| Fatality - May 1972 |
| Jim Malloy - driver |
Jim Malloy was born May 23, 1935 in Columbus
Nebraska. A football and baseball player, he attended
Colorado State University for a while before he began his
racing career in 1955, driving Semi-Modifieds at Lakeside
Speedway in Denver, Colorado. He continued racing at
Lakeside through 1962. This is where he branched out
and ran with the fledgling Canadian American Modified
Racing Association (CAMRA). He drove a modified built
and prepared by his brother Jerry Malloy and in 1964 &
1965 he won the CAMRA championship.
He quit racing to work in Denver; but he wanted to go
racing so badly that he suddenly cleaned off his desk, split
a $100 with his wife and proclaimed he was going racing.
He began In 1967 by driving USAC sprint cars. This is
when Malloy would get a huge break in is racing career.
He was hired by the Jim Robbins Race Team to drive
USAC Indy Cars. He would run eight races for the
Robbins team that year with his best finish being a 6th
at Langhorne, Pennsylvania.
The Robbins team would bring Malloy to Indianapolis in
1968 where he would be the fastest rookie qualifier. He
started 14th and finished 22nd, dropping out after 64 laps
with mechanical failure.
In 1969 Malloy started 13th and despite an early 22 minute
pit stop he managed an 11th place finish.
In 1970 he qualified 9th, his best starting position to date.
Unfortunately his car broke a rear constant velocity joint
and hit the 4th turn wall at the end of the pace lap, putting
himself out of the race even before the start.
In 1971 was originally entered in a car for the M.V.S.
Racing Team. But when Lee Roy Yarbrough crashed
hard with one of Dan Gurney's Eagles, his injuries was
severe enough that he could not compete in the Indy 500
in 1971. Dan Gurney asked Malloy to pilot the Eagle in
place of Yarbrough. He drove a solid race finishing 4th,
his personal best at Indianapolis.
ACCIDENT:
Gary Bettenhausen decided to switch to Penske in '72,
and Malloy was happy to take his seat at Gerhardt - an
Eagle with turbo-Offy power for the 1972 season. This
should be his best season yet.
On May 1, at the beginning of the 1972 practice season,
Malloy was sent out to test the track, for he had been
driving at speeds as high as 185 mph during tire tests.
He drove 180 mph and decided with the chief steward,
Harlan Fengler, that the 170 mph limit could be lifted for
'72.
On Sunday Morning, May 14th, he turned in a lap at 186
mph and was going into the 3rd Turn when he lost control
of the car. He had no time to apply the brakes and the
Thermo King Eagle veered right and crashed almost
head-on into the wall. There were skid marks for 75 feet
and car parts scattered 150 yards away. A USAC official
said it crumpled up the steering column and folded the tub
right back into the rest of the car. It took more than 10
minutes to extricate Malloy, unconscious, fom the car.
He had head injuries, fractures of both legs and hips, a
broken right arm, and second-degree burns on his hands
and feet. Never having regained consciousness, Malloy
died four days later - five days before his 37th birthday.
Malloy's parents and his wife, Mary, were with him. He
and Mary had two sons, Jim and Pat, and a daughter,
Cheryl.
Jim Malloy's best Indycar finish was 2nd in the 1969
Milwaukee 150.
Nebraska. A football and baseball player, he attended
Colorado State University for a while before he began his
racing career in 1955, driving Semi-Modifieds at Lakeside
Speedway in Denver, Colorado. He continued racing at
Lakeside through 1962. This is where he branched out
and ran with the fledgling Canadian American Modified
Racing Association (CAMRA). He drove a modified built
and prepared by his brother Jerry Malloy and in 1964 &
1965 he won the CAMRA championship.
He quit racing to work in Denver; but he wanted to go
racing so badly that he suddenly cleaned off his desk, split
a $100 with his wife and proclaimed he was going racing.
He began In 1967 by driving USAC sprint cars. This is
when Malloy would get a huge break in is racing career.
He was hired by the Jim Robbins Race Team to drive
USAC Indy Cars. He would run eight races for the
Robbins team that year with his best finish being a 6th
at Langhorne, Pennsylvania.
The Robbins team would bring Malloy to Indianapolis in
1968 where he would be the fastest rookie qualifier. He
started 14th and finished 22nd, dropping out after 64 laps
with mechanical failure.
In 1969 Malloy started 13th and despite an early 22 minute
pit stop he managed an 11th place finish.
In 1970 he qualified 9th, his best starting position to date.
Unfortunately his car broke a rear constant velocity joint
and hit the 4th turn wall at the end of the pace lap, putting
himself out of the race even before the start.
In 1971 was originally entered in a car for the M.V.S.
Racing Team. But when Lee Roy Yarbrough crashed
hard with one of Dan Gurney's Eagles, his injuries was
severe enough that he could not compete in the Indy 500
in 1971. Dan Gurney asked Malloy to pilot the Eagle in
place of Yarbrough. He drove a solid race finishing 4th,
his personal best at Indianapolis.
ACCIDENT:
Gary Bettenhausen decided to switch to Penske in '72,
and Malloy was happy to take his seat at Gerhardt - an
Eagle with turbo-Offy power for the 1972 season. This
should be his best season yet.
On May 1, at the beginning of the 1972 practice season,
Malloy was sent out to test the track, for he had been
driving at speeds as high as 185 mph during tire tests.
He drove 180 mph and decided with the chief steward,
Harlan Fengler, that the 170 mph limit could be lifted for
'72.
On Sunday Morning, May 14th, he turned in a lap at 186
mph and was going into the 3rd Turn when he lost control
of the car. He had no time to apply the brakes and the
Thermo King Eagle veered right and crashed almost
head-on into the wall. There were skid marks for 75 feet
and car parts scattered 150 yards away. A USAC official
said it crumpled up the steering column and folded the tub
right back into the rest of the car. It took more than 10
minutes to extricate Malloy, unconscious, fom the car.
He had head injuries, fractures of both legs and hips, a
broken right arm, and second-degree burns on his hands
and feet. Never having regained consciousness, Malloy
died four days later - five days before his 37th birthday.
Malloy's parents and his wife, Mary, were with him. He
and Mary had two sons, Jim and Pat, and a daughter,
Cheryl.
Jim Malloy's best Indycar finish was 2nd in the 1969
Milwaukee 150.
| Malloy's Indy Record |
| Jim Malloy |
Year Car No. Car Laps Completed Start Finish
1968 27 Jim Robbins 64 - rear end 14 22
1969 10 Jim Robbins 165 13 11
1970 31 Stearns Mfg 0 - wreck 9 33
1971 42 Olsonite 200 10 4
1968 27 Jim Robbins 64 - rear end 14 22
1969 10 Jim Robbins 165 13 11
1970 31 Stearns Mfg 0 - wreck 9 33
1971 42 Olsonite 200 10 4
| 1972 |
| Crown Hill Cemetery, Wheat Ridge, CO |
| The Indianapolis Motor Speedway |
| INDY 500 MEMORIAL - 1972 |
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