Walt Faulkner

16/2/1920 - 22/4/1956

Record updated 22-Apr-20

Faulkner raced mainly in the National Championship and in stock car races. In 1950 Faulkner became the first rookie to take pole position at the Indianapolis 500. He died in 1956 after a qualifying crash at a USAC Stock Car race in Vallejo, California.

Walt Faulkner

Faulkner started racing motorcycles before switching to midgets, driving for the Edelbrock dirt track racing team. He enjoyed considerable success in midget racing and graduated to competing in the National Championship and in NASCAR races. 

Faulkner enjoyed a rather successful career racing Indy type roadsters from 1949 to 1955. He sat on the pole and finished 7th at Indy in '49, his second professional start, becoming the first rookie to win pole position at the Indianapolis 500. 

He raced a Lincoln Capri with Francis W. Hainley in the Carrera Panamericana in 1954 finishing 10th. 

He won at Milwaukee twice and Darlington once. He also finished over 54% of his races entered and finished in the top ten 24 times out 56 starts. 

As the Indianapolis 500 counted as a round of the Formula One World championship from 1950 to 1960 his career is credited with participation in 4 grands prix, with 1 pole position and 1 championship point scored. 

He was killed in an accident on his first qualfying lap for a USAC stock car race in Vallejo, California in 1956.

He was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2007. He was also inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2006.



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