Bill Stroppe, Motor Racing Pioneer, Is Dead at 76
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Bill Stroppe, one of the most influential men in the development of Ford Motor Co.’s motor racing program, died Tuesday night in Long Beach after surgery resulting from a fall. Stroppe, 76, suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.
Although he built and drove hydroplanes, was a winning driver in the Mobil Economy Run, built and campaigned Indy cars, and managed the team of Lincolns that finished 1-2-3-4 in both the 1952 and 1953 Pan-American Road Races in Mexico, Stroppe was best known as the man who rode shotgun with Parnelli Jones in Baja California off-road races.
Stroppe’s big Broncos, built in his shop in the Signal Hill section of Long Beach, were legendary in off-road racing. More recently, he built and serviced Ford trucks for stadium and SuperTruck races.
Survivors include his wife, Helen, and son, William, both of Long Beach; a daughter, Luann Hallett of Huntington Harbor, and two grandchildren. Services will be 2:30 p.m. Monday at Forest Lawn in Cypress.
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