Johnny Aitken

Who was Johnny Aitken?

Johnny Aitken was a racecar driver from Indianapolis, who was active in the years prior to World War I.

Aitken competed in the Indianapolis 500 three times. He started the race twice, in 1911 and 1916. He led the first lap of the first race. Aitken captured the pole position in 1916, but ended up in 15th place that year. In the 1915 Indianapolis 500, Aitken drove relief for two drivers, Gil Anderson and Earl Cooper.

While Aitken never won the Indianapolis 500 as a driver, he did serve as team manager for two winning efforts, Joe Dawson’s victory in 1912, and Jules Goux’s win in 1913.

Aitken’s activity at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was not limited to the Indianapolis 500. He won a total of 15 races at IMS, the most of any driver in the 100-year history of the track. Aitken was the only driver to win races in each of the four automobile race weekends that were held during the track’s “pre-500” years of 1909-1910. He also won all three races which comprised the Harvest Auto Racing Classic, in September 1916.