# Rex Mays

Rex Houston Mays Jr. (March 10, 1913 – November 6, 1949) was an American racing driver. He was a two-time National Champion, won four poles for the Indianapolis 500, and is generally regarded as one of the greatest drivers of his era.

## Racing career

Mays won regional sprint car championships in the mid-1930s. He made his Indianapolis 500 debut in 1934 and won the pole in 1935, 1936, and again in 1940 and finished second, he returned the next year and finished second again. Mays won the AAA National Championship in 1940 and 1941. However, World War II suspended racing until 1946, denying Mays of what likely would have been the peak of his career. After the war, Mays again won the Indianapolis pole in 1948 but was knocked out by a mechanical problem.
In a race at Milwaukee, a fellow driver, Duke Dinsmore, was thrown from his car during an incident in the south turn. Mays was leading the race and saw Dinsmore's body lying in the middle of the south turn. Mays spun his car into the wall, got out of the car, and pulled the unconscious Dinsmore to safety.

## Death

Mays was killed at the age of 36 in a crash during the only Championship Car race held at Del Mar Fairgrounds race track in Del Mar, California in November 1949. In this accident, Mays swerved to miss a car that had crashed in front of him. His car went out of control and flipped, throwing Mays to the track surface, where he was hit by a trailing car.

## Awards and honors

Mays has been inducted into the following halls of fame:
* Auto Racing Hall of Fame (1963)
* National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (1990)
* International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1993)
* Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1995)
* Riverside Sport Hall of Fame
In addition, the Milwaukee Mile Indy car race traditionally run the weekend after the Indianapolis 500 was renamed in Mays' honor, recognizing not only his career and tragic death, but his selfless earlier actions in protecting Dinsmore. The Rex Mays Classic ran as such from 1950 to 1987 - at which time the Mays name was eliminated in favor of Miller High Life sponsorship. Riverside International Raceway also held an Indy car race named after Mays, the Rex Mays 300, which ran from 1967 to 1969.

## Motorsports career results
### AAA Championship Car results

| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Pos | Points |
| 1934 | INDY 23 | SPR | NYS | MFD 16 | | | | | | | | | | - | 0 |
| 1935 | INDY 17 | MIN | SPR | NYS | ALT | LAN | | | | | | | | - | 0 |
| 1936 | INDY 15 | GTP 1 | NYS 3 | GVC DNS | | | | | | | | | | 11th | 200 |
| 1937 | INDY 33 | GVC 3 | NYS 13 | | | | | | | | | | | 8th | 405 |
| 1938 | INDY 28 | NYS 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | 13th | 165 |
| 1939 | INDY 16 | MIL 17 | NYS 13 | | | | | | | | | | | - | 0 |
| 1940 | INDY 2 | SPR 1 | NYS 1 | | | | | | | | | | | 1st | 1,225 |
| 1941 | INDY 2 | MIL 1 | NYS 1 | | | | | | | | | | | 1st | 1,225 |
| 1946 | INDY 30 | LAN 1 | ATL 11 | ISF 1 | MIL 1 | GOS DNQ | | | | | | | | 9th | 613 |
| 1947 | INDY 6 | MIL 2 | LAN DNQ | ATL 12 | BAI 15 | MIL 10 | GOS DNS | MIL 16 | PIK | SPR 16 | ARL 4 | | | 5th | 765.7 |
| 1948 | ARL 16 | INDY 19 | MIL 17 | LAN 16 | MIL 4 | SPR 4 | MIL 7 | DUQ 17 | ATL 10 | PIK | SPR 14 | DUQ 18 | | 13th | 360 |
| 1949 | ARL 2 | INDY 25 | MIL 7 | TRE 10 | SPR 2 | MIL 3 | DUQ 15 | PIK | NYS 15 | DET 11 | SPR 2 | SAC 2 | DMR 18 | 6th | 1,030 |
* 1946 table only includes results of the six races run to "championship car" specifications. Points total includes the 71 races run to "big car" specifications.

### Indianapolis 500 results

| Year | Car | Start | Qual | Rank | Finish | Laps | Led | Retired |
| 1934 | 35 | 23 | 113.639 | 15 | 23 | 53 | 0 | Front axle |
| 1935 | 33 | 1 | 120.736 | 1 | 17 | 123 | 89 | Spring shackle |
| 1936 | 33 | 1 | 119.644 | 1 | 15 | 192 | 12 | Out of gas |
| 1937 | 14 | 23 | 119.968 | 10 | 33 | 24 | 0 | Overheating |
| 1938 | 8 | 3 | 122.845 | 5 | 28 | 45 | 16 | Supercharger |
| 1939 | 15 | 19 | 126.413 | 7 | 16 | 145 | 1 | Rings |
| 1940 | 33 | 1 | 127.850 | 1 | 2 | 200 | 59 | Running |
| 1941 | 1 | 2 | 128.301 | 2 | 2 | 200 | 38 | Running |
| 1946 | 1 | 14 | 128.861 | 2 | 30 | 26 | 3 | Manifold |
| 1947 | 9 | 20 | 124.412 | 7 | 6 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 1948 | 5 | 1 | 130.577 | 2 | 19 | 129 | 36 | Fuel leak |
| 1949 | 5 | 2 | 129.552 | 4 | 25 | 48 | 12 | Engine |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 1385 | 266 | |
| Starts | 12 |
| Poles | 4 |
| Front Row | 7 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Top 5 | 2 |
| Top 10 | 3 |
| Retired | 9 |