Ed Elisian (born 9 December 1926 and died 30 August 1959) was an American racecar driver who participated in five Indianapolis 500 races between 1954 and 1958 when it was a part of the Formula One championship. He scored no points towards the F1 championship, with a best finish of 18th at the 1954 Indianapolis 500.
He was the first driver in Indianapolis 500 history to stop a non-damaged car during a race to help another driver. While leading the 1955 Indianapolis 500, Bill Vukovich crashed on lap 57 and his car caught fire. Elisian stopped his car and rushed to try and help Vukovich, but he had already died of his injuries. While his heroic actions annoyed his car owner, Elisian earned a sportsmanship award for his bravery.
However, Elisian earned a poor reputation among drivers for his involvement in three accidents that claimed the lives of fellow drivers.
While racing in a sprint car race at Salem Speedway in June 1956, he was in a wheel-to-wheel battle with Bob Sweikert. Sweikert's car hit the barriers and flipped out of the circuit. He suffered fatal skull injuries. As no collision between the two drivers had taken place, Elisian was not blamed for the accident.
A couple of years later, at the 1958 Indianapolis 500, Elisian was blamed for a 15-car pileup on the first lap of the race when he spun. The accident claimed the life of Pat O'Connor. Elisian was widely blamed for the accident and he was temporarily suspended by the USAC, although he was reinstated a few days after the accident.
A few weeks later, Elisian collided with driver Jim Davis in a sprint car race at New Bremen Speedway in June. Both cars flipped over. While Elisian has suffered only minor injuries in the accident, Davis later died in hospital from his injuries.
Elisian could not participate in the 1959 Indianapolis 500, after being suspended in September 1958 for "conduct detrimental to racing". The suspension was largely related to his activities off the track, the worst of which included being charged for using fraudulent checks. His suspension was lifted shortly after the Indianapolis 500 that year.
He entered the USAC Indy Car 200-mile race at the Milwaukee Mile at the Wisconsin State Fair Park on August 30 1959. During the race, he lost control of his car on some oil. The car hit the barrier and rolled over, with fuel from the ruptured fuel tank catching on fire. After the crash, Elisian could be heard yelling for help as he tried to free himself from the wreckage. It took safety crews nearly 10 minutes to extinguish the blaze and they were unable to rescue Elisian.
Formula One Statistical Overview[]
Formula One Record[]
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Points | WDC Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 |  H.A. Chapman
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Stevens-Offenhauser | 0 | NC |
| 1955 | Westwood Gauge / Wales
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Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 0 | NC |
| 1956 | Hoyt Machine / Fred Sommer
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Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 0 | NC |
| 1957 | McNamara / Kalamazoo Sports
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Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser | 0 | NC |
| 1958 | John Zink
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Watson-Offenhauser | 0 | NC |
Career Statistics[]
| Entries | 5 |
| Starts | 5 |
| Pole Positions | 0 |
| Front Row Starts | 1 |
| Race Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Fastest Laps | 0 |
| Points | 0 |
| Laps Raced | 332 |
| Distance Raced | 1,336 km (830 mi) |
Career Results[]
| Complete Formula One Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pts | Pos | ||||||||||||
| 1954 | 
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0 | NC | ||||||||||||||
| 18th [1] |
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| 1955 |
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0 | NC | ||||||||||||
| 30th | C | C | C | C | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1956 |
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0 | NC | |||||||||||||||
| 23rd [2] |
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| 1957 |
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0 | NC | |||||||||||||||
| 29th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1958 |
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0 | NC | ||||||||||||
| 28th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Key | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |||
Notes[]
- ↑ Shared drive with Bob Scott
- ↑ Shared drive with Eddie Russo
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