Danny Ongais (born 21 May 1942 and died 26 February 2022) was an American racing driver. He competed in IndyCar racing in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as in Formula One in 1977 and 1978.
He began his racing career with motorcycles during the 1960s before competed in drag racing competitions. He moved to circuit racing in the 1970s in various lower formulae.
In 1976, he began racing in the IndyCar series and USAC with Interscope Racing. While running his first full season of IndyCar, he also participated in the American and Canadian rounds of the 1977 F1 championship in a Penske PC4 provided by Interscope Racing. He finished seventh at the Canadian Grand Prix, which would prove to be his only F1 career finish, having crashed at Watkins Glen International in the previous round.
The following year, he drove in the 1978 Argentine Grand Prix and 1978 Brazilian Grand Prix with Ensign, but failed to finish either race due to mechanical issues. Later in the year, Interscope Racing purchased a new Shadow DN9 for Ongais to race at the United States Grand Prix West and Dutch Grand Prix, but failed to pre-qualify for either event.
Ongais continued racing in IndyCar with Interscope Racing for the next decade, but his full-time racing with the team came to an end after a near-fatal crash at the 1981 Indianapolis 500. While overtaking a slower car around the outside of the corner, Ongais attempted to correct a slide but crashed nose first into the outside wall. The accident knocked him unconscious and left him with a concussion, two broken legs, a broken arm, and tear in his diaphragm.
In 1984, Ongais became the owner of Interscope Racing, still racing in many of the races until retiring in 1987.
After a long hiatus from racing, he made a one-off return for the 1996 Indianapolis 500, replacing Scott Brayton who had been killed during practice for the event. He finished seventh in the race. He attempted to return to the race the following year, but failed to qualify after suffering a concussion in a practice crash.
Formula One Statistical Overview[]
Formula One Records[]
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Points | WDC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Interscope Racing | Penske-Ford Cosworth | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1978 | Team Tissot Ensign | Ensign-Ford Cosworth | 0 | NC | Report |
| Interscope Racing | Shadow-Ford Cosworth |
Career Statistics[]
| Entries | 6 |
| Starts | 4 |
| Pole Positions | 0 |
| Race Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Fastest Laps | 0 |
| Points | 0 |
| Laps Raced | 132 |
| Distance Raced | 616 km (383 mi) |
Career Results[]
| Complete Formula One Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pts | Pos | ||||||
| 1977 | 
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0 | NC | ||||||
| Ret | 7th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1978 |
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| Key | |||||
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| Symbol | Meaning | Symbol | Meaning | ||
| 1st | Winner | Ret | Retired | ||
| 2nd | Podium finish | DSQ | Disqualified | ||
| 3rd | DNQ | Did not qualify | |||
| 5th | Points finish | DNPQ | Did not pre-qualify | ||
| 14th | Non-points finish | TD | Test driver | ||
| Italics | Fastest Lap | DNS | Did not start | ||
| 18th† | Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance) | NC | Non-classified finish (<90% race distance) | ||
| 4thP | Qualified for pole position | [+] More Symbols | |||
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