Charles Van Acker

Charles Edward "Poncho" Van Acker Sr. (14 March 1912 Brussels – 31 May 1998 South Bend, Indiana) was a Belgian-American racing driver. He first attempted to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in 1946, but was too slow. In 1947, he made the race and finished in 29th after a crash on lap 24. He also competed in seven more races of the national trail that season and finished fourth in points. In 1948, he finished 11th in the Indy 500 and tenth in the National Championship. 1949 saw him crash ten laps into the Indy 500 and struggle to qualify much of the rest of the season. He attempted the 1950 Indianapolis 500 but failed to qualify in what would be his last Championship Car appearance. He owned and operated the South Bend Motor Speedway in South Bend, Indiana and once after a dirt track crash in Dayton, Ohio was declared dead. However, Van Acker claims that the reports were exaggerated and that he was not that seriously injured.

Motorsports career results

Complete AAA Championship Car results Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos Points 1946INDYDNQ LANDNP ATL ISF MIL GOS - 0 1947 INDY29 MIL5 LAN6 ATL6 BAI3 MIL1 GOS3 MIL10 PIK SPRDNQ ARLDNQ 4th 770 1948 ARL INDY11 MIL5 LAN7 MIL9 SPR5 MIL6 DUQ4 ATL9 PIK SPR12 DUQ10 10th 760 1949 ARL INDY31 MILDNQ TRE SPR11 MIL9 DUQ10 PIK SYRDNQ DETDNQ SPR8 LAN SAC DMR 26th 180 1950 INDYDNQ MIL LAN SPR MIL PIK SYR DET SPR SAC PHX BAY DAR-0

Indianapolis 500 results

Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pts 1950 Redmer Stevens Offenhauser L4 GBR MON 500 SUI BEL FRA ITA NC 0