Top 100
Len Sutton
UNITED STATES
Born
9 / 8 / 1925
Died
4 / 12 / 2006

Lenard Sutton raced in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series from 1955 until 1965 seasons. He finished in the top ten 43 times, including 3 wins. His best finish at Indy was 2nd in 1962.

Lenard Sutton was born in Aims, Oregon, USA. He raced in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series from 1955 until 1965 seasons. In a career spanning 10 years he made 76 career starts, including the 1958-1962, 1964 and 1965 Indianapolis 500 races. He finished in the top ten 43 times, including 3 victories. His best finish at Indy was 2nd in 1962.

Lenard Sutton was born in Aims, Oregon, USA. He raced in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series from 1955 until 1965 seasons. In a career spanning 10 years he made 76 career starts, including the 1958-1962, 1964 and 1965 Indianapolis 500 races. He finished in the top ten 43 times, including 3 victories. His best finish at Indy was a second place finish behind Rodger Ward in 1962.

He was 20 when he decided that he wanted to drive a race car. In his first try, on a little dirt track near his home, he spun out on the first turn of the lap. He always said that was a good lesson, it taught him that racing was not as easy as it looked. From that day on, though, he just made it look easy. Always known as a man who was easy on his equipment, and with a record as a finisher, he won championships in the Oregon Racing Assn. in 1949, 1950, 1954 and 1955. A versatile driver, he also won midget championships for Portland car owner Rolla Volstedt before heading East toward the more lucrative national circuit, where he was a winner for Ray Nichels in late model stock cars. Drivers wore T-shirts and flimsy helmets, and drove cars with skinny tires and no roll bars. Sutton had his share of scares.

In 1954, during the Mexican road race, Len careened into a ravine trying to avoid a small herd of cattle. That put him in a full body cast for four months. Two years later Sutton was at Indy for the first time and flipped during practice while trying to make 140 mph. He landed upside down with his helmet scrapping the asphalt for nearly 1,000 feet. In the Indianapolis News the following day, it said, "Sutton was at first believed dead by observers on the scene." He had a skull fracture, broken shoulder and serious abrasions over his back. A year later he was back and qualified for his first 500. In 1964 he was not injured but the had the scariest moment of his career when he drove through the inferno that killed Dave MacDonald and Eddie Sachs. "I guess it wasn't my time," he said of that experience.

If this sounds like he was always in an accident, that's not true. It is meant to show that he was a survivor, a man who could go as fast as the next guy, but who rarely made foolhardy moves. As he told Paul Buker of the Portland Oregonian recently, "If I was in good equipment, I was one of the guys who would be running right up front. But I wasn't the boldest driver out there, because I didn't take that many chances. Some of the guys didn't mind banging wheels. I wasn't that aggressive. I wanted to finish every race." That philosophy kept him racing for 20 years, winning at every level, before he made up his mind to quit during a race at treacherous old Langhorne in 1965. That was the race where Mel Kenyon was severely burned.





  • next 100
  • skip to last page
  • back to start


    These are the top 100 drivers by views today. To view the top 100 drivers this year, click here.

    Click on the drivers name for more information.
    Yesterday
    Name
    Views
    Today
    Total
    Views
    1
    8
    40
    3012
    2
    -
    34
    2863
    3
    535
    22
    781
    4
    9
    16
    2603
    5
    30
    15
    2594
    6
    -
    15
    58
    7
    291
    12
    2178
    8
    1096
    12
    2634
    9
    -
    10
    2342
    10
    6
    9
    1217
    11
    -
    9
    405
    12
    -
    8
    2611
    13
    144
    7
    603
    14
    -
    7
    364
    15
    1438
    7
    1145
    16
    -
    7
    458
    17
    939
    7
    2250
    18
    782
    7
    87
    19
    -
    6
    30
    20
    -
    5
    114
    21
    1051
    5
    34
    22
    -
    5
    363
    23
    -
    5
    118
    24
    -
    5
    265
    25
    1624
    5
    57
    26
    588
    5
    41
    27
    -
    4
    107
    28
    -
    4
    407
    29
    14
    4
    2471
    30
    1873
    4
    41
    31
    1175
    4
    119
    32
    1035
    4
    81
    33
    616
    4
    69
    34
    -
    4
    114
    35
    617
    4
    206
    36
    47
    4
    210
    37
    811
    4
    123
    38
    900
    3
    25
    39
    -
    3
    217
    40
    153
    3
    201
    41
    -
    3
    280
    42
    -
    3
    347
    43
    194
    3
    205
    44
    1169
    3
    26
    45
    777
    3
    40
    46
    44
    3
    286
    47
    1887
    3
    93
    48
    1909
    3
    27
    49
    705
    3
    1085
    50
    896
    3
    24
    51
    2110
    3
    474
    52
    1853
    3
    362
    53
    11
    2
    254
    54
    116
    2
    110
    55
    374
    2
    218
    56
    670
    2
    43
    57
    262
    2
    74
    58
    54
    2
    240
    59
    1920
    2
    48
    60
    250
    2
    52
    61
    682
    2
    223
    62
    581
    2
    195
    63
    1187
    2
    29
    64
    2174
    2
    23
    65
    120
    2
    159
    66
    2038
    2
    243
    67
    140
    2
    116
    68
    12
    2
    823
    69
    1490
    2
    258
    70
    96
    2
    51
    71
    64
    2
    251
    72
    1026
    2
    112
    73
    1125
    2
    25
    74
    1959
    2
    56
    75
    970
    2
    31
    76
    1149
    2
    331
    77
    1067
    2
    23
    78
    730
    2
    22
    79
    51
    2
    225
    80
    334
    2
    94
    81
    1511
    2
    60
    82
    1907
    2
    33
    83
    577
    2
    67
    84
    1921
    2
    24
    85
    111
    2
    249
    86
    1836
    2
    38
    87
    13
    2
    1007
    88
    -
    2
    285
    89
    175
    2
    42
    90
    806
    2
    491
    91
    107
    2
    362
    92
    69
    2
    248
    93
    -
    2
    344
    94
    665
    2
    143
    95
    -
    2
    58
    96
    911
    2
    30
    97
    856
    2
    45
    98
    -
    2
    352
    99
    -
    2
    75
    100
    -
    2
    264