William “Wild Bill” Cantrell was the sort of racer for whom one high-speed discipline apparently wasn’t enough. An accomplished American powerboat racer as well as an IndyCar driver, Cantrell built his reputation in an era when racing machinery was fast, physical and considerably less forgiving than it is today.
Driver Bio
| Nationality | American |
| Birthplace | Hardin County, Kentucky, USA |
| Born | 31 January 1908 |
| Died | 22 January 1996 |
| First Grand Prix | 1950 Indianapolis 500 |
| Last Grand Prix | 1952 Indianapolis 500 |
| Years Active | 1950, 1952 |
| Current/Last Team | Adams |
Born in West Point, Kentucky, on January 31, 1908, Cantrell became a familiar figure in American speed competition, racing both on the water and behind the wheel of powerful open-wheel cars.
His exploits eventually took him into events that counted towards the Formula One World Championship, thanks to the Indianapolis 500’s unusual place on the F1 calendar during the 1950s.
Cantrell’s nickname suited a man who was prepared to race some seriously quick machinery on both land and water.
His standout achievement in powerboat racing arrived in 1949, when Cantrell won the prestigious hydroplane Gold Cup in Detroit.
The Gold Cup was one of the major prizes in American powerboat racing, and Cantrell’s victory established him as a significant figure in the sport. Hydroplane competition required enormous commitment, with drivers controlling immensely powerful boats travelling at high speed across an unpredictable racing surface.
Cantrell clearly had the required combination of bravery, judgement and competitive instinct.
Cantrell’s racing ambitions weren’t restricted to hydroplanes. He also competed in American Championship Car racing – the branch of US motorsport that developed into what we now commonly associate with IndyCar.
That crossover makes Cantrell an especially interesting character from the period. Racing a hydroplane and wrestling an Indianapolis-style racing car around an oval were very different propositions, but Cantrell was prepared to tackle both.
His Championship Car career also gave him a small but notable connection with the official history of the Formula One World Championship.
At first glance, seeing the name of an American powerboat and IndyCar racer in Formula One statistics can seem rather strange.
The explanation is the Indianapolis 500.
Between 1950 and 1960, the Indianapolis 500 counted as a round of the Formula One World Championship. The overwhelming majority of Indianapolis competitors weren’t regular Grand Prix drivers, and F1’s European stars rarely made the journey in the opposite direction, but the arrangement meant Indy 500 competitors from those years became part of the official Formula One World Championship record.
Cantrell was among them.
Cantrell’s first appearance in the Formula One World Championship record came during the inaugural 1950 championship season.
He was entered for the Indianapolis 500 by Richard Palmer, driving an Adams chassis powered by an Offenhauser four-cylinder engine. Cantrell was classified 27th in the Indianapolis 500. His participation included a shared drive with fellow American racer Bayliss Levrett.
Under the regulations and conventions of the period, drivers could share cars during races – something that would look decidedly unusual to modern Formula One fans but was an accepted feature of motorsport at the time.
Cantrell scored no Formula One World Championship points from the appearance and finished the season unclassified in the Drivers’ Championship.
Wild Bill returned to the World Championship record in 1952, once again through the Indianapolis 500.
This time Cantrell was entered by Pat Clancy and drove an Ewing chassis, again using the famous Offenhauser four-cylinder engine that was such a major force in American racing during the period.
His 1952 Indianapolis attempt didn’t progress to the race itself. Cantrell failed to qualify, meaning he recorded a DNQ for that year’s Indianapolis 500.
As a result, he again scored no Formula One World Championship points and was not classified in the final championship standings.
While Cantrell’s appearances in the Formula One record books provide an interesting connection with Grand Prix history, his greatest sporting success came on the water.
In 1992, William “Wild Bill” Cantrell was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in the powerboat category. It was a fitting honour for a competitor whose career crossed the boundaries between two very different forms of high-speed motorsport.
William “Wild Bill” Cantrell died on January 22, 1996, just nine days before what would have been his 88th birthday.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | WDC | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Richard Palmer | Adams | Offenhauser L4 | GBR | MON | 500 27 * | SUI | BEL | FRA | ITA | NC | 0 | |
| 1952 | Pat Clancy | Ewing | Offenhauser L4 | SUI | 500 DNQ | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | NED | ITA | NC | 0 |
