Leon Sirois

Leon Duray Sirois was born on 16 April 1935 in Shelby, a small town in northern Indiana. His father Earl "Frenchy" Sirois was a longtime Indianapolis 500 mechanic who worked on the winning cars of Lee Wallard, Sam Hanks and Jimmy Bryan across a roughly forty-year career and also tended a family hardware store. Leon was named after 1920s racer Leon Duray. The nickname "Jigger" referenced both two-time Indy-winning riding mechanic Jigger Johnson, a family friend, and a name used by his older sister. He graduated from Lowell High School and later did truck driving and construction work between races. A tornado scare at age three left him with a stutter that he managed for decades and, at 65, addressed with professional help so he could speak for youth stuttering awareness.

Sirois started in stock cars on the dirt at Illiana Motor Speedway in Schererville, Indiana, then switched to open-wheel midgets. In 1961 with the United Auto Racing Association, which raced heavily at Joliet Memorial Stadium, he won the UARA driving championship in Larry White's yellow No. 82 midget with eight feature wins, and contemporary accounts credit him with four championships that year. He also scored major midget wins including a 100-mile race at the Milwaukee Mile and an event at Daytona Beach. In 1962 a severe midget crash at Springfield, Illinois, required about six months of rehabilitation before he returned to USAC midget competition.

As a 34-year-old "rookie" at Indianapolis in 1969, Sirois became the first car to attempt a qualifying run late on a rain-interrupted Pole Day. He completed three laps at 161.783, 162.279 and 160.542 mph. On the fourth lap his car owner waved off the attempt with the yellow flag, convinced the speed would not make the field and planning another try. Moments later Arnie Knepper went out, rain returned, and the rest of the weekend was washed out. Media and fans quickly realised that an accepted run would have made Sirois the lone qualifier and provisional polesitter for a full week. His later attempts that month were also waved off or slowed by engine trouble, and he did not make the race. Qualification rules were later changed so that cars in line on the first day were guaranteed a chance in the pole round.

Outside the 500, Sirois made ten USAC Championship Car starts, with a best finish of fifth at Phoenix in 1969. At the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds on 4 September 1972 he led the opening laps of a USAC Silver Crown race in the only turbine-powered entry before rain called the event after 52 laps; A.J. Foyt won and Sirois finished third. He returned to Indy every year through 1975 without qualifying, including a 1970 attempt in the uncompetitive Jack Adams Pratt and Whitney turbine that marked the last turbine qualifying try at the Speedway.

In recognition of the 1969 hard-luck qualifying episode, the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association created an annual Indianapolis 500 "Jigger Award" for the hard-luck driver of qualifying, often a last bump-out or a driver who failed to qualify under unusual circumstances. Sirois was the inaugural 1969 recipient. The trophy incorporates a metal whiskey jigger on a base. He was inducted into the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2013.

Sirois married Juanita and for many years made his home in Williamsburg, Virginia. He spoke openly about stuttering, describing how a childhood tornado scare started the condition and how professional help at age 65 finally gave him tools to manage it. He used that experience to encourage treatment and awareness for young people who stutter. SPEED SPORT's obituary noted he had battled a number of health issues in recent years.

Leon "Jigger" Sirois died on 23 September 2026 at the age of 91. SPEED SPORT published the news the same day under Stan Kalwasinski's byline, datelined Williamsburg, Virginia. Wikipedia's biography was updated to record the same date. Early reports did not list a specific cause beyond recent health struggles. He is survived by his wife, Juanita.