Tom Bagley

Tom Bagley (born December 3, 1939, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), is a former driver in the USAC, CART Championship Car, IMSA, Formula Atlantic, and Trans-Am Series. He raced Indycars in the 1978-1980 and 1983 seasons, with 42 combined career starts, including the 1978-1980 Indianapolis 500, finishing in the top-ten 23 times, with a best finish, three times, of fourth position. He was USAC Rookie of the Year in 1978, and did not finish worse than 11th in points during his three full-time seasons. He did not begin wheel-to-wheel racing until age 31, after earning a master's degree in Physics from Pennsylvania State University. While in college, Bagley became interested in fuel mileage competitions and then autocross, rising to the attention of Bill Scott, operator of the racing school at Summit Point Motorsports Park. Scott lent Bagley a Formula Ford car to begin his career. Bagley and Janet Guthrie were the only physicists to compete in Indycar in the 1970s. Bagley rose to fame driving Formula Super Vee cars, winning the SCCA championship in 1976, and was USAC co-champion in 1977. Bagley owned and maintained his own race cars in this part of his career. He next joined the Indycar ranks with sponsorship from Kent Oil, driving for Longhorn Racing and Patrick Racing. After retiring from racing full-time, Bagley worked as a physicist for longtime series sponsor PPG Industries, developing new methods for creating powder paints. From 2004 to 2020 he worked at Autobahn Country Club as the Director of Racing Instruction, responsible for designing the safety features at the track and overseeing the instruction, licensing, and racing activities. Bagley still competes in club and endurance races in his Spec Miata and vintage events including the Indy Legends Charity Pro–Am race on occasion. Bagley was described by the SVRA in 2019 as a "driver who accomplished much with limited resources" and "the driver to beat in Formula Super Vee"

Racing record

SCCA National Championship Runoffs Year Track Car Engine Class Finish Start Status 1972 Road Atlanta Royale Volkswagen Formula Super Vee 20 4 Retired 1973 Road Atlanta Royale Volkswagen Formula Super Vee 6 5 Running

Formula Super Vee Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 89 Rank Points 1976 Zinc Z11 VW Brabham DAY1 POC NLG1 MOS18 WG125 MOH2 BRN1 ROA1 WG21 1st 115

Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pos Points 1977 Tom Bagley TRE1 MIL5 MOS1 PIR17 1 500 1978 PIR13 TRE1 MOS MIL1 TEX MIL2 OMS1 OMS2 TRE2 PIR2 19th 140

Complete USAC Championship Car results Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pos Points 1978 PHX8 ONT17 TXS10 TRE12 INDY27 MOS17 MIL7 POC26 MIC12 ATL6 TXS16 MILDNS ONT4 MIC6 TRE12 SIL13 BRH14 PHX14 11th 1.188 1979 Longhorn Racing Penske Cosworth PHX8 ATL8 ATL7 INDY9 TRT8 TRT4 MIC6 MIC6 WGL6 TRT7 ONT32 MIC5 ATL PHX9 8th 1.208 1980 Patrick Racing Penske Wildcat ONT5 INDY28 MIL23 POC29 MOHDNS MIC8 WGL6 MIL4 ONT15 MIC8 MXS18 PHX16 11th 794 1983 ATL INDY MIL CLEDNQ MIC ROA POC34 RIV MOH MIC CPL LAG PHX 60th 0

Indy 500 results Year Chassis Engine Start Finish 1978 Watson Offy 14th 27th 1979 Penske Cosworth 15th 9th 1980 Wildcat Cosworth 13th 28th 1981 Lola Cosworth Failed to Qualify