RACER: Robin Miller on Jan Opperman

Long before the World of Outlaws came to life, there was Jan Opperman.
The "Racing Hippie" carved a legend on the dirt tracks of Pennsylvania in the early 1970s (winning 44 of 90 races in 1972) before embarking on the United States Auto Club. Jan wanted to run the Indianapolis 500 and knew the only path back then was through USAC.
In 1974, he approached Parnelli Jones in Gasoline Alley, introduced himself and asked if he could drive that car sitting in the garage? Parnelli knew of his talent and hired him on the spot. Despite having almost no pavement experience, Opp sailed through his rookie test and qualified on the last day.
But it was 1976 that really got people's attention. He captured the prestigious Hulman Classic at Terre Haute in April and in May he hopped into a car nobody else could get going and stuck in the show during the final minutes of Indy qualifying. In August, he won three midget races in three different cars, a sprint race on the high banks of Dayton, came from 20th to first at Springfield in a dirt car before running out of fuel and then finished sixth in the California 500 at Ontario.
In September, he suffered critical head injuries while running second in the Hoosier Hundred and spent 1977 recovering. But, even though he raced from 1978-81, he was never the same and never won another sprint car feature. He was badly injured again in 1981 and suffered a series of strokes that incapacitated him until his death in 1997.

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