Riding Mechanic

A Riding Mechanic was a crew member who sat alongside the driver in a race car during early motorsport events, responsible for maintaining and repairing the vehicle while racing at high speeds.

In the early days of auto racing, cars were much less reliable than today's vehicles. Engines would overheat, tires would wear out quickly, and mechanical problems were common during races. The riding mechanic, also called a "mechanician," was there to handle these issues without stopping the car.

These brave crew members had many dangerous jobs during a race. They monitored important gauges like oil pressure and temperature, manually pumped oil and fuel when needed, and made emergency repairs with basic tools. They also acted as the driver's eyes and ears, watching for other cars and communicating with the pit crew since rearview mirrors weren't standard equipment yet.

The Indianapolis 500 made riding mechanics mandatory from 1912 to 1922 for races over 100 miles. They returned as required crew members from 1930 to 1937, but became optional afterward. Interestingly, Ray Harroun won the very first Indy 500 in 1911 without a riding mechanic, using one of the first rearview mirrors instead.

This was an extremely dangerous job. Between 1909 and 1937, thirteen riding mechanics died at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway alone. They faced all the same crash risks as drivers but with additional dangers from handling tools and equipment in a moving race car.

As race cars became more reliable and safety concerns grew, the need for riding mechanics disappeared. The role was officially removed from racing rulebooks by 1964, marking the end of an era when racing required two people working together to keep a car running and competitive during a race.