Pete Kreis

Pete Kreis
Pete Kreis
	Kreis, circa 1926
Born	Albert Jacob Kreis; January 19, 1900; Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	May 25, 1934 (aged 34); Speedway, Indiana, U.S.
Champ Car career
	27 races run over 10 years
Best finish	9th (1926)
First race	1925 Culver City 250 #1 (Culver City)
Last race	1933 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)

Albert Jacob "Pete" Kreis (January 19, 1900 – May 25, 1934)^[1] was an American racing driver. Kreis was a wealthy contractor who took a month off each year to drive in the 500.^[2]

Death

Kreis and his riding mechanic Robert Hahn were killed while practicing for the 1934 Indianapolis 500. As they were coming out of the southwest turn, Kreis lost control of his front-drive car, which smashed into and mounted the outside wall and from there tumbled 15 feet (4.6 m) before hitting a tree. Kreis, who was thrown from the car, was killed instantly. Hahn died shortly thereafter.^[3]

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

Year	Car	Start	Qual	Rank	Finish	Laps	Retired
1925	38	9	106.338	10	8	200	Running
1927	9	12	109.900	16	17	123	Front axle
1928	32	19	112.906	11	22	73	Rod bearing
1929	4	17	112.528	14	16	91	Engine seized
1932	18	17	110.270	29	15	178	Crash T1
1933	2	11	114.370	14	32	63	Universal joint
Totals						728

Starts	6
Poles	0
Front Row	0
Wins	0
Top 5	0
Top 10	1
Retired	5

^[4]

References

^ "Motorsport Memorial - Pete Kreis". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
^ Ritt, William H. (May 29, 1934). "The Billboard". Lafayette Journal and Courier. Archived from the original on 2023-05-16.
^ "Pete Kreis, one of greatest racers and best sports of international tracks, killed in speedway crash". The Knoxville Journal. May 26, 1934. Archived from the original on 2023-05-01.
^ "Peter Kreis Indianapolis 500 stats". IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com. Archived from the original on 2022-07-06.

External links

Louis Meyer biography from the show "The Indy 500, a Race For Heroes" (requires download of software to watch) Kreis accident can be seen at approximately 8 minutes, 35 seconds in.
Pete Kreis at Find a Grave

[mem-1] "Motorsport Memorial - Pete Kreis". Motorsport Memorial. Retrieved 31 March 2023.

[2] Ritt, William H. (May 29, 1934). "The Billboard". Lafayette Journal and Courier. Archived from the original on 2023-05-16.

[3] "Pete Kreis, one of greatest racers and best sports of international tracks, killed in speedway crash". The Knoxville Journal. May 26, 1934. Archived from the original on 2023-05-01.

[4] "Peter Kreis Indianapolis 500 stats". IndianapolisMotorSpeedway.com. Archived from the original on 2022-07-06.

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