View source for Al Herman

{{Short description|American racing driver}}
{{For-text|the film director|[[Albert Herman]]|the vaudeville performer and actor|[[Al Herman (vaudeville)]]}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2009}}
{{Infobox F1 driver
| name          = Al Herman
| nationality   = {{flagicon|USA}} American
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1926|3|15}}
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1960|6|18|1927|3|15}}
| Years         = {{F1|1953}}–{{F1|1960}}
| Team(s)       = [[Kuzma (constructor)|Kuzma]], [[Kurtis Kraft]], [[Wayne Ewing|Ewing]], [[Dunn Engineering|Dunn]]
| Races         = 8 (5 starts)
| Championships = 0
| Wins          = 0
| Podiums       = 0
| Points        = 0
| Poles         = 0
| Fastest laps  = 0
| First race    = [[1953 Indianapolis 500]]
| First win     =
| Last win      =
| Last race     = [[1960 Indianapolis 500]]
}}
'''Homer Gerald "Al" Herman''' (March 15, 1926 – June 18, 1960)<ref name=mem>{{Cite web |title=Motorsport Memorial - Al Herman |url=http://www.motorsportmemorial.org/focus.php?db=ct&n=754|access-date=31 March 2023 |website=Motorsport Memorial}}</ref><ref name="oldracingcars.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.oldracingcars.com/driver/Al_Herman |title=Al Herman |publisher=oldracingcars.com |accessdate=29 January 2014}}</ref> was an American racecar driver.

==Biography==
Born in [[Topton, Pennsylvania]], Herman died in [[West Haven, Connecticut]] as a result of injuries sustained in a [[midget car]] crash at the West Haven Speedway.<ref name="oldracingcars.com"/>  Herman was involved in a multi-car crash on the first lap of the feature race and his car rolled.  He drove in the [[American Automobile Association]] (AAA) and [[United States Automobile Club]] (USAC) [[Championship Car]] series, racing in the 1955-1957 and 1959–1960 seasons with 11 starts, including the [[Indianapolis 500]] races in each of those years.  He finished in the top ten 3 times, with his best finish in 7th position, in the [[1955 Indianapolis 500]], earning him Rookie of the Year.<ref name="oldracingcars.com"/>

Herman married June C. Hereth. He lived in [[Kuhnsville, Pennsylvania]]. He was buried in Ziegels Union Cemetery in [[Breinigsville, Pennsylvania]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-morning-call-herman-20-jun-1960-th/146439053/ |title=Herman |date=1960-06-20 |newspaper=The Morning Call |page=20 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=2024-05-01}}{{Open access}}</ref>

==Indianapolis 500 results==
{{col-begin|width=auto}}
{{col-break}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Year
!Car
!Start
!Qual
!Rank
!Finish
!Laps
!Led
!Retired
|-
![[1955 Indianapolis 500|1955]]
|71
|16
|139.811
|15
|7
|200
|0
|Running
|-
![[1956 Indianapolis 500|1956]]
|12
|27
|141.610
|23
|28
|74
|0
|Crash FS
|-
![[1957 Indianapolis 500|1957]]
|89
|30
|140.007
|29
|21
|111
|0
|Crash FS
|-
![[1959 Indianapolis 500|1959]]
|89
|23
|141.939
|29
|13
|200
|0
|Running
|-
![[1960 Indianapolis 500|1960]]
|76
|30
|141.838
|31
|32
|34
|0
|Clutch
|-
|colspan=6|'''Totals'''
|619
|0
|
|}
{{col-break|gap=1em}}
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Starts
|5
|-
!Poles
|0
|-
!Front Row
|0
|-
!Wins
|0
|-
!Top 5
|0
|-
!Top 10
|1
|-
!Retired
|3
|}
{{col-end}}

==World Championship career summary==
The Indianapolis 500 was part of the FIA World Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indy during those years were credited with World Championship points and participation. Al Herman participated in 5 World Championship races. He started on the pole 0 times, won 0 races, set 0 fastest laps, and finished on the podium 0 times. He accumulated a total of 0 championship points.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-sports}}
{{Succession box | title = [[Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year|Indianapolis 500]]<br>[[Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year|Rookie of the Year]]| years = [[1955 Indianapolis 500|1955]] | before = [[Larry Crockett]] | after = [[Bob Veith]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herman, Al}}
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:1960 deaths]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Lehigh County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Indianapolis 500 drivers]]
[[Category:Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year]]
[[Category:Racing drivers from Berks County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Racing drivers who died while racing]]
[[Category:Sports deaths in Connecticut]]


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