Len Zengel

Len Zengel
Zengel in 1912
Born	Leonard Joseph Zengel (1887-03-15)March 15, 1887 Dayton, Ohio, U.S.
Died	September 24, 1963(1963-09-24) (aged 76) Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Champ Car career
4 races run over 3 years
First race	1909 Founder's Week Trophy (Fairmount Park)
Last race	1912 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
First win	1911 Elgin National Trophy (Elgin)
Wins Podiums Poles 1 2 0

Leonard Joseph Zengel (March 15, 1887 – September 24, 1963) was an American racing driver.

Biography

Zengel was born on March 15, 1887, in Dayton, Ohio, to Leonard A. Zengel (1857-1930) and Jennie L. Pomeroy (1862-1936). He had seven siblings.

On October 8, 1910, Zengel won the annual Fairmount Park road race in Philadelphia driving a Chadwick Engineering Works auto.[1][2]

In 1911 he won the Elgin Trophy.[1][3]

He participated in the 1912 Indianapolis 500.[1]

He married Mary L. Howell and had a son, Leonard Joseph Zengel Jr. (1915-1944) who died in a car accident when he fell asleep at the wheel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[4] He had a daughter, Betty Jean Zengel.[5]

He operated a Chrysler and Plymouth dealership.

Zengel died on September 24, 1963, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, at age 76.

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1912 2 2 78.850 19 6 200 0 Running Totals 200 0

Starts 1 Poles 0 Front Row 1 Wins 0 Top 5 0 Top 10 1 Retired 0

References

1. "Sutz Driver Wears Smile While Speeding". Warsaw Daily Times. May 25, 1912. Retrieved 2012-10-04. Len Zengel, driver of the Stutz entry number two in the second annual 500-mile International Sweepstakes race to be run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway next Memorial Day. Zengel was a member of the National racing team and won the Elgin National Stock Chassis road race in 1911. In 1910 he won the Fairmount Park race in Philadelphia in a Chadwick "Big Six." Billy Knipper will act as relief driver to Zengel in the 500 mile race.
2. "Zengel Road Race Winner. Contest Closest one in Motor History. Nine Cars Finish". Chicago Tribune. October 9, 1910. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved 2012-10-04. Watched by a half a million people, Len Zengel, driving a Chadwick six, this afternoon won the third annual Fairmount park road race by the closest margin ever recorded in any motor road race in the world, beating Ralph...
3. "Len Zengel Wins Elgin Trophy. Pilots His National Car Home in the Front Grant, in Alco, Was Second; Hughes, in Mercer, Third. Dave Buck and Sam Jacobs Crew of Pope-Hartford Killed". Atlanta Constitution. August 27, 1911. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved 2012-10-04. Elgin's 305 mile cup race today, won by Len Zengel, in a National, with Harry Grant second and Hughie Hughes third, was not run without its toll of death and injuries.
4. "Auto Strikes Pole, Sailor is Killed". United Press. October 2, 1944. Gunner's Mate 2/C, Leonard J. Zengel, 33 ...
5. "Marriages". New York Times. September 13, 1942. Retrieved 2012-10-06. Miss Betty Jean Zengel, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Zengel of Rockwood Farm, West Chester, was married yesterday in the Church of the Good Shepherd ...