Leon Sirois


Leon Duray "Jigger" Sirois is an American former racing driver from the small town of Shelby in northern Indiana. He raced in a variety of racing genres, most notably midget, stock and Indy "Big" cars. Sirois is the son of former longtime veteran Indy 500 mechanic Earl "Frenchy" Sirois, who worked on the winning cars of Lee Wallard, Sam Hanks, and Jimmy Bryan during his 40-year career. Sirois is named after driver Leon Duray. The nickname "Jigger" is in reference to family friend, two-time Indy-winning riding mechanic Jigger Johnson, as well as a nickname given to him by his older sister.

Racing career

Midget cars

Sirois won four championships in 1961 including UARA midget title. Some of his major victories include a 100-mile race at the Milwaukee Mile and a race at the Daytona Beach in a midget.

USAC Indy car

Though he never qualified for the Indianapolis 500, Sirois is most known in racing circles for circumstances surrounding his qualifying attempt in 1969. On Pole Day, Sirois drew first in line to qualify, and after a lengthy rain delay, took to the track late in the afternoon to make the first attempt of the day. He completed his first three laps at:
  • Lap 1 – 161.783 mph
  • Lap 2 – 162.279 mph
  • Lap 3 – 160.542 mph
However, on his fourth and final lap, his crew waved off the run with the yellow flag, and it was negated. The crew felt the speed was inadequate to the make the field, and presumably intended to make another attempt later on. Moments later, Arnie Knepper went out to qualify, but rain began to fall during his warm up laps, and washed out the remainder of the weekend. It was quickly noticed by media and fans that had the crew not waved off his final lap on Saturday, Sirois would have been the lone qualifier of the weekend and sat on the coveted provisional pole position for an entire week - and likely would have started on the pole for race day. During the second weekend of time trials, Jigger Sirois waved off his second attempt, and also waved off his third and final attempt when his speed was not fast enough. As it ended up, Sirois's first attempt would have been fast enough to qualify for the race. The qualification rules were changed in 1971 to guarantee all cars in line on the first day of qualifying at least one chance to qualify during the pole position round. After 1969, Jigger came back to attempt to make the field every year up until 1975, failing to make the field every time. Most notably, was his fruitless attempt to qualify the uncompetitive Jack Adams Turbine, in 1970, which would prove be the final attempt to qualify a turbine-powered car for the Indianapolis 500.
Outside of the Indy 500, Sirois made ten other starts in USAC Championship Car racing. His best finish was 5th place at Phoenix in 1969.

Awards

Sirois was named to the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2013.

Personal life

Sirois graduated from Lowell High School and did various jobs in between races such as truck driver and construction worker. Sirois is married and his wife's name is Juanita.
Sirois started stuttering after a tornado scare when he was three years old while living near Shelby, Indiana. He was able to learn to manage his stutter with professional help when he was 65. He lends his time to promote the awareness and treatment of stuttering disorders in youth.

Indianapolis 500 results

The Jigger Award

In reflection of Sirois' infamous 1969 hard-luck qualifying gaffe, the American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association created an annual award for the Indianapolis 500. The plaque consists of a gold-colored metal whiskey jigger attached to a base, awarded to the year's "hard-luck" driver during qualifying. Selection criteria are very loose, and "blanket" awards for the entire month have been selected on more than one occasion. The recipient is usually one of the last drivers bumped from the field, or a driver who fails to qualify. Drivers that fail to qualify under unusual circumstances are a common theme.
In 1991, car owner Roger Penske was voted the winner, after pulling Emerson Fittipaldi from the qualifying line on pole day. Shortly thereafter, it began to rain, and Fittipaldi lost his chance to qualify for the pole position. Fittipaldi would have to be second day qualifier. In 2012 the recipient was Jean Alesi, who qualified 33rd. The criteria were based on Alesi's publicized struggles with the Lotus entry, making him the slowest car by over 4 mph, and more than 16 mph slower than the pole position winner. In recent years, the award has garnered less and less attention, and some years have not had a winner formally named.