Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 15, 1993 TAG: 9312150065
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
He had that, nearly 25 years ago.
He was 34, a race-car driver, living in Hammond, Ind. He got backing for an Indy car and, in May 1969, showed up at the qualifying rounds for the Indianapolis 500.
In a lottery for drivers, Sirois was picked to run his qualifying laps first. But the scheduled day was rainy, and Sirois' run kept getting postponed.
Finally, he thundered onto the track between showers and did three laps - Indy qualifiers run four laps - before car owner Myron Caves waved the yellow flag, telling Sirois to abandon the run.
Then the rain resumed, and qualifying was canceled for the day.
Jigger Sirois got caught up in a quirky Indy rule: Had he finished the fourth lap, he would have been the only driver to run that day and would have been the pole-sitter for the '69 Indianapolis 500.
Because he didn't finish, though, the run didn't count; Jigger never did get the thousands of dollars that would have been paid to the pole-sitter.
He never did qualify for the race.
The rule has since been changed, because of Jigger Sirois, to protect drivers who manage to squeeze in a qualifying run on a lousy day. Under today's rules, Jigger would have started in the pole position.
He raced until 1977, said his wife, Juanita.
He's a welder now, in an Amoco warehouse in Williamsburg.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB