Tom Sneva

Thomas E. "Tom" Sneva (born June 1, 1948) is a retired American race car driver, the winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 1983. He primarily raced in Indy cars, and was named to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005.

A former math teacher from Spokane, Washington, Sneva's win at Indianapolis followed several runner-up finishes and notable crashes. Nicknamed "The Gas Man," he was an outstanding qualifier, winning the pole position three times (1977, 1978, 1984). He was also the fastest qualifier on a fourth occasion in 1981, but because of qualifying rules did not start the race from the pole position.

Sneva won two consecutive USAC National Championships for Indy cars in 1977 and 1978.

Career

Born in Spokane, Sneva played football and basketball at Lewis and Clark High School and a year of college basketball at Eastern Washington State College in nearby Cheney. After graduation from Eastern, he worked as a math teacher before racing full-time. Sneva was the eldest of five brothers, all racers; the next oldest was Jerry, who also competed at Indy.