Bob Burman

For the astronomer, see Bob Berman.

Bob Burman
Burman in 1911
Born	(1884-04-23)April 23, 1884 Imlay City, Michigan
Died	Corona, California
Cause of death	Car accident

Robert R. Burman (23 April 1884 – 8 April 1916) was an American racecar driver who participated in the 1911 Indianapolis 500.

Biography

He was born on April 23, 1884 in Imlay City, Michigan. He was the winner of the Prest-O-Lite Trophy Race in 1909. He competed at the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911. Racing for racing promoter Ernest Moross, Burman set world records in his 200 horsepower Blitzen Benz racecar on the sands of Daytona Beach and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1911.

He was killed on April 8, 1916 in a road race in Corona, California, when he rolled over in his open-cockpit Peugeot car. Three spectators were also killed, and five others were seriously injured. His death caused his friends Barney Oldfield and Harry Arminius Miller to join forces to build a race car that incorporated a roll cage inside a streamlined driver's compartment that completely enclosed the driver. It was called the Golden Submarine.

Awards

He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2011.

Indy 500 results

Year Car Start Qual Rank Finish Laps Led Retired 1911 45 39 — — 19 126 0 Flagged 1912 15 12 84.110 7 12 157 0 Crash T2 1913 4 21 84.170 7 11 188 41 Flagged 1914 17 22 90.410 12 24 47 0 Rod 1915 8 7 92.400 7 6 200 0 Running Totals 718 41

Starts 5 Poles 0 Front Row 0 Wins 0 Top 5 0 Top 10 1 Retired 2

Images

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  Bob Burman, 1911

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  Bob Burman, Louis Disbrow, Jack Tower, and Joe Grennon at the 1911 Indianapolis 500

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  Burman's crashed Cutting) racer, built by the Clark-Carter Automobile Company at the 1912 Indianapolis 500

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  Bob Burman's Keeton racer finished 11th place at Indianapolis in 1913

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  Bob Burman's Keeton racer photo taken by George L Mooney in 1913