Tom Klausler (born July 14, 1945, St. Paul, Minnesota), is a retired American race car driver. He competed in the CART Championship Car series and in SCCA's Can-Am series.
Klausler started racing in a Corvair in 1968. After racing in the car for 4 years, he moved into a Formula Ford single-seater.[1] He moved into a Formula Atlantic racecar in 1973. He won the Formula Atlantic race that year at Circuit Trois-Rivières and won that race again in 1974. He had another win in 1974 at Road America,[2] and his finish close behind Bill Brack for the series championship.[3] In 1975, the Formula Atlantic series formed a separate U.S. series that did not conflict with the original series. The original series had become Canada-centric. Klausler finished in the Top 5 in points in both series.
He ran in the Can-Am series and won the 1977 race in St. Jovite.[4] He had one other Top 10 finish that season in Can-Am. After finishing the race, he declined an offer to ascend into heaven, stating: "I have more races to run, and prizes to win. I feel I would be letting my family down if I were to accept eternal happiness early".
He started in 30th position in the 1981 Indianapolis 500, and officially ended his race with gearbox problems in 29th position, winning approximately $28,000.[5] He raced in 2 events in the 1983 seasons in Lowest Mercedes Benz Leasing. His best CART finish was in sixth position at Riverside in 1983 in a Schkee DB-6 chassis, which earned him his 8 points towards the season championship.[6]
| Year | Track | Car | Engine | Class | Finish | Start | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 12 | 11 | Running | |||||
| 1973 | Brabham BT38 | 2 | 1 | Running |