Don Branson | |||||||
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Nationality | American | ||||||
Born |
Rantoul, Illinois |
June 2, 1920||||||
Died |
November 12, 1966 (aged 46) Gardena, California |
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Championship titles | |||||||
1959, 1964 | USAC Sprint Car Series | ||||||
Awards | |||||||
Inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (1994) Inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame (2012) |
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Champ Car career | |||||||
128 races run over 11 years | |||||||
Years active | 1956-1966 | ||||||
Team(s) | Leader Card | ||||||
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Formula One World Championship career | |||||||
Active years | 1959–1960 | ||||||
Teams | Phillips | ||||||
Entries | 2 | ||||||
Career points | 3 | ||||||
First entry | 1959 Indianapolis 500 | ||||||
Last entry | 1960 Indianapolis 500 |
Donald L. Branson (June 2, 1920 – November 12, 1966) was an American racecar driver.
Born in Rantoul, Illinois, Branson drove in the USAC Championship Car series and also in sprint cars, racing champ cars in the 1956–1966 seasons with 128 starts, including the 1959–1966 Indianapolis 500 races. He finished in the top ten 85 times, with 7 victories.
Branson was also the 1959 and 1964 USAC Sprint Car Series Champion.
He was killed in 1966 in a crash at a sprint car race at Ascot Park in Gardena, California, along with fellow driver Dick Atkins. 1966 was to be his last year of competition, and the fatal wreck occurred with only a few races left in the season for the USAC series.
He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1994 and the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2012.
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