# Walt Faulkner

Walter Faulkner (February 6, 1918 – April 22, 1956) was an American racing driver from Tell, Texas. He moved to Milledgeville, Georgia at the age of two-and-a-half, and to Lake Wales, Florida at the age of eight. He then moved to San Diego, California in 1936. Faulkner competed mainly in the National Championship and in stock car races. In 1950 Faulkner became the first rookie to win pole position at the Indianapolis 500. He died in 1956 after a qualifying crash at a USAC Stock Car event in Vallejo, California.
Earlier in his career, Faulkner raced motorcycles, then switched to midget cars, later driving for the Edelbrock dirt track racing team. He had great success in midget car racing and was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2007. Faulkner was also inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame in 2006.

## World Championship career summary

The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Walt Faulkner participated in 5 World Championship races. He started on the pole 1 time, and accumulated a total of 1 championship point.

## Racing record
### Complete AAA Championship Car results

| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Pos | Points |
| 1949 | ARL | INDY | MIL | TRE | SPR | MIL | DUQ | PIK | SYR | DET | SPR | LAN | SAC | DMR DNQ | | - | 0 |
| 1950 | INDY 7 | MIL 7 | LAN DNQ | SPR DNQ | MIL 1 | PIK | SYR 2 | DET 4 | SPR 12 | SAC 9 | PHX 5 | BAY 6 | DAR 8 | | | 2nd | 1,317 |
| 1951 | INDY 15 | MIL | LAN | DAR 1 | SPR DNQ | MIL 1 | DUQ 4 | DUQ 2 | PIK | SYR 2 | DET 2 | DNC 18 | SJS DNQ | PHX 6 | BAY DNS | 3rd | 1,513.6 |
| 1952 | INDY DNQ | MIL 18 | RAL 17 | SPR 13 | MIL DNQ | DET 12 | DUQ | PIK | SYR DNQ | DNC 11 | SJS 8 | PHX 10 | | | | 32nd | 87 |
| 1953 | INDY 17 | MIL DNQ | SPR 9 | DET DNQ | SPR 18 | MIL DNS | DUQ 6 | PIK | SYR DNQ | ISF DNQ | SAC DNP | PHX | | | | 28th | 158.4 |
| 1954 | INDY DNS | MIL 8 | LAN | DAR 13 | SPR | MIL | DUQ | PIK | SYR | ISF | SAC | PHX | LVG | | | 38th | 78.5 |
| 1955 | INDY 5 | MIL 21 | LAN | SPR 16 | MIL DNQ | DUQ | PIK | SYR DNS | ISF DNS | SAC | PHX | | | | | 10th | 447.5 |

### Indy 500 results

| Year | Car | Start | Qual | Rank | Finish | Laps | Led | Retired |
| 1950 | 98 | 1 | 134.343 | 1 | 7 | 135 | 0 | Running |
| 1951 | 2 | 14 | 136.872 | 1 | 15 | 123 | 0 | Crankshaft |
| 1953 | 23 | 14 | 137.117 | 10 | 17 | 176 | 0 | Flagged |
| 1954 | 98 | – | – | – | 12* | 199 | ? | Flagged |
| 1955 | 77 | 7 | 139.762 | 16 | 5** | 200 | 0 | Running |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 634 | 0 | |
| Starts | 4 |
| Poles | 1 |
| Front Row | 1 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Top 5 | 1 |
| Top 10 | 2 |
| Retired | 1 |
* Shared drive with Chuck Stevenson ** Shared drive with Bill Homeier. Each driver scored 1 World Championship point

### Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | WDC | Pts |
| 1950 | Grant Piston Ring/Agajanian | Kurtis Kraft 2000 | Offenhauser 4.5 L4 | GBR | MON | 500 7 | SUI | BEL | FRA | ITA | | | NC | 0 |
| 1951 | Agajanian Grant Piston Ring | Kuzma Indy Roadster | Offenhauser 4.5 L4 | SUI | 500 15 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | ESP | | NC | 0 |
| 1952 | Grant Piston Ring/Agajanian | Ferrari 375S | Ferrari 375 4.5 V12 | SUI | 500 DNQ | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | NED | ITA | | NC | 0 |
| 1953 | Automobile Shippers/Casaroll | Kurtis Kraft 500A | Offenhauser 4.5 L4 | ARG | 500 17 | NED | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | SUI | ITA | NC | 0 |
| 1954 | J.C. Agajanian | Kuzma Indy Roadster | Offenhauser 4.5 L4 | ARG | 500 12 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | SUI | ITA | ESP | NC | 0 |
| 1955 | Merz Engineering | Kurtis Kraft 500C | Offenhauser 4.5 L4 | ARG | MON | 500 5 | BEL | NED | GBR | ITA | | | 23rd | 1 |
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