Leonard Joseph Zengel (March 15, 1887 – September 24, 1963) was an American racing driver.
| Len Zengel | |||||||
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 Zengel in 1912 | |||||||
| Born | Leonard Joseph Zengel March 15, 1887 Dayton, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | September 24, 1963 (aged 76) Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||
| Champ Car career | |||||||
| 4 races run over 3 years | |||||||
| First race | 1909 Founder's Week Trophy (Fairmount Park) | ||||||
| Last race | 1912 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis) | ||||||
| First win | 1911 Elgin National Trophy (Elgin) | ||||||
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Biography
editZengel was born on March 15, 1887, in Dayton, Ohio, to Leonard A. Zengel (1857-1930). He had seven siblings.
On October 8, 1910, Zengel won the annual Fairmount Park road race in Philadelphia driving a Chadwick Engineering Works auto.[1][2]
In 1911 he won the Elgin Trophy.[1][3]
He participated in the 1912 Indianapolis 500.[1]
He married Mary L. Howell and had a son, Leonard Joseph Zengel Jr. (1915-1944) who died in a car accident when he fell asleep at the wheel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[4] He had a daughter, Betty Jean Zengel.[5]
He operated a Chrysler and Plymouth dealership.
Zengel died on September 24, 1963, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, at age 76.
Motorsports career results
editIndianapolis 500 results
edit
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References
edit- ^ a b c "Sutz Driver Wears Smile While Speeding". Warsaw Daily Times. May 25, 1912. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
Len Zengel, driver of the Stutz entry number two in the second annual 500-mile International Sweepstakes race to be run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway next Memorial Day. Zengel was a member of the National racing team and won the Elgin National Stock Chassis road race in 1911. In 1910 he won the Fairmount Park race in Philadelphia in a Chadwick "Big Six." Billy Knipper will act as relief driver to Zengel in the 500 mile race.
- ^ "Zengel Road Race Winner. Contest Closest one in Motor History. Nine Cars Finish". Chicago Tribune. October 9, 1910. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
Watched by a half a million people, Len Zengel, driving a Chadwick six, this afternoon won the third annual Fairmount park road race by the closest margin ever recorded in any motor road race in the world, beating Ralph...
- ^ "Len Zengel Wins Elgin Trophy. Pilots His National Car Home in the Front Grant, in Alco, Was Second; Hughes, in Mercer, Third. Dave Buck and Sam Jacobs Crew of Pope-Hartford Killed". Atlanta Constitution. August 27, 1911. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
Elgin's 305 mile cup race today, won by Len Zengel, in a National, with Harry Grant second and Hughie Hughes third, was not run without its toll of death and injuries.
- ^ "Auto Strikes Pole, Sailor is Killed". United Press. October 2, 1944.
Gunner's Mate 2/C, Leonard J. Zengel, 33 ...
- ^ "Marriages". New York Times. September 13, 1942. Retrieved 2012-10-06.
Miss Betty Jean Zengel, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Zengel of Rockwood Farm, West Chester, was married yesterday in the Church of the Good Shepherd ...