	W & W Enterprises																	SAC 9
1966	Lindsey Hopkins	PHX	TRE 20	INDY 13	MIL 2	LAN 6	ATL 27	PIP	IRP 22	LAN 1	SPR 14	MIL 18	DUQ 18	ISF 14	TRE 5	SAC DNS	PHX 11													12th	780
1967	Lindsey Hopkins	PHX 2	TRE 2	INDY 19	MIL 3	LAN 17	PIP	MOS 2	MOS 2	IRP 19	LAN 21	MTR 24	MTR	SPR 13	MIL 3	DUQ 3	ISF 8	TRE 14	SAC DNQ	HAN 21	PHX 21	RIV 5								8th	1.620
1968	Lindsey Hopkins	HAN 6	LVG 12	PHX 14	TRE 16	INDY 29	MIL 20	MOS 3	MOS 14	LAN 9	PIP	CDR 17	NAZ	IRP 19	IRP 7	LAN 22	LAN	MTR	MTR	SPR 1	MIL 23	DUQ 5	ISF 12	TRE 2	SAC 12	MCH 25	HAN 10	PHX 11	RIV 12	13th	1.228
1969	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	PHX 14	HAN 17	INDY 14	MIL 9	LAN	PIP	CDR 5	NAZ	TRE 21	IRP 4	IRP 18	MIL 14	SPR 15	DOV 3	DUQ 16	ISF 15	BRN 15	BRN	TRE 2	SAC DNQ	KEN	KEN	PHX DNQ	RIV 22					13th	1.090
1970	Hayhoe Racing	PHX DNQ	SON	TRE DNQ	INDY 25	MIL 2	LAN Wth	CDR	MCH 7	IRP 9	SPR DNP	MIL 2	ONT 25	DUQ	ISF		TRE 5		PHX 3											6th	1.380
	Maxson															SED 10		SAC 5
1971	Grant King Racers	RAF 5	RAF 4																											13th	1.050
	Lindsey Hopkins			PHX 22	TRE 22	INDY 9	MIL 23	POC 25	MCH 3	MIL 18	ONT 28	TRE 22	PHX 2
1972	Lindsey Hopkins	PHX 7	TRE 2	INDY 24	MIL 7	MCH 8	POC 11	MIL 19	ONT 1	TRE 8	PHX 6																			3rd	1.970
1973	Lindsey Hopkins	TWS 7	TRE 8	TRE 6	INDY 3	MIL 2	POC 2	MCH 1	MIL 6	ONT 2	ONT	ONT 4	MCH 4	MCH	TRE 13	TWS 18	PHX 4													1st	3.075
1974	Lindsey Hopkins	ONT 5	ONT	ONT 8	PHX 16	TRE	INDY 16	MIL 18	POC 28	MCH 16	MIL 6	MCH 13	TRE 10	TRE 16	PHX 19															16th	555
1975	Lindsey Hopkins	ONT 8	ONT	ONT 13	PHX DNQ	TRE 7	INDY 5	MIL 8	POC 4	MCH 12	MIL 19	MCH 5	TRE 6	PHX 18																7th	1.675
1976	Lindsey Hopkins	PHX	TRE DNQ	INDY 30	MIL		MCH 5	TWS DNQ	TRE 22	MIL 6	ONT 21	MCH 10	TWS 19	PHX 5																11th	955
	James Bidwell					POC 6
1977	Lindsey Hopkins	ONT 22	PHX 3	TWS 17	TRE 5	INDY 8	MIL 19	POC 26	MOS 11	MCH 20	TWS DNQ	MIL 20	ONT 22	MCH 7	PHX 5															11th	940
1978	Hodgdon Racing	PHX 19	ONT 20	TWS 20		INDY 25	MOS	MIL	POC	MCH	ATL	TWS	MIL						PHX 13											35th	61
	Patrick Racing				TRE 21									ONT 24	MCH	TRE	SIL	BRH
1979	Hodgdon Racing	ONT 12	TWS	INDY 13																										9th	716
	AMI Racing				MIL 17	POC 14	TWS 4	MIL 1

Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Pos	Points
1977		TRE	MIL	MOS DNS	PIR					-	-
1979		TEX1	IRP	MIL1 22	POC	TEX2	MIL2	MIN1	MIN2	52nd	3

Indy 500 results

Year^[3]	Car	Start	Qual	Rank	Finish	Laps	Led	Retired
1961	22	29	145.068	18	27	51	0	Crash FS
1962	17	9	147.759	9	16	168	3	Spun T2
1963	14	14	148.680	20	15	198	4	Spun T3
1965	25	23	155.186	18	30	18	0	Clutch
1966	8	21	159.271	22	13	129	0	Oil Leak
1967	12	22	165.563	7	19	165	0	Engine
1968	8	7	166.976	7	29	16	0	Oil Filter
1969	82	6	168.350	6	14	157	0	Split Header
1970	11	4	169.213	4	25	62	0	Suspension
1971	6	22	171.241	15	9	188	0	Flagged
1972	14	20	182.686	15	24	92	0	Valve
1973	3	14	191.929	17	3	131	0	Flagged
1974	1	27	181.004	23	16	141	0	Rear End
1975	15	22	183.964	17	5	167	0	Flagged
1976	7	13	186.499	6	30	8	0	Crash T3
1977	11	18	190.992	10	8	191	0	Flagged
1978	11	11	192.256	17	25	82	0	Clutch
1979	72	25	183.908	35	13	191	0	Flagged
Totals						2155	7

Starts	18
Poles	0
Front Row	0
Wins	0
Top 5	2
Top 10	4
Retired	13

NASCAR

(key) (

Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series

NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54		Pts	Ref
1969	Norm Nelson Racing	12	Plymouth	MGR	MGY	RSD 22	DAY	DAY	DAY	CAR	AUG	BRI	ATL	CLB	HCY	GPS	RCH	NWS	MAR	AWS	DAR	BLV	LGY	CLT	MGR	SMR	MCH	KPT	GPS	NCF	DAY	DOV	TPN	TRN	BLV	BRI	NSV	SMR	ATL	MCH	SBO	BGS	AWS	DAR	HCY	RCH	TAL	CLB	MAR	NWS	CLT	SVH	AUG	CAR	JFC	MGR	TWS	NA	-	^[4]
1970		1		RSD 2	DAY	DAY	DAY	RCH	CAR	SVH	ATL	BRI	TAL	NWS	CLB	DAR	BLV	LGY	CLT	SMR	MAR	MCH	RSD	HCY	KPT	GPS	DAY	AST	TPN	TRN	BRI	SMR	NSV	ATL	CLB	ONA	MCH	TAL	BGS	SBO	DAR	HCY	RCH	DOV	NCF	NWS	CLT	MAR	MGR	CAR	LGY							NA	-	^[5]

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31		Pts	Ref
1972	Marcis Auto Racing	2	Dodge	RSD	DAY	RCH	ONT	CAR	ATL	BRI	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	CLT	DOV	MCH	RSD	TWS	DAY	BRI	TRN	ATL	TAL	MCH	NSV	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT 27	CAR	TWS	NA	-	^[6]
1977		74	Chevy	RSD	DAY	RCH	CAR	ATL	NWS	DAR	BRI	MAR	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	ATL	ONT 40		NA	-	^[7]

International Race of Champions

(key) (

Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)

Other references

• Patrick Finley; "McCluskey memorial race at local dirt track gaining momentum each year"; December 30, 2006; Arizona Daily Star; Retrieved January 15, 2007
• NASCAR and IROC statistics

Notes and References

1. Web site: Roger McCluskey . 2023-06-07 . www.champcarstats.com.
2. http://www.mshf.com/hall-of-fame/inductees/roger-mccluskey.html Roger McCluskey
3. http://www.indy500.com/stats/drivers.php?drivername=Roger%20McCluskey Roger McCluskey Indy 500 Race Stats
4. Web site: Roger McCluskey – 1969 NASCAR Grand National Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. January 21, 2020.
5. Web site: Roger McCluskey – 1970 NASCAR Grand National Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. January 21, 2020.
6. Web site: Roger McCluskey – 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. January 21, 2020.
7. Web site: Roger McCluskey – 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. January 21, 2020.
8. Web site: Roger McCluskey – 1974 IROC Results. Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. January 21, 2020.