occupation tom alley
Raffaele " Ralph " De Palma ( December 18 , 1882  March 31 , 1956 ) was an Italian - American racecar driving champion who won the 1915 Indianapolis 500 . His entry at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame estimates that he won about 2 , 000 races . DePalma won the 1908 , 1909 , 1910 , and 1911 American AAA national dirt track championships and is credited with winning 24 American Champ car races . He won the Canadian national championship in 1929 . DePalma estimated that he had earned $ 1 . 5 million by 1934 after racing for 27 years . He is inducted in numerous halls of fame . He competed on boards and dirt road courses and ovals . The Vanderbilt Cup was the first ___MASK5___ trophy in American auto racing . Tom Alley ( 21 May 1889 Metamora , Indiana -- 26 March 1953 Indianapolis , Indiana ) was an American racecar ___MASK41___ . Alley was also a riding mechanic , most notably winning the 1914 Vanderbilt Cup with Ralph DePalma . The International Motorsports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame dedicated to enshrining those who have contributed the most to the sport of auto racing either as a ___MASK41___ , owner , developer or ___MASK93___ . Although people of many nationalities have been inducted ( including racing legends such as Juan Manuel Fangio , Stirling Moss , Ayrton Senna ) the majority of inductees chosen are American drivers who competed in domestic series ( particularly NASCAR ). Only two non - Americans have been inducted since 2003 .