Bill Mackey was an American racing driver whose career reached the Indianapolis 500 but was cut tragically short during one of the darkest days in American motorsport.
Driver Bio
| Nationality | American |
| Birthplace | Dayton, Ohio, USA |
| Born | 15 December 1927 |
| Died | 29 July 1951 |
| First Grand Prix | 1951 Indianapolis 500 |
| Last Grand Prix | 1951 Indianapolis 500 |
| Years Active | 1951 |
| Current/Last Team | Hall |
Born William Christopher Gretsinger Jr. on December 15, 1927, he raced under the name Bill Mackey and became part of the fiercely competitive American racing scene of the early 1950s.
Mackey’s career included an appearance at the Indianapolis 500, which also gave him a place in F1 history. Sadly, only a matter of weeks after competing at Indianapolis, Mackey was killed while attempting to qualify for an AAA sprint car event in Indiana.
He was just 23 years old.
Indy 500
American open-wheel racing in Mackey’s era was a very different world from the highly organised and safety-conscious sport of today.
Drivers frequently moved between major championship events and the country’s demanding sprint car scene, racing powerful machines on circuits where the consequences of a mistake or mechanical failure could be severe.
Mackey was one of those young competitors trying to establish himself in this challenging environment, and in 1951 he earned an opportunity to compete on American racing’s biggest stage: the Indianapolis 500. Mackey entered the 1951 Indianapolis 500 in car number 71.
He qualified at an average speed of 131.473 mph and started the race from 33rd position, putting him at the very back of the field.
Simply making the starting line at Indianapolis was an achievement in itself, but Mackey’s race would ultimately be decided by mechanical trouble.
He completed 97 laps of the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was classified 19th. He didn’t lead a lap, and his race came to an end because of a clutch-shaft problem. It would prove to be Mackey’s only Indianapolis 500 start.
F1 World Championship
Mackey’s appearance in Formula One’s record books comes from one of the more unusual chapters in World Championship history.
From 1950 through 1960, the Indianapolis 500 formed part of the FIA World Championship. This meant that drivers competing at Indianapolis during those seasons were officially participating in a round of the World Championship, even though most were regulars on the American racing scene rather than the European Grand Prix phase of the season.
As a result, Mackey’s 1951 Indianapolis 500 appearance also counts as his sole World Championship start.
He scored no World Championship points, but his participation nevertheless means his name forms part of the official record from Formula One’s earliest years.
Death
Mackey’s promising racing career ended with shocking suddenness on July 29, 1951, only two months after his Indianapolis 500 appearance.
He was attempting to qualify for an American Automobile Association (AAA) sprint car race at Funk’s Speedway in Winchester, Indiana – the circuit now known as Winchester Speedway – when he was killed.
The date would become infamous in American motorsport history as “Black Sunday”. Three drivers were killed in one afternoon at two different racing tracks. All three drivers were veterans of the Indianapolis 500. Exactly two months before this they all competed in the race. The men were Cecil Green, Mackey, and Walt Brown.
Mackey’s death brought an end to a career that had only just reached Indianapolis and which had barely begun to establish itself at the highest levels of American competition.
Grand Prix Stats
| Race Entries | 1 |
| Race Starts | 1 |
| Did Not Start | 0 |
| Best Race Start | 33rd |
| Best Race Finish | NC |
| Retirements | 1 |
| First-Lap Retirements | 0 |
| Not Classified | 0 |
| Disqualified | 0 |
| Did Not Qualify | 0 |
Qualifying
| Qualifying Sessions | 1 |
| Reached Q3 | 0 |
| Q2 Eliminations | 0 |
| Q1 Eliminations | 0 |
| Did Not Qualify | 0 |
Stats by Season
| Year | Constructor | Entries | Starts | Wins | Podiums | Poles | Fastest Laps | Front Rows | DNF | Best Start | Best Result | Pts Finishes | Points | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Hall | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 33rd | NC | 0 | 0 | NC |
