Henry Banks

Henry Banks

Born	(1913-06-14)June 14, 1913
Died	December 18, 1994(1994-12-18) (aged 81)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	American
Active years	1950–1954
Teams	Maserati, Moore, Lesovsky
Entries	5 (3 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1950 Indianapolis 500
Last entry	1954 Indianapolis 500

Henry Banks (June 14, 1913 – December 18, 1994) was an American midget car and "big car" driver.

Background

Henry Banks was born in England, but brought up in Royal Oak, Michigan.^[1] He was the son of an early European race-driver. Henry began competing in 1932, when he was 19 years old, and became successful in the midget cars.

Racing career

He was the first driver to pass the qualifying "rookie test" at the Indianapolis 500 in 1936.^[1] He also drove as a relief driver in 1937, 1939, and 1940, with a 21st-place finish in 1938.

He won the 1941 American Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) championship in New England.

After a break during the war, when he worked at Ford’s aero-engine division, Banks’ career took off. In 1947 he won 30 midget car races. In 1950, he was the AAA National Champion and, in the same year, came second in the National Midget points.

Banks later retired from racing and became USAC Director of Competitions, and was also inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame. He died at Indianapolis in 1994.

Actor

Also at this time, Banks appeared in two films. The first was To Please A Lady, starring Clark Gable. The second was Roar of the Crowd, starring Howard Duff.

Indianapolis 500 results

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

References

1. 1 2 Biography at the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame Archived March 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.