Al Gordon (racing driver)

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Al Gordon
BornEdgar Alan Gordon
(1902-03-27)March 27, 1902
San Francisco, California, U.S.
DiedJanuary 26, 1936(1936-01-26) (aged 33)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Championship titles
AAA West Coast Big Car (1933)
Champ Car career
9 races run over 3 years
Best finish11th (1932)
First race1932 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Last race1935 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Wins Podiums Poles
0 1 0

Edgar Alan Gordon (March 27, 1902 – January 26, 1936) was an American racing driver.[1]

Life and racing career[edit]

A postman from Redlands, California[2] who also became a Long Beach night club owner among other things,[1] Gordon took up racing in 1925.[2]

Gordon made nine starts in the AAA-sanctioned national championship from 1932 to 1935 and entered two non-points paying races after that, scoring a win at Oakland Speedway in January 1936. He drove in the Indianapolis 500 in 1932, 1934, and 1935, but never finished the race, having qualified second in 1935.[3] A regular at Legion Ascot Speedway, Gordon won the AAA Pacific Coast championship in 1933.[2][4]

Death[edit]

While competing in another AAA non-championship race in January 1936,[3] both Gordon and his riding mechanic, Spider Matlock, were fatally injured in a crash at Ascot,[5][6] which ended racing at the Los Angeles track.[7]

Awards and honors[edit]

Gordon was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1999.[2]

Motorsports career results[edit]

Indianapolis 500 results[edit]

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired
1932 26 37 111.290 17 40 3 0 Crash T4
1934 51 17 116.273 5 22 66 0 Crash T1
1935 6 2 119.481 2 30 17 0 Crash T4
Totals 86 0
Starts 3
Poles 0
Front Row 1
Wins 0
Top 5 0
Top 10 0
Retired 3

[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Al Gordon". OldRacingCars.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-16.
  2. ^ a b c d "Al Gordon". National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum. Archived from the original on 2019-06-19.
  3. ^ a b "Al Gordon". ChampCarStats.com. Archived from the original on 2022-11-27.
  4. ^ "AutoRacingRecords.com". www.autoracingrecords.com. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  5. ^ Donnelly, Jim (September 28, 2009). "Essential racing history". Hemmings Motor News. Archived from the original on 2022-03-05.
  6. ^ "Legion Ascot Speedway 1924–1936". Lincoln Heights LA. Archived from the original on 2018-07-27.
  7. ^ "Crash ends racing at Legion Ascot". Los Angeles Times. January 27, 2006. Archived from the original on 2022-02-28.
  8. ^ "Al Gordon Indianapolis 500 stats". IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com. Archived from the original on 2019-08-01.
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