SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Indianapolis 500 veteran Roger Rager died at the age of 73. Rager, who raced in the 1980 Indianapolis 500 with an engine block found in a junkyard, died on Feb. 16.
Rager started racing in 1968 and made a name for himself in sprint car. He then came to Indianapolis in 1978 with a small, low-budget team. He qualified for the Indianapolis 500 only once in 1980.
In that race, Rager used a stock-block Chevrolet engine that came out of a school bus. Rager managed to qualify 10th and finished 23rd after spinning out while trying to avoid a crash with Jim McElreath.
Rager retired from driving in 2009 and was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame the same year.
