Louis Meyer

Lore & Background

Meyer was born in Yonkers, New York, the son of French immigrants, and raised in Los Angeles. He began racing at California tracks. Early in his career, he helped prepare the Miller driven by Frank Elliott in 1926, destroking the engine to meet displacement limits. He went with the car when it was sold in 1927 to Fred Holliday as the Jynx Special. He served as mechanic for Wilbur Shaw in the 1927 Indianapolis 500 and also acted as co-driver, moving from seventh to sixth. In 1928, Alden Sampson bought a Miller for Meyer, who passed the rookie test, qualified thirteenth, took the lead on lap 181, and won by 25 seconds. That same year, he won a race at the Altoona board track in a Stutz-Miller. He earned consistent points finishes to become AAA National Champion in 1928, repeating in 1929 and 1933. In 1929, Ray Keech beat Meyer at Indianapolis but was killed at Altoona two weeks later; Meyer won that race. Meyer managed fourth at the 1930 Indianapolis 500. The Great Depression and closure of board tracks led him to focus on dirt track racing. In 1933, driving the Tydol Special Miller, he took the lead on lap 129 and won by four laps, setting a race average record. He started the tradition of drinking buttermilk in victory lane that year. After his 1936 victory, he drank from a glass milk bottle, as most winners have since. In 1935, he formed Champion Drivers, Inc. with nine other top racers. In 1936, he won at Altoona, placed second at Ascot, and won his third Indianapolis 500 in the Ring Free Special Miller. Following Tommy Milton's suggestion, Meyer became the first driver to receive the Pace Car as part of winnings. In 1939, he nearly won a fourth 500 but spun with four laps to go while battling Wilbur Shaw. He sold his Miller to Rex Mays in 1940 and became an engine builder, partnering with Dale Drake to take over Offenhauser's plant. Meyer-Drake Offys powered every Indianapolis 500 winner until 1968. Meyer joined Ford in 1964 and worked on the Ford V8, which powered four 500 winners. Meyer's wife June did not know he was racing in the 1928 500; she learned of his victory when the announcer at Reading asked the crowd to applaud Eddie Meyer, brother of the Indianapolis 500 winner. Meyer died on October 7, 1995, in Searchlight, Nevada, aged 91, and was interred at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California. His son Louis Sonny Meyer Jr. assisted in engi

In Their Own Story

Meyer sat in his car at the start, engine idling with that familiar low thrum, and watched the other drivers in the rear view mirror. He could feel the tension in his shoulders, the faint vibration of the steering column, the smell of castor oil and hot rubber. The green flag dropped, and the field surged forward in a cloud of white dust. Meyer did not lunge. He settled into his line, two car lengths behind the leader, and began the long, silent arithmetic of the race. Lap after lap, the gap widened by inches. By the time the leaders began to falter, their engines coughing, their tires screaming, Meyer was already pulling away—not in a burst, but in a steady, inexorable slide forward, as if the track itself were carrying him. The checkered flag came, and he was already slowing, already thinking about the next race, the next year, the next 500 miles.

Reader's Guide

Louis Meyer was the first three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, winning in 1928, 1933, and 1936. He started the tradition of drinking milk in victory lane. He won the AAA National Championship in 1928, 1929, and 1933. He later co-founded Meyer-Drake Engineering, whose engines dominated Indianapolis until 1968.

Did You Know?

• Meyer was born in Yonkers, New York, not Switzerland, and was the son of French immigrants.
• His three Indianapolis 500 wins were not consecutive: he won in 1928, 1933, and 1936.
• He won the AAA National Championship in 1928, 1929, and 1933 — the first two before the mid-1930s.
• The source does not mention any nickname for Meyer.