Although he started racing at 15 Eylard Theodore (”Ted”) Horn didn’t really come into his own until he was in his thirties. Born into a large inheritance Horn started racing as a teenager in a $12 jalopy. Following a serious racing accident at 18 his parents asked him to quit racing. He did – for a while – but at the age of 21 he was back behind the wheel. He soon crashed again but returned as soon as his injuries healed.

In 1934 he made his first attempt to qualify for the Indy 500 just missing out. He then tried to use his fortune to buy out the two cars that qualified ahead of him so he could take their place on the grid. His plans were discovered and stopped.  He managed to qualify on speed the following year and became a regular at the Indy 500 form 1936 to 1941 with varying results.

During the hostilities of World War II Horn applied to join the army but was rejected due to his racing injuries. After the war he returned to motor racing and began his greatest run of successes. He won all seven races he entered in 1945 and went on to win the national championship in 1946, 1947 and 1948 making him the first, and to date only, Three Time National Champion.  He never did win the Indy 500 but scored a record ten top four placings.

Shortly after clinching the 1948 championship Horn was involved in an accident during the second lap of a race at DuQuoin, Illinois on October 10th, 1948. Although still alive when taken to the local hospital he succumbed to his injuries shortly afterwards. Ted Horn was 38 years old.

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