Johnny Pawl succumbs to illness

Legendary auto racing car owner and mechanic Johnny Pawl of Crown Point, Indiana passed away recently following a diagnoses of pancreatic cancer in December.

He was in Missouri with his wife and her family when he passed.

Visitation will be from 3-8 PM, Friday, January 11, 2002. Funeral services will be at 7:00 PM at:

Shepard Funeral Chapel
9255 Natural Bridge Rd
St Louis, MO 63134
Phone: (314) 426-6000

Interment will be on Saturday at Iberia City Cemetary in Iberia, Missouri. The family will meet at 2:30 PM for graveside services.

Johnny Pawl had a very successful career building midget race cars powered by Offenhauser engines. Pawl's racing team experience spanned three decades from the '30's to the '50's. He was the last member of the 'Riding Mechanics' at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and is listed in official Indy 500 publications with documented performance statistics of his racing career. After his racing career ended he established John Pawl Racing Equipment in Crown Point, Indiana, which he operated until he retired in 1998.

Johnny Pawl never tired of his passion for racing and was an avid fan of the Indy 500 and NASCAR. He was best known for his superior knowledge of the Offenhauser engine. His famous yellow number 17 midget car was immortalized in the movie "Buck Privates" starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Pawl was an on track developer of the Kurtis-Kraft chassis and was a distributor of Offenhauser engine parts.

Some of Pawl's drivers included Ted Duncan, Johnny Parsons, Paul Russo and numerous others.

A memorial service held in his home town of Crown Point, Indiana. The date for this service has not been set at this time.

-len ashburn-