The first man, in 1931, to race the whole Indianapolis 500 without a pit-stop, Evans raced for some time, mainly on ovals. His real name was Sloat, and spent a lot of his childhood in Oklahoma. His life before racing was not without drama however. Evans, who worked on the family farm both when it was a farm, and then when oil was discovered there, helped get involved in the oil industry as a result, was fortunate as a result to race for fun. In 1919, he left his home in Tulsa to sail on a tramp steamer to South America so he could see the World. Dave missed the boat but decided to get a train ride down. The boat he sailed on was lost at sea and back in those days, communication was non-existent in that area, so his family thought he was dead. After returning to the US, he got involved in racing and became a mechanic initially. In 1927, when racing at Salem, part of the board speedway flew up and hit Dave in the eye. He survived, but spent some time in the eye hospital. Whilst recovering, Evans decided to call upon his family again who were stunned to see him. Even more ironic was the fact that younger brother Robert, a big race fan, had a picture of Dave, who was his favourite racing driver, not ever realising that Evans was his brother!

Biography last updated 23 Aug 2017