Billy Foster
Billy Foster | |||||||
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Born | William Alva Foster September 18, 1937 Victoria, British Columbia,Canada | ||||||
Died | January 20, 1967 Riverside, California,U.S. | (aged 29)||||||
Champ Carcareer | |||||||
27 races run over 3 years | |||||||
Years active | 1964–1966 | ||||||
Best finish | 10th –1966 | ||||||
First race | 1964Tony Bettenhausen 200(Milwaukee) | ||||||
Last race | 1966Bobby Ball Memorial(Phoenix) | ||||||
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NASCARCup Seriescareer | |||||||
1 race run over 1 year | |||||||
First race | 1966Motor Trend 500(Riverside) | ||||||
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William Alva Foster[1](September 18, 1937 – January 20, 1967)[2]was aCanadianracecar driver.
Born inVictoria, British Columbia,Foster dropped out of high school to start his racing career.[3]
Foster won the 1963 CAMRA (Canadian American Modified Racing Association) in 1963 in the first year of the series. He also won the Utah Copper Cup race in 1963 and 1964.
Foster also drove in theUSACChampionship Carseries, racing in the 1964–1966 seasons, with 28 career starts, including the 1965 and 1966Indianapolis 500races. He finished in the top ten 10 times, with his best finish in second position in 1966 atAtlanta.
He became best friends withMario Andretti,[4]who later claimed he would never again form a close friendship with a fellow racer because Foster's death so significantly affected him.[5]
Foster ran aNASCAR Cup Seriesrace atRiverside International Racewayin1966and finished 7th. He also competed in twoNASCAR West Seriesraces in 1965.
During practice for the 1967 Motor Trend 500 atRiverside International Raceway,Foster lost control of his car after a brake drum failed. His car hit a retaining wall then rolled. As windows nets were not yet mandatory, the momentum of the collision with the wall resulted in Fosters head striking it, causing fatal head injuries.[6]
Foster was a cousin of Canadian stock car driver Jim Steen and musician and producerDavid Foster.
He was inducted into theCanadian Motorsport Hall of Famein 1993.
Indianapolis 500 results
[edit]Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|
1965 | Vollstedt | Offenhauser | 6th | 17th |
1966 | Vollstedt | Ford | 12th | 24th |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Billy Foster".www.champcarstats.com.Retrieved2023-06-27.
- ^"Motorsport Memorial - Billy Foster".Motorsport Memorial.Retrieved31 March2023.
- ^"LASTCAR.info".
- ^Mario Andretti: Racing immediately after best friend's death,10 May 2017,retrieved2022-10-24
- ^Beard, Brock."1/22/67: Remembering Billy Foster, 50 years after he lost his life at Riverside".Retrieved2022-10-24.
- ^"LASTCAR.info".
External links
[edit]- Billy Fosterdriver statistics at Racing-Reference
- Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame entry
- Indianapolis 500 Career Stats
- Motor Sport Memorial entry
- Canadian Motor Sports Hall of Fame
- [1]
- [2]