Sunday 30th August 1959

Ed Elisian (32) died at the USAC Indy car 200-mile (320 km) race at the “Milwaukee Mile,” known in those days as Wisconsin State Fair Park. Driving a metallic green Watson-style roadster owned by Ernie Ruiz, he crashed on lap 29 when he spun in oil from A. J. Foyt’s engine. The car hit the wall, rupturing the fuel cell, and rolled over. Some sixty gallons of fuel caught fire, that took over 9 minutes to extinguish.