Roger McCluskey

24/8/1928 - 29/8/1993

Record updated 23-Aug-06

Roger McCluskey was an American racing driver from Tucson, Arizona. He raced in Indianapolis 500 18 times with a best finish of 3rd in 1973.

Roger McCluskey was an American race car driver from Tucson, Arizona.  He began his racing career in the late 1940s racing modified stock cars. He raced in the West Coast Midgets and Sprints in the mid-1950s and joined the United States Auto Club in 1960.

He won the USAC Sprint Car title in 1963 and 1966. His first USAC Stock Car start resulted in a runner-up finish in Phoenix, Arizona in January 1968, when he drove as a substitute driver for Norm Nelson. He went on to win the USAC Stock car title in 1969 and 1970.

McCluskey earned four USAC Midget Car wins, 23 USAC Sprint Car wins, 23 USAC Stock Car wins and five USAC Championship Car wins including the first victory for Dan Gurney's Eagle marque at Langhorne, Pennsylvania in 1966.

He was the USAC national champion in 1973. He started every Indianapolis 500 race from 1961 to 1979 except 1964, with a best finish of 3rd in 1973.

He also made 4 NASCAR Grand National starts from 1969 to 1977 with a best finish of 2nd in 1970 at Riverside International Raceway.

He raced in the Can Am series in 1967 and represented the USAC series in the 1974 International Race of Champions.

McCluskey served as an official for the United States Auto Club from 1979 until his death in 1993 at the age of 63. He was an innovator, creating programs of lasting value such as the Rookie Orientation Program at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

He died in 1993 after a long bout with cancer.