Biography:Tom Bagley (racing driver)
Tom Bagley (born December 3, 1939, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), is a former driver in the USAC, CART Championship Car, IMSA, Formula Atlantic, and Trans-Am Series. He raced Indycars in the 1978-1980 and 1983 seasons, with 42 combined career starts, including the 1978-1980 Indianapolis 500,[1] finishing in the top ten 23 times, with a best finish, three times, of 4th position. He was USAC Rookie of the Year in 1978, and did not finish worse than 11th in points during his three full-time seasons. He did not begin wheel-to-wheel racing until age 31, after earning a master's degree in Physics from Pennsylvania State University.[2] While in college, Bagley became interested in fuel mileage competitions and then autocross, rising to the attention of Bill Scott, operator of the racing school at Summit Point Motorsports Park. Scott lent Bagley a Formula Ford car to begin his career. Bagley and Janet Guthrie were the only physicists to compete in Indycar in the 1970s. Bagley rose to fame driving Formula Super Vee cars, winning the SCCA championship in 1976, and was USAC co-champion in 1977. Bagley owned and maintained his own race cars in this part of his career. He next joined the Indycar ranks with sponsorship from Kent Oil, driving for Longhorn Racing and Patrick Racing. After retiring from racing full-time, Bagley worked as a physicist for longtime series sponsor PPG Industries, developing new methods for creating powder paints. From 2004 to 2020 he worked at Autobahn Country Club as the Director of Racing Instruction, responsible for designing the safety features at the track and overseeing the instruction, licensing, and racing activities.[3] Bagley still competes in club and endurance races in his Spec Miata and vintage events including the Indy Legends Charity Pro–Am race on occasion. Bagley was described by the SVRA in 2019 as a "driver who accomplished much with limited resources" and "the driver to beat in Formula Super Vee" [4]
Racing record
SCCA National Championship Runoffs
| Year | Track | Car | Engine | Class | Finish | Start | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Road Atlanta | Royale | Volkswagen | Formula Super Vee | 20 | 4 | Retired |
| 1973 | Road Atlanta | Royale | Volkswagen | Formula Super Vee | 6 | 5 | Running |
Formula Super Vee
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Rank | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Zinc Z11 | VW Brabham | DAY 1 |
POC |
NLG 1 |
MOS 18 |
WG1 25 |
MDO 2 |
BRN 1 |
ROA 1 |
WG2 1 |
1st | 115 | ||
Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Tom Bagley | TRE 1 |
MIL 5 |
MOS 1 |
PIR 17 |
1 | 500 | ||||||
| 1978 | PIR1 3 |
TRE1 | MOS | MIL1 | TEX | MIL2 | OMS1 | OMS2 | TRE2 | PIR2 | 19th | 140 |
Complete USAC Championship Car results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | PHX 8 |
ONT 17 |
TXS 10 |
TRE 12 |
INDY 27 |
MOS 17 |
MIL 7 |
POC 26 |
MIC 12 |
ATL 6 |
TXS 16 |
MIL DNS |
ONT 4 |
MIC 6 |
TRE 12 |
SIL 13 |
BRH 14 |
PHX 14 |
11th | 1.188 | |||
| 1979 | Longhorn Racing | Penske | Cosworth | PHX 8 |
ATL 8 |
ATL 7 |
INDY 9 |
TRT 8 |
TRT 4 |
MIC 6 |
MIC 6 |
WGL 6 |
TRT 7 |
ONT 32 |
MIC 5 |
ATL | PHX 9 |
8th | 1.208 | ||||
| 1980 | Patrick Racing | Penske Wildcat |
ONT 5 |
INDY 28 |
MIL 23 |
POC 29 |
MDO DNS |
MIC 8 |
WGL 6 |
MIL 4 |
ONT 15 |
MIC 8 |
MXS 18 |
PHX 16 |
11th | 794 | |||||||
| 1983 | ATL | INDY | MIL | CLE DNQ |
MIC | ROA | POC 34 |
RIV | MDO | MIC | CPL | LAG | PHX | 60th | 0 | ||||||||
Indy 500 results
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Watson | Offy | 14th | 27th |
| 1979 | Penske | Cosworth | 15th | 9th |
| 1980 | Wildcat | Cosworth | 13th | 28th |
| 1981 | Lola | Cosworth | Failed to Qualify | |
References
- ↑ Utterback, Bill (1989) "His career ran out of gas, but memories keep going", Pittsburgh Press, October 16, 1989, retrieved 2010-10-03
- ↑ "Tom Bagley – the Road Racing Drivers Club". http://www.rrdc.org/member/tom-bagley/.
- ↑ "Autobahn Country Club - Member Site | Autobahn Staff". https://autobahnmembers.com/autobahn-staff/.
- ↑ Staff, SPEED SPORT (2019-08-01). "Field Full For Indy Charity Pro-Am" (in en-US). https://speedsport.com/sports-cars/other-sports-cars/field-full-for-indy-charity-pro-am/.
- ↑ Katz, Michael (21 December 1977). "Super Vee Race Driver Can See a Brass Ring". https://www.nytimes.com/1977/12/21/archives/super-vee-race-driver-can-see-a-brass-ring.html.
- ↑ "1976 SCCA U. S. Formula Super Vee Championship Tom Bagley - Champion". Champ Car Stats. https://www.champcarstats.com/vee/year/1976.htm.
- ↑ "Tom Bagley Racing highlights". Driver Data Base. https://www.driverdb.com/drivers/tom-bagley/.
- ↑ "Formula Super Vee". Autosport. https://forums.autosport.com/topic/38270-formula-super-vee/.
External links
| Preceded by Eddie Miller |
US Formula Super Vee Champion 1976 |
Succeeded by Bob Lazier |
| Preceded by none |
USAC Mini-Indy Series Champion 1977 |
Succeeded by Bill Alsup |
| Preceded by Danny Ongais |
USAC Rookie of the Year 1978 |
Succeeded by Howdy Holmes |
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