Joe Leonard was nine laps away from winning the 1968 Indy 500 when a fuel shaft broke. Photo from www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com.

The only American racer to have won motorcycle and car National Championships will be honored at his memorial service on May 13, 2017, at the Oak Hill Memorial Park in San Jose, California, at 1:00 P.M.

Leonard, born in San Diego where he eventually began his racing career, started racing with the Aztec Motorcycle Club near Sweetwater Lake on a Triumph owned by Guy Urquhart.

Soon the tall rider was hired by Tom Sifton, the Bay Area Harley-Davidson dealer, where he drove Sifton’s Harley’s from 1951-1956. Leonard won his first AMA Grand National Championship in 1954, setting records that stood for decades. AMA named Leonard the most popular rider in 1954.

He went on to win the AMA Championship again in 1956 before leaving Sifton’s team. Leonard went on to win the Championship in 1957 under his own banner. He lost the title in 1958 by a single point. Retiring from motorcycle racing in 1961 with an unbelievable 27 national wins, he went USAC Stock Car racing with teammate A.J. Foyt, where Leonard earned Rookie of the Year honors driving a Dodge.

Joe Leonard, AMA National Champion 1954, 1956, and 1957. Photo from www.motorcyclemuseum.org

Leonard won his first USAC Champ car race in 1965 at the Milwaukee 150 driving for Dan Gurney’s All American Racers team. Getting a first rate USAC education under Gurney, Leonard was offered a shot at driving one of the most legendary racecars of the decade, Andy Granatelli’s STP Turbine car.

Originally built for Jim Clark, the STP Turbine car was a legend as soon as it hit the track. Clark died in a crash before he could drive the car at Indy. His replacement was Mike Spence, who died when the Turbine car crashed into the turn 1 wall at Indy. Leonard was chosen as the next Turbine car driver in 1968. Leading the race with only nine laps to go, the turbine car’s fuel shaft broke on a restart, costing Leonard a possible win in the iconic race.

Leonard leads the pack across the finish line in the 1957 Vallejo, CA 1/2 mile race. Photo from www.motorcyclemuseum.org

The former motorcycle champion captured the Indycar title in 1971 and 1972, becoming the only  American racer to win National championships in both motorcycles and cars. His career ended with injuries suffered to his legs and feet at a race in Ontario, California in 1974. The great champion passed away on April 27, 2017.