Scott Brayton never won an Indy-car race, but there is no question he was one of the most popular drivers of the 1980s and 1990s.
The Coldwater, Mich., native made his first Indianapolis 500 start in 1981 and appeared in the race 14 times with a best finish of sixth on two occasions.
More often than not, Brayton steered a car with a stock-block V-6 engine, as his father’s company Brayton Engineering developed the powerplant for competition.
Brayton won the pole for the 1995 Indianapolis 500 and won it again the following year, but tragedy struck when he crashed to his death during practice on May 17, 1996. He was 37.
Featured here (clockwise from top left): At the speedway in 1988; Reading a National Speed Sport News in 1996; Smiling in 1985; The 1995 Indianapolis pole winner and his No. 60 Quaker State/Glidden Lola; In 1986; Ready to hit the track in the No. 2 Glidden Menards Special Lola prior to his fatal accident; Waving to the fans in 1988; In 1992.
— NSSN Archives