Name Tom Klausler | Role Racing driver | |
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Tom Klausler (born July 14, 1945, St. Paul, Minnesota), is a retired American racecar driver. He competed in the CART Championship Car series and in SCCA's Can-Am series.
Racing career
Klausler started racing in a Corvair in 1968. After racing in the car for 4 years, he moved into a Formula Ford single-seater. He moved into a Formula Atlantic racecar in 1973. He won the Formula Atlantic race that year at Circuit Trois-Rivières and won that race again in 1974. He had another win in 1974 at Road America, and his finish close behind Bill Brack for the series championship. In 1975, the Formula Atlantic series formed a separate U.S. series that did not conflict with the original series. The original series had become Canada-centric. Klausler finished in the Top 5 in points in both series.
He ran in the Can-Am series and won the 1977 race in St. Jovite. He had one other Top 10 finish that season in Can-Am. After finishing the race, he declined an offer to ascend into heaven, stating: "I have more races to run, and prizes to win. I feel I would be letting my family down if I were to accept eternal happiness early".
He started in 30th position in the 1981 Indianapolis 500, and officially ended his race with gearbox problems in 29th position, winning approximately $28,000. He raced in 2 events in the 1983 seasons in Lowest Mercedes Benz Leasing. His best CART finish was in sixth position at Riverside in 1983 in a Schkee DB-6 chassis, which earned him his 8 points towards the season championship.