From Jim Morrison

Didn't James Dean have some wins in sports cars before the movie studios forced him to quit so he could die on a public highway?

And, I believe you'll find Gene Hackman raced at Jungle Park either right before, or right after, he was in the military. He spoke of it one night on a late night talk show. Raced jalopies and I understood him to say sprint cars.

Some of you youngsters may not remember him but Dickie Smothers of the Smothers Brothers comedy team raced USAC champ cars in the late '60s though he never made the Indianapolis 500. He did segments on their television program,


And, though not acting, I remember reading in a biography of baseball Hall of Famer Ty Cobb while in high school that we was a riding mechanic until forced to quit