Joseph Paul Leonard was an American professional motorcycle racer and racecar driver.
28 Facts About Joe Leonard
1.
2.
Joe Leonard resulted vice-champion in 1958,1960 and 1961, third in 1955, and fifth in 1959.
3.
Joe Leonard retired from motorcycle racing at the completion of the 1961 season and turned his attention to auto racing.
4.
Joe Leonard was a member of the AMA Sanctioned San Jose Motorcycle club which includes such famed alumni as Sam Arena, Tom Sifton, Kenny Eggers and Sam Arena Jr.
5.
Joe Leonard made his USAC National Championship debut during the 1964 season when he competed in five races for various teams.
6.
Joe Leonard recorded a best finish of 3rd place three times en route to a 4th-place finish in points.
7.
Also, during the season at the Indianapolis 500 Joe Leonard got his first top 10 in the historic race with a 9th-place finish.
8.
Joe Leonard finished in 3rd place at the Stardust 150 at Stardust International Raceway.
9.
Joe Leonard led the race for 31 laps, battling with Bobby Unser and Lloyd Ruby.
10.
Joe Leonard was the leader under a yellow flag with less than 10 laps to go, but when the race restarted on lap 191 Leonard's fuel shaft broke.
11.
Joe Leonard coasted to a stop and finished in 12th place as Unser took the victory.
12.
Joe Leonard returned to Vel's Parnelli Jones again in 1970, working with famed chief mechanic George Bignotti.
13.
Joe Leonard's engine quit after 73 laps and he could only finish in 24th place.
14.
Joe Leonard then competed in the Rex Mays Classic at Wisconsin State Fairgrounds Park Speedway where he only led the final nine laps on his way to his first victory since 1965 at Milwaukee.
15.
Joe Leonard started one more race that year, the California 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway, where he qualified in 6th place and finished in 13th place after spinning out.
16.
In 1971, Joe Leonard became a full-time driver at Vel's Parnelli Jones.
17.
At the Indianapolis 500, Joe Leonard battled with teammate Unser for the lead.
18.
Joe Leonard eventually led for 21 laps before retiring with a broken turbocharger.
19.
Joe Leonard clinched the championship at the next to last race of the season, the Trenton 300 at Trenton International Speedway, with a third-place finish.
20.
In 1972, Joe Leonard became part of a Super Team at Vel's Parnelli Jones with Unser and Mario Andretti.
21.
Joe Leonard had a three-race winning streak at the Michigan 200 at Michigan International Speedway, the Pocono 500 at Pocono International Raceway and the Tony Bettenhausen 200 at Wisconsin State Fairgrounds Park Speedway.
22.
Joe Leonard clinched his second consecutive championship at the California 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway.
23.
At the Indianapolis 500, Joe Leonard struggled to qualify after teammates Andretti and Unser qualified 6th and 8th.
24.
Joe Leonard suffered a gash in his forehead and extensive injuries to his feet and legs.
25.
Since Joe Leonard's injuries occurred before the orthopedic reconstruction methods pioneered by motorsports physician Dr Terry Trammell, he was left severely debilitated.
26.
Joe Leonard ended up failing USAC's physical, ending his career.
27.
Joe Leonard crashed out after 47 laps and finish in 31st place after starting in 12th place.
28.
Joe Leonard liked to go fast, very fast and knew how to do it.