INDIANAPOLIS (WXIN) — Lee Kunzman, who made four career Indianapolis 500 starts, died at 80 years old on Thursday, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced Saturday.
IMS reported that Kunzman started his Indy 500 career in 1972, overcoming serious injuries — including a crash that caused “…severe burns on 40 percent of his body and multiple fractures” — to get there. His best qualifying spot was during his final start in 1979, where he was 11th.
Kunzman’s best finish in his INDYCAR SERIES career was also in 1979, when he placed second at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was just a narrow loss to winner Johnny Rutherford, IMS officials said.
Kunzman finished third in another INDYCAR SERIES race in 1973 at Texas World Speedway, according to IMS. But yet again, he had to overcome adversity. Later that year, Kunzman crashed during a tire test at the Ontario (California) Motor Speedway, causing him severe head injuries and paralysis on the left side of his body. He missed the entire 1974 season, IMS said.
Yet, IMS noted that Kunzman was “persistent.” In 1975, finished fourth at the same speedway where he was injured.
Kunzman also worked as a team manager for Hemelgarn Racing, which earned some of the following achievements:
- Winning the Indy 500 in 1996 and INDYCAR Series Championship in 2000, both under driver Buddy Lazier.
- Finishing second in the 1998 and 2000 Indy 500s, both with Lazier at the helm.
