Billy Garrett

William J. "Billy" Garrett was a second-generation midget racer who debuted alongside his father, Johnny, in United Racing Association (URA) midget competition in 1952.  Billy, born in 1933 in Illinois and a welder by trade had a rough start in midgets during the 1952 season but his driving skills improved quickly and the following year was considered one of the “leading lights of the URA” along with Don Cameron, Johnny Moorhouse and Hal Minyard.

Billy won his first feature at Culver City Speedway on April 10 1954 driving Ben Humke’s Ford V-8 60 powered midget a year after his father’s passing in a “big car” crash at Clovis California.  Garrett won his third feature race of the 1954 season on September 25 at Culver City and clinched his first URA driver’s championship.


Early in the 1955 season Billy trailed Jack Jordan in the URA point chase until the season’s third race, but after Garrett won that 30-lap main at Gardena Stadium he never relinquished his points lead and clinched his second consecutive URA title at Orange Show Speedway in mid-September.

In 1956 Billy headed back east to race with the United States Auto Club (USAC), was the youngest driver in that year’s Indianapolis ‘500’ and appeared in nine 1956 USAC championship races driving the Greenman/Casale entry. The highlight of Billy’s 1957 USAC season came in April when he won the 100-mile midget race at the Arizona State Fairgrounds mile in record time.

Billy drove second generation Oklahoma oil magnate Harry Allen "H.A" Chapman’s year-old dark blue Kurtis-Kraft 500 'G' "laydown" roadster in the Indianapolis 500-mile race.  Chapman an amateur road racer who also owned a home in Tucson Arizona, had first entered AAA championship racing in the 1950 season with NMARHoF member Bill Schindler as  his driver.


Chapman proved to have an eye for talent as through the years, other Chapman drivers included Hall of Famers Tony Bettenhausen and Johnny Thomson and Chapman's chief mechanic was the wily veteran Art Sims.  


in 1958 Though Dick Rathman was entered as the driver of the 'Chapman Special,' he jumped to the new Lee Elkins owned Watson roadster, and after multiple driver changes, Billy wound up in the seat of the 'Chapman Special' and qualified 15th for the 33-car field. On Memorial Day, as a sophomore driver Billy miraculously avoided the first lap  turn three carnage started by Rathman that clamed the life of Pat O'Connor, but the car retired on lap 80 with a broken camshaft gear. 


A week later, after a strong second place qualifying effort, while he was running in fourth place on lap 54 of the 'Rex Mays Classic' at Milwaukee's State Fair Park, the Offenhauser engine in the Chapman Special blew up and Billy's car spun hard backwards into the third turn wall.


Billy suffered severe head and chest injuries, was listed in critical condition for a month and remained unconscious over two months. When he awoke, the 25-year old driver learned that he was permanently partially paralyzed.

Even after he could no longer drive racing cars, Garrett always remained close to the sport he loved and he sold racing safety equipment. Later in life, Billy confined full-time to a wheelchair was one of the beneficiaries of the annual ‘Gilmore Roars Again’ party until his passing in 1999. We are proud that URA 2-time champion Billy Garrett is a member of the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame.