Lee Wallard was an American race car driver born on September 7th 1910 in New York. He raced in the Indianapolis 500 in 1948, finishing 6th and having to retire in 1949. The following year, it was decided that for the next 10 years, the Indianapolis 500 would be part of the FIA World Championships and drivers would be credited with world championship points and participation. Wallard competed for the next two years. He finished 6th in 1950, but his last and most memorable race would be the 1951 Indy 500.Belanger chose Wallard to race their number 99 car, deeming him fit as a veteran of four years with two top-10 Indy finishes. The black and gold Belanger ran like a dream for him on the Indy circuit during qualifying. He started the race in the middle of the front row. At that time, cars were required to race with the same ratio they used to qualify, but not necessarily the same engine. The team changed the engine from the unsupercharged 263 cubic-inch engine to a lighter shorter stroke 241 cubic-inch one. 33 cars started the race and only six finished it, with Wallard romping home in style after having lead for 159 of the 200 laps. Speed triumphed over design as Wallard broke the record for highest average speed, fastest lead lap time and the fastest lap speed. It was the first time 500 miles had been completed at Indianapolis in less than four hours.Four days after his memorable victory, he was severely burned in an accident with a sprint car in Reading, Pennsylvania and was forced to retire from racing. He tried to test at Indianapolis in 1952 and 1954 but found he was no longer capable of competitive driving. During his recuperation, he tried his hand at race promoting, among other things, but he had no luck in those matters. His career stats show two World Championship races, one win and nine championship points. Having won one out of two races competed in, he officially has the best start:win ratio in World Championship history. He died in 1963 in Florida and it is a pity that such a talent had his career cut short so tragically.-Saahil Desai