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Charles F Keene

Charles Keene, Indianapolis 500, 1915. Photo is part of the Bruce R. Craig Photo collection at the Stanford University Library Collection, however photo taken pre-1923, so copyright lapsed. JPEG copyright, Richard Jenkins, 2016.

Charles Keene, Indianapolis 500, 1915. Photo is part of the Bruce R. Craig Photo collection at the Stanford University Library Collection, however photo taken pre-1923, so copyright lapsed. JPEG copyright, Richard Jenkins, 2016.

Born:


Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania

Died:

unknown

Nationality:

United States

Indy 500s:

1 (1914-1915)

Boisterous individual, one of the first to sign a commercial deal. Co-owner, builder and driver of the Beaver Bullet, a car with a 450 inch engine that he entered for Indianapolis and other events, but the well-publicised project never really succeeded, despite an eighth place at Indianapolis and he also steered the car to a fourth place at Galveston, Texas in 1914. A varied racer, he attempted a lot of speed records. Keene also worked for the Pope-Toledo car company in Ohio and also as a test driver for the Mercer Car Company in Connecticut.

Biography last updated 10 Sep 2017