Robby McGehee

Who is Robby McGehee?

Robby McGehee is an Indy Racing League driver from St. Louis, Missouri. He won the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award in 1999 after finishing fifth and raced for veteran owner Fred Treadway the next few seasons. By 2002 Treadway's team had closed and McGehee bounced around several teams and last raced in the '500 for PDM Racing in 2004.

In third grade, McGehee wrote a paper saying that when he grew up, he wanted to be a professional race car driver. McGehee got started in racing in 1994 when he went to Skip Barber Racing School with his mother. McGehee finished second in the Formula 2000 series Road to Indy Oval Crown series, including wins at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1998.

The 1999 VisionAire 500K at Charlotte was the first IndyCar race he qualified for, starting 13th. The race however, was cancelled after 79 laps due to spectator fatalities and struck from the record. McGehee was running 9th when the race was stopped. Later that month, the 1999 Indianapolis 500 would be his first official start in the IRL. He finished fifth in that race. Later that week, Robby presented his Rookie of the Year trophy to team mechanic Steve Fried, who was severely injured in a pit lane accident during the race, while he was in the hospital.