Leon Duray "Jigger" Sirois

Leon Duray "Jigger" Sirois was an American racing driver whose name became part of Indianapolis 500 folklore for a qualifying run that was waved off and then washed out by rain. He died on 23 September 2026 at the age of 91 after battling health issues in recent years. His wife, Juanita, announced his death; SPEED SPORT and other motorsport outlets reported the news the same day.

Sirois was born on 16 April 1935 in Shelby, in northern Indiana. He was the son of longtime Indianapolis 500 mechanic Earl "Frenchy" Sirois, who worked on the winning cars of Lee Wallard, Sam Hanks and Jimmy Bryan. He was named after 1920s driver Leon Duray, and the nickname "Jigger" came from family friend and two-time Indy-winning riding mechanic Jigger Johnson, as well as a name used by his older sister. He grew up around the Speedway and the family hardware store, graduated from Lowell High School, and worked as a truck driver and construction worker between races.

He began in stock cars on the dirt at Illiana Motor Speedway in Schererville, then moved into open-wheel midget racing. In 1961 he won the United Auto Racing Association midget championship in Larry White's yellow No. 82, taking eight feature victories that season. He later raced USAC midgets and was badly injured in a crash at Springfield, Illinois, in 1962, needing about six months of rehabilitation. His USAC Championship Car career included ten starts outside the Indianapolis 500, with a best finish of fifth at Phoenix in 1969. On 4 September 1972 at DuQuoin he led the opening laps of a USAC Silver Crown race in a turbine-powered car before finishing third behind A.J. Foyt when rain shortened the event.

At Indianapolis he never made the starting field in seven attempts from 1969 to 1975, yet he is remembered for Pole Day in 1969. As first in line after a rain delay he completed three laps near 161 to 162 mph before his crew waved off the fourth lap. Rain then closed the track; that aborted run would have locked him onto the provisional pole for the week and was fast enough to make the race. The episode helped drive a 1971 rule change guaranteeing cars in line on the first day of qualifying a chance at the pole. The American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association later created the annual Jigger Award for hard-luck drivers at Indy.

In later life he lived in Williamsburg, Virginia. After a childhood stutter that began after a tornado scare at age three, he learned to manage it with professional help around age 65 and spoke publicly to encourage awareness and treatment of stuttering in young people. He is survived by his wife, Juanita.