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Larry Cannon (racing driver)

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Larry Cannon
Born(1937-04-13)13 April 1937
Danville, Illinois, United States
Died6 November 1995(1995-11-06) (aged 58)
Danville, Illinois, United States

Larry Cannon (April 13, 1937 – November 6, 1995) was an American race car driver.

Born in Danville, Illinois, Cannon also died there in 1995, after suffering an embolism. He drove in the USAC and CART Championship Car series, racing in the 1970-1971 and 1973-1981 seasons, with 44 combined career starts, including the Indianapolis 500 in 1974, 1976, and 1980. He finished in the top ten 7 times, with his best finish in 8th position in 1976 at both College Station and Michigan International Speedway.

Cannon did not qualify for the 1977 Indianapolis 500, but did compete as a relief driver. In the final ten laps, Cannon took over the car of John Mahler, and drove it to the finish. He prided himself as being one of only a handful of drivers to be on the track at the moment A. J. Foyt won his record fourth Indy 500.[1]

For the three times he qualified for the Indianapolis 500 (1974, 1976, 1980), Johnny Rutherford won the race all three times.

He was commonly known by his nickname Larry "Boom Boom" Cannon,[2] and was a barber by trade.[3]

Indianapolis 500 results

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Year Chassis Engine Start Finish
1971 Philipp/Porter Ford Failed to Qualify
1973 Eagle Offy Failed to Qualify
1974 Eagle Offy 33rd 24th
1975 Eagle Offy Failed to Qualify
1976 Eagle Offy 10th 17th
1977 Eagle Foyt Failed to Qualify / Drove relief
1978 Wildcat DGS Failed to Qualify
1979 Wildcat Offy Failed to Qualify
1980 Wildcat DGS 14th 33rd
1981 Penske Cosworth Failed to Qualify
1983 Vollstedt Offy Failed to Qualify
1984 Rattlesnake Cosworth Practice Crash

References

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  1. ^ "The Talk of Gasoline Alley" - WFNI: May 20, 2012
  2. ^ "The Colorful Indy Rookie Class Of 1974". RacingNation.com. 2010-05-22. Archived from the original on 2011-10-03. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
  3. ^ "Larry Cannon « OldRacingCars.com". oldracingcars.com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
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