FANTASY NASCAR Racin

a former Indy Car driver and occasional NASCAR racer, who was named to the prestigious Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005. Sneva is best remembered for winning the 1983 Indianapolis 500. Nicknamed "The Gas Man"; Sneva's unique abilities to get the most out of his car also led to him winning two consecutive USAC National Championships for Indycars in 1977 and 1978. Sneva was born in Spokane, Washington, and worked as a school principal before becoming an auto racer. His brother, driver Jerry Sneva, also competed at Indy. Sneva had a brief NASCAR career running in eight CUP events. His best finish was in the Daytona 500 where he finished seventh. Other than one race at Richmond, all of his races were run on the super speedways of Daytona, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Michigan. The car shown here is not the 'exact' car he drove at Daytona. It was

painted like this; but was #37. He is most known for his success in the USAC/CART Indy series. On May 14, 1977, Sneva drove his famed Norton Spirit McLaren M24/Cosworth racer for car owner Roger Penske, becoming the first driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 at a speed more than 200 mph. On May 12, 1984, Sneva became the first driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 over 210 mph. Sneva's career at the Indianapolis 500 was known for fast qualifying, second place finishes, near misses and several crashes. Three times (1977, 1978, 1980) Sneva ended up the bridesmaid by finishing second. Finally, Sneva broke through

in dramatic fashion in 1983 after a thrilling late race duel with Al Unser, Sr. and the lapped car of Unser's rookie son, Al Jr. It was Sneva's 1983 win in his Texaco Star March 83C/Cosworth for Bignotti-Cotter Racing that led to his nickname of "The Gas Man." That win was also famous for it being the last of George Bignotti's record seven Indianapolis 500 wins as a chief mechanic. Sneva's second-place finish in 1980 is notable as it is one of only two occasions of such a finish by a driver starting last. It is also the only time the driver who started last (33rd) led laps during the race. It was this series of near misses combined with second place finishes and hard charging qualifying and racing style that made Sneva a fan favorite

at Indianapolis. He suffered one of the most famous accidents at Indianapolis during the 1975 race. After touching wheels with Eldon Rasmussen, Sneva flipped up into the catch fence and tore his car in half. That video is here. Sneva would walk away with only minor burns. After Sneva's Indy victory in 1983, he has a dubious distinction of never finishing the race again. He dropped out of the race in 1984-1990, failed to qualify in 1991, and dropped out of the 1992 race as well. Some observers have attributed his decline in success to the switch to radial tires (the series transitioned to radials over a period from 1985–1987). His driving style was more apropos to bias ply tires. Sneva retired after the 1992 race with 13 career Indy car wins and 14 pole positions. After Sneva retired from driving, he was a color commentator for ABC television network's Wide World of Sports program and called several Indy 500s. Some info from Wikipedia

Fantasy NASCAR Racing

THOMAS E "TOM" SNEVA - 06/01/1948