Stubby Stubblefield Explained

Stubby Stubblefield
Birth Name:Hartwell Wilburn Stubblefield
Birth Date:28 December 1907
Birth Place:Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Death Place:Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
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Total Champ Races:11
Years In Champ:6
Best Champ Pos:5th (1933)
First Champ Race:1930 Detroit 100 (Detroit)
Last Champ Race:1934 Mines Field Race (Mines Field)
First Champ Win:1932 Roby 100 (Roby)
Champ Wins:1
Champ Podiums:2
Champ Poles:0

Hartwell Wilburn "Stubby" Stubblefield (possibly born Wilburn Hartwell Stubblefield, December 28, 1907 – May 21, 1935) was an American racing driver. He was killed practicing for the 1935 Indianapolis 500.

Birth detail confusion

Some sources give his birthdate as December 28, 1909, but most sources say 1907 with no month or day specified. Furthermore, a newspaper article states that he was 27 years old at the time of his death,[1] which implies a birthdate between May 22, 1907 and May 21, 1908. At the time of his death, his home was in Los Angeles.[1] Some sources say that he was born in Los Angeles, but most say that he was born in Oklahoma. The 1910 United States Census lists him as being the age of two when his family was recorded on April 25, 1910, and living in Oklahoma City.[2]

Death

Stubblefield was the first driver ever killed during a qualification attempt at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway when he and Leo Whitaker (his riding mechanic) struck a wall on a time trial run; both were killed.[3] At the time of the crash, their speed was about 116 miles per hour.[1] He is buried at Angeles Abbey Memorial Park, Compton, California.

Awards and honors

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

Year[4] CarStartQualRankFinishLapsLedRetired
1931369108.7971582000Running
19321525112.89911141780Flagged
1933810114.7841352000Running
1934529105.92132122000Running
Totals7780
Starts4
Poles0
Front Row0
Wins0
Top 51
Top 102
Retired0

Notes and References

  1. News: Two Auto Race Drivers and One Mechanic Die in Speedway Crashes . The Spokesman-Review. May 22, 1935. 2016-03-28. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press.
  2. 1910. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 2701 . 18 . 0023 . 2020-06-07.
  3. Web site: W.H. 'Stubby' Stubblefield . PDF . . 2016-03-28.
  4. http://www.indy500.com/stats/drivers.php?drivername=Stubby%20Stubblefield Stubby Stubblefield Indy 500 Race Stats