Henry Banks

His first racing experience was in 1932 when he drove a Model A Ford Miller Scholfield sprint car for Mert Harris of Royal Oak, Michigan in outlaw and AAA events in Michigan and Ohio. Henry crashed in first race at Bay City, Michigan and won his first race at the age of 19 at Davidson, Michigan, two weeks later. Henry was a consistent winner for the balance of the outlaw season. Applied for AAA license in the fall of 1932 and was dubbed, "King of the Outlaws", by Eddie Edenburn, then Detroit AAA zone representative. Finished third behind Bob Carey and Gene Haustein in the first race at the old VFW Speedway in Detroit.
Banks first regular job was driving test cars for the Oakland Pontiac Motor Company at the General Motors proving grounds at the age of 20, while driving racecars on weekends. He quit the job to devote full time to racing in 1936.

During WWII, Henry was employed by the Aircraft Engine division of Ford Motor Company who were then building R-2800 aircraft engines under license of Pratt & Whitney. The next step for Banks was to become resident representative for the company on the West Coast.
After World War II, returning to racing full time, Henry drove midget racecars for Lindsey Hopkins who after the 1950 Indianapolis race purchased for him one of Lou Moore's Blue Crown cars. This was Banks first year to run the full Championship trail. He started picking up top 5 finishes and won the Detroit race in front of his hometown crowd. As each race on the Championship trail was run, Banks cut down the point lead of the leaders until the final race of the year at Darlington, S.C. Banks was now 37 years old and realized that not too many years of opportunity remained to be National Champion and at the checkered flag.
Henry had to beat out Walt Faulkner, nicknamed the "Little Dynamo", in Agajanian's car, for his beloved championship. Banks was the first driver in AAA history since Peter DePaolo to win the national Driving Championship without benefit of points earned in the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. In 1951, he finished second to Tony Bettenausen who dominated the National Championship Circuit that year, by consistent finishes in the top 10 in 11 of 13 races.
On May 22, 1954, Henry Banks hung up his racing helmet for good, went back to Ford's Aircraft Division, supervising 7 states. In 1959, the USAC Board of Directors hired Banks to take the position of Director of Competition for the United States Auto Club (USAC). It was a clear vote of confidence in Bank's ability that he was asked to run the club.
Henry Banks died at the age of 71 on December 18, 1984 (1913 - 1984)