“Big Bob” Veith possessed the reputation of a “Gun Slinger,” a driver capable of climbing into an unfamiliar car and with little or no practice sticking it in racing’s most exclusive starting lineup, the Indianapolis 500.
During an era when it was common for half the entries to miss the show, Veith made the 500 11 times between 1956 and 1968.
Born in Tulare, Calif., on Nov. 1, 1926, it wasn’t until his discharge from the Merchant Marines following World War II that auto racing attracted his attention.
Like many servicemen, the 19-year-old grew restless with the routine of civilian life. He missed the adrenaline rush produced by the excitement, danger and action of battle and found that racing provided the closest alternative.
Veith joined the newly formed California Roadster Ass’n and banged wheels with the likes of Bob Sweikert, Troy Ruttman and Ed Elisian. He turned to the midgets for a time, but went back to roadster racing and captured the 1953 Bay Cities Racing Ass’n championship.
In 1954, Veith prepared to step away from racing and settle into managing his new trucking company. However, Bill Vukovich made him a better offer.
“I’m going to Indianapolis in May,” said Vukovich, who had taken Veith under his wing, “and if you want to get serious about racing, you can go back with me. I’ll help hook you up with the AAA.”
Veith jumped at the opportunity.
But come the day that they were to leave for Indianapolis, Veith arrived late at Vukovich’s Fresno home. Vukovich, a stickler for promptness, left him behind. Veith tore after him and caught up with him a hundred miles down the road in Bakersfield.
Veith’s perilous run to overtake Vukovich wasn’t nearly as harrowing, however, as the remainder of the trip to Indy. Vukovich drove flat-out, passing traffic at will.
Somehow, they arrived safely, and Vukovich, good as his word, introduced Veith to drivers, car owners, and officials, He then found him a job as a stooge with Jimmy Reece’s team. After the 500, Vukovich secured Veith the ride in the No. 45 Gerhardt midget with which he’d won the 1950 AAA championship.
Veith’s talent in the midgets earned him rides in the AAA sprint cars. The schedule included the Midwest’s ultra-fast, high-banked tracks. The racing was hazardous but success there traditionally assured a driver a shot at Indianapolis.
Veith got his in 1956.
Driving the Russ Snowberger-prepared Federal Engineering Special, he earned rookie-of-the-year honors with a seventh-place finish.
His best opportunity for a spot on the Borg Warner Trophy came in 1958. Driving one of Bob Bowes’ cars, meticulously maintained by legendary mechanic George Bignotti, Veith qualified fourth and took the green flag with lofty expectations.
Just ahead of him, however, former schoolmate Elisian plowed into Dick Rathmann as the tightly bunched field barreled into turn three on the first lap. Attempting to avoid the melee, Jimmy Reece stood on the brakes. Trying to miss Reece, Veith spun in front of Pat O’Connor. In a desperate move to get around Veith, O’Connor rode over Reece’s wheel and crashed to his death.
Veith’s race was over.
The month after Indianapolis, Veith was one of 20 Americans chosen to run the Race of Two Worlds in Monza, Italy. He qualified second quick in the Bowes car he’d run in the 500, then battled to third place at 170 mph in the first heat, and second in heat two.
Veith ran eight more Indianapolis 500s and handily made the challenging transition from front-engine roadsters to rear-engine cars in 1964, when he qualified the MG Liquid Suspension Special. He was running third when the Offy burned a piston.
1968 was his last 500. He retired quietly to his ranch in Hales Grove, Calif. As a board member of the Salmon Restoration Ass’n, he worked diligently to restore the area’s wild salmon runs.
Inducted into both the Bay Cities Racing Ass’n and the Indianapolis 500 Halls of Fame, Bob Veith died on March 29, 2006.