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This page has a lot of information that I have obtained but I have not done anything with yet.

"What little I know about Jimmy Daywalt comes
from having dated his daugther, Connie in
high school. This was in 1971, and Jimmy had
been dead for some time. Connie's mother's
name was Constance(Connie), if I remember
correctly. They told me that Jimmy didn't
drive the Sumar car with the enclosed roof
and fenders on it because, he was clostro-
phobic and configured that way, it distract-
ed him. Connie has a younger brother, also
named Jimmy Daywalt, and he was a keen race
fan. They lived in Steinmaier Farms at 71st. and Dean road here in Indy, and they
attended Eastwood and North Central. "

Jimmy Daywalt with Craig Stolze who was a
sports writer and editor with the Gannett chain of newspapers. He got
to be friendly with Jimmy Daywalt when he covered racing

Jimmy Daywalt was born August 28th, 1924 in Wabash, In to John W. Daywalt Sr and Carrie (Reed) Daywalt. He lived at 794 LaFontain Ave=Wabash ( corner Dora Road and old State Road 15 So. He kived there in "choke-town untik he enlisted in the Army Air Force in World War two. He lived at several bases during training and then was sent to England where he flew as a turret gunner on B-24s.. After comleting his European tour of duty, he was returnrd to the US abd taught chinese men while training them in B-29s. He returned to Wabash when the War ended

He resided in Wabash most of the time with brief periods of time at Shaffer Lake where several drivers trained in the summer. He lived in Indianapolis sveral years and that was where he died.

Our parents ran a small grocery which was attached to our home. The house was in the city and the barn and adjacent 9 acres were in the county. We had the p acres with hills and valleys to play cowboys & Indians. Lots of fun in winter to slide and skate on the old mill race.

We attended South Side School and he may have attended Linlawn a few years before returning to Wabash City Schools. He worked at various frams with threshing rings and was masterful with horses harrowing and other duties around farms nearby.

His start in racing was in a field behind the Rock Wool plant where other factories are locate now.. Each man would take a turn to see who could go the fastest in an old car. Jim seemed to excell by going faster than others. This led to them buying a race car in Fort Wayne in pieces which in those days was like comparing a Model T to a roadster today

The farm orientation was natural since we had sheep, a couple of cows, a few pigs and chickens & ducks which we fed and took care of and occasionally had a milk fight by trying to squirt one another while milking the two cows.

The old 99 race car was worked on all week,tested at night on highway and raced on Sundays under Central States racing organization. They ran at Logansport, Terre Haute, Fort Wayne and other midwest areas.

There was one car that dominated this group and it was owned by Merckler engineering in Fort Wayne. It had a hisso engine and was numbered 404. This became Jimmy's next car to race. The 500 fever was developing and Merckler's purchased a 500 car formerly driven by Rex Mays. Car apparently had problems with fusing pistons and never made the program..

We walked to school from Union Mills to the South Side School and when I went to Wabash Jr High, Jim went to Linlawn for a short time before he returned to Wabash City Schools. He loved being s drummer and was in the band at WHS. His drum set was a green pearl color. He never graduated but volunteered for the air force when World War II broke out. He was a turret gunner on B-24'a stationed in England. Crash landed due to being shot up or a take off-can not remember which but he had is teeth knocked out. He was on nearly 50 missions with the most concentrated gun fire around Hamburg, Germany.

After service, he returned to Wabash and started driving trucks for Brown Trucking Co. Later on, this helped develop muscles in the arms which were needed in race cars. After he was in racing, they would go to Shaffer lake and row boats. Another race driver came in and shook a driver sleeping and got him up. When the awakened driver got up, the driver called into his bed.

He started racing about 1948 or 1949 Central States Racing association. They raced around Iowa, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.

It was a worry to our mother & as stated before our father died in March of 1931 He ALWAYS CALLED MOM BEFORE A 500 MILE RACE AND TRIED TO ALLEVIATE FEARS SHE MIGHT HAVE.

He was married several times but the last lady bore him a son and he adopted her little girl. She now lives in Florida near her daughter. I do not know where his son is at this time. The last report I had she divorced a Marvin Taylor and had taken the old name of Daywalt=sorry I can not be more specific at this time.

Jimmy died April 4,1966 in an Indianapolis hospital with cancer of the gall bladder. He was 42 years old and unusual to expire at that age of this ailment.. Burial is at Crown Hill Mausoleum.

Notes on Jimmy Daywalt from the Clymer yearbooks -

Rookie of the Year at Indianapolis "after six years of campaigning in the
big cars in the Midwest." ('53)

Also noted that he was "dark haired, blue eyed and handsome," "on the
smallish side 5' 9" and 160 lbs." he's called "the ideal 500 driver." ('53)

"Quiet voiced, the young veteran had to come to The 500 through the medium
of poor cars and the dusty bull-rings of independent Midwest circles until,
in 1949, he passed his driver's test." ('55)

"The following year ('54), he enjoyed the fruits of leading the race until
a crackup put him out of the event." ('55)

"Born in Wabash, August 28, 1924, Daywalt and his Mrs., named Carmelita a
noted Indiana beauty, now reside in Indianapolis." ('55)

"Tough luck in three of his five races at Indianapolis has failed to daunt
the winning smile of curly-haired Jimmy Daywalt, veteran of sprint and
championship racing." ('57)

"In 1955 he came back to cop 9th place but then came another crash in the
1956 race and one that kept him between hospital sheets for several weeks."
('57)

"Racing since 1947, Jim's early activity was on Midwest dirt tracks in
sprint cars and midgets." ('57)

Noted in the 1957 bio that he was single.

Indy record:
1953, started 31, finished 6
1954, started 2, finished 27 (led for 8 laps before hitting the wall at the
head of the front straight and collecting Pat Flaherty)
1955, started 17, finished 9 (drove the radical Sumar "streamliner" that
had to be modified before he was allowed to qualify)
1956, started 16, finished 24
1957, started 29, finished 28
1959, started 13, finished 14
1961, started 23, finished 31
1962, started 33, finished 22

Hope this helps,
Mike
Stanford, IN

Daywalt was from Wabash, Indiana from which he ran outlaw big car
races with groups like the Midwest Dirt Track racing Association and
Central States Racing Association. He was also, I believe, a
Teamsters organizer. He drove at Indy eight times between 1953 (his
best year when he placed sixth)and 1962. He was for a time
particularly close to Duane Carter whose big car he drove on
occasion, and who took him home to recover from a racing accident. He
died of cancer on April 4, 1966. That a small part of the story.
-Terry Reed

I believe he was driving (Teamster?) truck out West when he got sick,
died a month or two later. I believe he had a fast growing stomach
(colon?) cancer.
Went home and there wasn't much they could do for him. Sad.

-Steve Z.

I am doing a book on the Greenville, Ohio Speedway. Jimmy
Daywalt won a race there. Regards, Gene Heeter

Miscellaneous Information