# Mike Mosley

Mike Mosley (December 13, 1946 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – March 3, 1984 in Aguanga, California) was an American race car driver in the USAC and CART Championship Car series. He raced in 17 consecutive seasons from 1967 through 1983, with 166 combined career starts, including every Indianapolis 500 in that span except 1967 and 1982. He finished in the top ten 80 times and had 5 career victories.

## Career

Mosley was known for a "charger" driving style and for his smooth driving technique. Many of his peers felt Mosley never had the opportunity to showcase his talent due to second-rate equipment. Longtime motorsports writer Robin Miller quoted Gary Bettenhausen, a close friend and contemporary of Mosley, as saying: "If Mike had been driving a McLaren (Indianapolis car) in the early 1970s, we would all have been racing for second place."
Mosley was known for having a perceived "jinx" at Indianapolis. He qualified near the front several times, including second in 1981 and 1983, and was often a pre-race favorite. However, in 15 starts, he finished the 500 miles only once—a third-place result in 1979. On his first visit to Indianapolis in 1967, he lied about his age (20 at the time) to gain entry; after two crashes in practice, he told the car owner he was not yet ready to tackle Indy's 2+1⁄2-mile oval. The next year, he returned and qualified for the race.
Mosley was particularly effective at the flat Milwaukee Mile paved oval, where he used an unusual driving line and recorded three victories. In the 1981 race there, added as a promoter's option, he came from the back of the field to win the race. It was the last win for a normally-aspirated engine in the CART/Champ Car era and also the last win in open wheel racing for a Gurney Eagle.
Mosley died in a highway accident in Aguanga, California. He lost control of the truck he was driving, which rolled down an embankment and caught fire. His teenaged son, Michael, was also riding in the van but was uninjured.

## Racing Results
### Indianapolis 500 results

| Year | Car | Start | Qual | Rank | Finish | Laps | Led | Retired |
| 1968 | 90 | 27 | 162.449 | 26 | 8 | 197 | 0 | Flagged |
| 1969 | 90 | 22 | 166.113 | 22 | 13 | 162 | 0 | Piston |
| 1970 | 9 | 12 | 166.651 | 17 | 21 | 96 | 0 | Radiator |
| 1971 | 4 | 19 | 169.579 | 29 | 13 | 159 | 0 | Crash T4 |
| 1972 | 98 | 16 | 189.145 | 5 | 26 | 56 | 3 | Crash T4 |
| 1973 | 98 | 21 | 189.753 | 28 | 10 | 120 | 0 | Rod Bolt |
| 1974 | 98 | 6 | 185.319 | 7 | 29 | 6 | 0 | Blown Engine |
| 1975 | 12 | 5 | 187.833 | 6 | 26 | 94 | 0 | Engine |
| 1976 | 12 | 11 | 187.588 | 4 | 15 | 98 | 0 | Flagged |
| 1977 | 5 | 9 | 190.064 | 12 | 19 | 91 | 0 | Timing Gear |
| 1978 | 78 | 25 | 188.719 | 26 | 17 | 146 | 0 | Turbocharger |
| 1979 | 36 | 12 | 186.278 | 16 | 3 | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 1980 | 48 | 26 | 183.449 | 25 | 32 | 5 | 0 | Gasket |
| 1981 | 48 | 2 | 197.141 | 4 | 33 | 16 | 0 | Radiator |
| 1983 | 18 | 2 | 205.372 | 2 | 13 | 169 | 1 | Crash T1 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 1615 | 4 | |
| Starts | 15 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Front Row | 2 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Top 5 | 1 |
| Top 10 | 3 |
| Retired | 12 |

### USAC Champ Car results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | Rank | Points |
| 1967 | Leader Card Racers | ? | ? | PHX DNQ | TRE DNQ | INDY DNQ | MIL | LAN | PIP | MOS | MOS | IRP | LAN | MTR | MTR | SPR | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 41st | 120 |
| 1967 | Walt Michner | Gerhardt | Ford | | | | | | | | | | | | | | MIL DNQ | DUQ | ISF | TRE 7 | SAC | HAN 13 | PHX | RIV | | | | | | | | | | 41st | 120 |
| 1968 | Bob Wilke | Watson | Offenhauser | HAN | LVG | PHX | TRE | INDY 8 | MIL 19 | | | LAN 4 | PIP | | | | | LAN | LAN 20 | MTR | MTR | SPR | MIL 17 | DUQ | ISF | TRE | SAC | MCH 3 | HAN 13 | PHX 9 | | 20th | 860 |
| 1968 | Bob Wilke | Watson | Ford | | | | | | | MOS 16 | MOS 9 | | | CDR 14 | NAZ | IRP 9 | IRP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | RIV 14 | 20th | 860 |
| 1969 | Bob Wilke | Watson | Offenhauser | PHX 6 | HAN 12 | INDY 13 | MIL 6 | LAN 16 | PIP | | NAZ | TRE 3 | IRP 19 | IRP DNQ | MIL 7 | SPR 17 | DOV 4 | DUQ 18 | ISF 17 | BRN 9 | BRN 5 | TRE 23 | SAC 17 | KEN 6 | KEN 9 | PHX 17 | RIV 11 | | | | | 9th | 1220 |
| 1969 | Bob Wilke | Watson | Chevrolet | | | | | | | CDR 14 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 9th | 1220 |
| 1970 | Andy Granatelli | Watson | Offenhauser | | | | | | | | | | | | | DUQ 18 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 4th | 1900 |
| 1970 | Ralph Wilke | Eagle | Offenhauser | | | | | | | | | | | | ONT 14 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 4th | 1900 |
| 1970 | Ralph Wilke | Watson | Offenhauser | PHX 5 | SON 7 | TRE 5 | INDY 21 | MIL 7 | LAN 3 | CDR 15 | MCH 4 | | SPR 10 | MIL 5 | | | ISF 5 | SED 4 | TRE 3 | SAC 8 | PHX 20 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 4th | 1900 |
| 1970 | Ralph Wilke | Watson | Chevrolet | | | | | | | | | IRP 14 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 4th | 1900 |
| 1971 | Ralph Wilke | Eagle | Ford | | | | | INDY 13 | MIL | POC | MCH | MIL | ONT | TRE | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 17th | 655 |
| 1971 | Ralph Wilke | Watson | Ford | RAF 3 | RAF 23 | PHX 10 | TRE 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 17th | 655 |
| 1971 | Ralph Wilke | Watson | Offenhauser | | | | | | | | | | | | PHX 19 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 17th | 655 |
| 1972 | Ralph Wilke | Eagle | Offenhauser | PHX 3 | TRE 13 | INDY 26 | MIL | MCH | POC | MIL | ONT 5 | TRE 5 | PHX 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10th | 1250 |
| 1973 | Ralph Wilke | Eagle | Offenhauser | TWS 3 | TRE 9 | TRE 8 | INDY 10 | MIL 24 | POC 4 | MCH 10 | MIL 2 | ONT | ONT 5 | ONT 3 | MCH 18 | MCH | TRE 14 | TWS 23 | PHX 20 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 6th | 2345 |
| 1974 | Ralph Wilke | Eagle | Offenhauser | ONT 6 | ONT | ONT 7 | PHX 1 | TRE 7 | INDY 29 | MIL 10 | POC 21 | MCH 8 | MIL 18 | MCH 15 | TRE 17 | TRE | PHX | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 13th | 945 |
| 1975 | Jerry O'Connell | Eagle | Offenhauser | ONT 10 | ONT | ONT 11 | PHX 9 | TRE 3 | INDY 26 | MIL 5 | POC 31 | MCH 13 | MIL 1 | MCH | TRE | PHX | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 12th | 1020 |
| 1976 | Jerry O'Connell | Eagle | Offenhauser | PHX 5 | TRE 5 | INDY 15 | MIL 1 | POC 2 | MCH 22 | TWS 4 | TRE 5 | MIL 5 | ONT 15 | MCH 7 | TWS 22 | PHX DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5th | 2120 |
| 1977 | Jerry O'Connell | Eagle | Offenhauser | ONT 16 | PHX 6 | TWS 5 | TRE 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10th | 1030 |
| 1977 | Jerry O'Connell | Lightning | Offenhauser | | | | | INDY 19 | MIL 4 | POC 8 | MOS | MCH DNQ | TWS | MIL | ONT 16 | MCH 18 | PHX DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10th | 1030 |
| 1978 | Alex Morales Motorsports | Lightning | Offenhauser | PHX | ONT | TWS | TRE | INDY 17 | MOS DNQ | MIL 14 | POC 7 | MCH DNQ | ATL | TWS 13 | MIL DNQ | ONT 16 | MCH | TRE 8 | SIL | BRH | PHX 10 | | | | | | | | | | | 24th | 483 |
| 1979 | All American Racers | Eagle | Cosworth | ONT | TWS | INDY 3 | MIL | POC | TWS | MIL | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | NC | 0 |
| 1980 | All American Racers | Eagle | Cosworth | ONT 19 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 41st | 28 |
| 1980 | All American Racers | Eagle | Chevrolet | | INDY 32 | MIL | POC 23 | MDO | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 41st | 28 |
| 1981-82 | All American Racers | Eagle | Chevrolet | INDY 33 | POC | SPR | DUQ | ISF | INDY DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 49th | 5 |
| 1982-83 | Kraco Enterprises | March | Cosworth | SPR | DUQ | NAZ | INDY 13 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 21st | 25 |

### CART IndyCar Series Results

(key)
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Rank | Points |
| 1979 | All American Racers | Eagle | Cosworth | PHX 6 | ATL 17 | ATL 17 | INDY 3 | TRE 13 | TRE | MCH 2 | MCH 20 | WGL 12 | TRE 14 | ONT 34 | MCH | ATL 14 | PHX 10 | 10th | 1121 |
| 1980 | All American Racers | Eagle | Chevrolet | ONT 19 | INDY 32 | MIL | POC 23 | MDO | MCH | WGL | | ONT 17 | MCH | MEX | PHX | | | 41st | 56 |
| 1980 | Mach I Racing | Penske | Cosworth | | | | | | | | MIL 20 | | | | | | | | | | | 41st | 56 |
| 1981 | All American Racers | Eagle | Chevrolet | PHX | MIL 1 | ATL | ATL | MCH 18 | RIV | MIL | MCH 26 | WGL | | PHX 24 | | | | 19th | 32 |
| 1981 | Brayton Racing | Penske | Cosworth | | | | | | | | | | MEX 7 | | | | | | | 19th | 32 | |
| 1982 | Kraco Enterprises | March | Cosworth | PHX | ATL | MIL | CLE | MCH 8 | MIL 7 | POC 16 | RIV | ROA | MCH 7 | PHX 12 | | | | 19th | 37 |
| 1983 | Kraco Enterprises | March | Cosworth | ATL 13 | INDY 13 | MIL 5 | CLE 4 | MCH 17 | ROA 25 | POC 4 | RIV 24 | MDO | MCH 11 | CPL | LAG | PHX 24 | | 14th | 36 |

### International Race of Champions results

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)
International Race of Champions results :
| Year | Make | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | 1 | 2 | Pos. | Pts | Ref |
| 1979-1980 | Chevy | MCH | MCH 8 | RIV | RIV | ATL | NC | — | |