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Kurt Hitke
Born	Kurt F. Hitke (1889-12-01)December 1, 1889 Audigast, Saxony, German Empire
Died	February 23, 1979(1979-02-23) (aged 89) Miami, Florida, U.S.
Champ Car career
4 races run over 2 years
First race	1919 Victory Sweepstakes (Uniontown)
Last race	1919 Cincinnati 250 (Sharonville)
Wins Podiums Poles 0 1 0

Kurt F. Hitke (December 1, 1889 – February 23, 1979) was an American racing driver.

Biography

Hitke was born in Audigast, a village near Groitzsch in the Kingdom of Saxony, at that time part of the German Empire. He immigrated to the United States in 1911, and by the time of the First World War had declared his intentions to obtain American citizenship. In addition to his driving abilities, Hitke was an outstanding automobile mechanic and is credited with inventing the first straight eight motor, which was later used very successfully by the Packard Motor Company and others. His interest was largely in racing automobiles and both the Roamer and the Kenilworth, which he designed, were considered outstanding during the early 1920s.

A naturalised American by the time of his racing days, Hitke later ran an insurance company in Illinois.

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500 results

References

1. "History - Auto racing 1894-1942". The H.A.M.B. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
2. Brown, Allen. "Kurt Hitke". OldRacingCars.com. Retrieved January 14, 2024.

• 1889 births
• 1979 deaths
• American racing drivers
• Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States
• Indianapolis 500 drivers
• Sportspeople from Dresden