Dick Simon
Richard Raymond Simon (born September 21, 1933) is retired American auto racing driver and racing team owner. Simon drove Indy cars in USAC and CART, and made 17 starts at the Indianapolis 500. At the 1988 Indianapolis 500, Simon set a record as the oldest driver in Indy 500 history (54 years, 251 days), a record that was later broken by A. J. Foyt.
| Dick Simon | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | American | ||||||
| Born | Richard Raymond Simon September 21, 1933 Seattle, Washington, U.S. | ||||||
| Champ Car career | |||||||
| 183 races run over 20 years | |||||||
| Years active | 1969–1988 | ||||||
| Best finish | 8th – 1979 | ||||||
| First race | 1970 Jimmy Bryan 150 (Phoenix) | ||||||
| Last race | 1988 Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix (Nazareth) | ||||||
| |||||||
Simon was a longtime car owner, founding Dick Simon Racing, helping to begin the Indy car careers of Stéphan Grégoire, Arie Luyendyk, Raul Boesel, Lyn St. James, and many others. Simon had a notable record at the Indy 500. Of the many rookies he entered at Indy over the years, not a single one failed to qualify for the race. Simon never won a race as a driver or as an owner. His best finish as a driver was 3rd at Ontario, and as an owner he had six second-place finishes. Simon had a best finish at the Indianapolis 500 of 6th in 1987 (as a driver), and 4th in 1993 as an owner with Boesel.
Simon sold his race team to Andy Evans who formed Team Scandia in 1997. He returned to Indy car racing in the late 1990s and entered cars in 2000 and 2001.