Don Branson, USAC’s 1959 Midwest and 1964 National Sprint Car Champion, began racing in 1946 and in 1955 he won the final AAA race in an indoor Midget event at Fort Wayne, Ind. A stellar Championship-car and Sprint car veteran, he also excelled in the Midgets, twice winning the Hut Hundred (in 1958 and 1966). He also won the first Midget race at what was then known as Indianapolis Raceway Park in 1961. The 1964 USAC National Sprint Car Champ scored 13 victories before losing his life in a 1966 accident at Gardena, Calif. Affectionately called “Gramps,” he competed in eight Indianapolis 500s and finished fourth in 1960 and fifth in 1963. His seven Championship-car wins were part of 85 “top-10s.” He is a member of both the National Sprint Car and Midget Halls of Fame.

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