Walt Faulkner is a racing driver from United States who last raced in Formula 1 for Kurtis Kraft. Faulkner has recorded 0 wins and 0 podiums from 5 starts.[1]
A Racer Rating of 4,876 ranks Faulkner 404th of 15,348 indexed drivers, on an Elo scale where the strongest reach the low five figures. It is built from every indexed race in the driver's file, decayed for time since their last race.
| 1955-05-30 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | P5 | +55 |
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Podiums | DNFs | Poles | Points | Pos | Gain/Loss | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | ▸Formula 1 | Kurtis Kraft | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | P22 | +55 | 4,953 |
| 1954 | ▸Formula 1 | Kuzma | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P27 | +13 | 4,898 |
| 1953 | ▸Formula 1 | Kurtis Kraft | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P20 | −22 | 4,885 |
| 1951 | ▸Formula 1 | Kuzma | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | P20 | +15 | 4,907 |
| 1950 | ▸Formula 1 | Kurtis Kraft | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | P23 | +92 | 4,892 |
| Rival | Rating | Raced | Ahead | Behind | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Duane Carter | 5,054 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 50% |
| 🇺🇸 Tony Bettenhausen | 4,934 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 25% |
| 🇺🇸 Paul Russo | 4,921 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 25% |
| 🇺🇸 Jimmy Davies | 4,893 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 25% |
| 🇺🇸 Jim Rathmann | 5,075 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 67% |
| 🇺🇸 Jack McGrath | 4,932 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 33% |
| 🇺🇸 Andy Linden | 4,844 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 33% |
| 🇺🇸 Gene Hartley | 4,824 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 67% |
Walt Faulkner was an American racing driver who competed in Formula 1 between 1950 and 1955, making five starts for Kurtis Kraft without recording a win or podium finish. His Formula 1 career was brief and unproductive, with an average finishing position of tenth across his classified starts. The most significant moment of his racing life came in 1950 when he became the first rookie ever to secure pole position at the Indianapolis 500, a distinction that marked him as a competitive force in American racing even as his grand prix appearances yielded no results.[1]
Faulkner's five Formula 1 entries placed him among drivers of mid-field professional standard. In his shared races, he compiled a mixed head-to-head record against front-running competitors of the era. He finished ahead of Jim Rathmann, who would become a major Indianapolis driver, twice across three meetings; he also beat Duane Carter twice in four encounters, though he finished behind Carter in those races more often than ahead. Against other strong professionals such as Tony Bettenhausen, Paul Russo, and Jack McGrath, Faulkner's record ran decidedly negative, with each of those drivers outfinishing him more frequently than he outfinished them. His final Formula 1 start came in 1955, when he finished twenty-second. His racing career ended in tragedy in 1956 following a qualifying crash at a USAC stock car event in Vallejo, California.[2]