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A riding mechanic was a mechanic that rode along with a race car during races, and who was tasked with maintaining, monitoring, and repairing the car during the race. The various duties included manually pumping oil and fuel, checking tire wear, observing gauges, and even massaging the driver's hands. They also communicated with the pits and spotted from inside the car. If the car ran out of fuel, or otherwise broke down, the riding mechanic was usually responsible for running back to the pits to fetch fuel or the necessary spare parts.
Riding mechanics were also referred to by the term mechanician. The position is largely associated with the early years of Championship car racing and the Indianapolis 500; however, they were also utilized in Formula One racing for a period of time.
Starting in 1912, the AAA Contest Board declared that riding mechanics were mandatory for all races of 100 miles or longer (which included Indianapolis)."The Talk of Gasoline Alley," WIBC, May 3, 2002 In 1923 riding mechanics were made optional, and only one team utilized them. They were made mandatory once again and brought back from 1930 to 1937. From 1938 on, they were again declared optional, but no teams in the starting field used one ever again. In the years immediately following WWII, nearly all two-man cars had been parked, or converted to single-seaters. Riding mechanics were not formally written out of the rule book until 1964.
The mechanics sat in a passenger seat, typically to the outside of the driver, a precarious position close to the retaining wall.Bryan, Pack. Indy 500 Mechanics - The men behind the machines, Popular Mechanics, May 1979, Pg 121-122, Retrieved 2010-09-19 Some cars, however, did have the positions reversed, with the riding mechanic on the inside. Due to the close quarters, many were of short stature and small build.
Some notable riding mechanics are Harry Holcomb, Robert Bandini, and Monk Jordan. The last living Indy 500 riding mechanic, Joseph F. Kennelly, died in September 2011. A small handful of riding mechanics were also drivers in their own right. The 1922 Indianapolis 500 winner Jimmy Murphy started his racing career as a riding mechanic. 1935 winner Kelly Petillo served as mechanician, as did 1925 winner Pete DePaolo who was actually the riding mechanic for his maternal Uncle Ralph DePalma when he won the 500 in 1919. The Talk of Gasoline Alley - 1070-AM WIBC, May 9, 2003 While accurate records are incomplete and spotty overall, the identification of riding mechanics from the history of the Indianapolis 500 is mostly complete and fairly reliable.
| 1911 | Riding mechanic not utilized | |
| 1912 | Joe Dawson | Harry Martin |
| 1913 | Jules Goux Emil Begin | |
| 1914 | René Thomas | Robert Laly |
| 1915 | Ralph DePalma | Louis Fontaine |
| 1916 | Dario Resta | Bob Dahnke |
| 1917 | No race held due to World War I | |
| 1918 | ||
| 1919 | Howdy Wilcox | Leo Banks |
| 1920 | Gaston Chevrolet | John Bresnahan |
| 1921 | Tommy Milton | Harry Franck |
| 1922 | Jimmy Murphy | Ernie Olson |
| 1923 | Riding mechanic not utilized | |
| 1924 | Riding mechanic not utilized | |
| 1925 | Riding mechanic not utilized | |
| 1926 | Riding mechanic not utilized | |
| 1927 | Riding mechanic not utilized | |
| 1928 | Riding mechanic not utilized | |
| 1929 | Riding mechanic not utilized | |
| 1930 | Billy Arnold | Spider Matlock |
| 1931 | Louis Schneider | Jigger Johnson |
| 1932 | Fred Frame | Jerry Houck |
| 1933 | Louis Meyer | Lawson Harris |
| 1934 | Bill Cummings | Earl Unversaw |
| 1935 | Kelly Petillo | Jimmy Dunham |
| 1936 | Louis Meyer | Lawson Harris |
| 1937 | Wilbur Shaw | Jigger Johnson |
| 1938 | Riding mechanic not utilized | |
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